A Head Full of Ghosts
A Novel
-
-
4.0 • 742 Ratings
-
-
- $6.99
Publisher Description
WINNER OF THE 2015 BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL
A chilling thriller that brilliantly blends psychological suspense and supernatural horror, reminiscent of Stephen King's The Shining, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, and William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist.
The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when fourteen-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia.
To her parents’ despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie’s descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts’ plight. With John, Marjorie’s father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.
Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie’s younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface—and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Is the protagonist of this book a demon-possessed victim or a clever, manipulative teen? This savvy tale of horror tantalizingly keeps the reader waiting for an answer. When 14-year-old Marjorie Barrett begins behaving as though she's demonically possessed, her Massachusetts family starts a reality-based television show, The Possession, to earn the money they desperately need to keep their household together. But is Marjorie really channeling a creature of supernatural evil, or is she just good at Internet research, which keeps her one step ahead of her gullible parents and doctors? Marjorie's younger sister, Meredith, who is recounting these events 15 years after her family's ordeal, even wonders whether it's possible for Marjorie "to be both possessed by a demon and faking it too." Tremblay paints a believable portrait of a family in extremis emotionally as it attempts to cope with the unthinkable, but at the same time he slyly suggests that in a culture where the wall between reality and acting has eroded, even the make believe might seem credible. Whether psychological or supernatural, this is a work of deviously subtle horror.
Customer Reviews
Is she really possessed?
I want to start out this review by saying I really enjoyed this book!! So what is it about? A 14-year-old girl is possessed, or is she?
Marjorie is the main character and begins acting extremely strange. Experiencing what you would call ‘normal demonic possession’ traits. Her 8-year-old sister, Merry, is there to witness almost all of these outbursts and creepy behavior.
The girls parents are so unsettled by Marjorie’s recent behavior, they call in a priest and psychiatrist. The story got big and is eventually picked up by a tv show. The show is called “The Possession” and they begin to film Marjorie’s behavior and decide to perform an exorcism.
But was Marjorie ever really possessed? That’s up for you to decide.
The book is quite scary in some parts and definitely freaked me out when reading alone in the dark in my room! I really loved reading this and it kept me intrigued the whole time!
“A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay is a chilling psychological thriller that blurs the lines between reality and delusion, offering a deeply unsettling exploration of mental illness, family dynamics, and the impact of media sensationalism. It’s a modern horror story that keeps readers questioning what’s real and what’s imagined.
The story revolves around the Barrett family, whose lives are upended when 14-year-old Marjorie begins exhibiting bizarre and increasingly disturbing behavior. Her parents, struggling financially and emotionally, are at odds about how to handle the situation. While her father becomes convinced Marjorie is possessed by a demon and turns to the church for help, her mother believes her daughter is suffering from a severe mental illness.
To make matters worse, the family agrees to allow a reality TV crew to film Marjorie’s supposed possession and exorcism, turning their home into a media circus. The show, The Possession, becomes a cultural sensation, but the family’s ordeal grows darker and more tragic as events spiral out of control.
The narrative is told from the perspective of Merry, Marjorie’s younger sister, who reflects on these events 15 years later as she recounts her experiences to a journalist. Merry’s account is interwoven with blog posts analyzing The Possession and its cultural impact, creating an eerie and multilayered story that keeps readers guessing about the true nature of Marjorie’s condition.
Tremblay masterfully builds tension, balancing psychological horror with moments of gut-wrenching emotion. The novel constantly plays with the reader’s expectations—was Marjorie truly possessed, or was her behavior the result of mental illness? Were the horrifying events Merry describes real, or the product of a child’s unreliable memory? The ambiguity lingers, leaving readers with an unsettling sense of dread.”
The exorcist does reality TV
There are some truly creepy moments in this book that either I could not stop reading well into the night, or I simply had to close the book and try again later. Mostly during the day! Tremblay take us on a wild ride of misunderstanding, exorcisms, and reality TV. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this book.
Should not be in the paranormal genre
I thought this book would be about the paranormal. I won’t spoil anything, but I think you can read between the lines with that statement. I was entertained somewhat but let down. I searched for audiobooks about ghost stories, and this should not have been one of the results. Buy it was and I feel like I was duped into buying it. — It is a decent story, though! So, not a total loss. I was sufficiently entertained while commuting.