Title: A Head Full of Ghosts
Genre: Horror, psychological suspense
Publication Date: 2015
Number of Pages: 284
Geographical Setting: Beverly, Massachusetts
Time Period: mid 2000s (exact date not given) and 15 years in the future
Plot Summary: When Meredith Barrett was only eight years old her fourteen-year-old sister Marjorie began experiencing strange things and exhibiting terrifying behavior. Her father, laid off from his job of 19 years, turns to religion and becomes increasingly more zealous and terrifying. Her mother tries taking Marjorie to psychiatrists to get her help but nothing seems to work. At a loss her father turns to the local Catholic priest Father Wanderly, who believes Marjorie is possessed by the devil. Knowing about the family’s precarious financial situation Father Wanderly suggests letting a tv crew film a reality tv show about their experiences and the upcoming exorcism. 15 years after those horrifying events, Meredith recounts her experiences to a best-selling writer. Talking about those memories brings up unresolved feelings and secrets. Was Marjorie just mentally ill? Or was something more sinister going on?
Saricks Rule of Three: Foreboding, twisted, menacing
Elements of Horror: Throughout the book there is a menacing and foreboding mood, which is a big element in horror novels. There is also uncertainty throughout the novel that extends all the way to the end. According to Saricks horror novels have endings that are unresolved. This book’s ending could be interpreted in a number of ways, and the ultimate question (was Marjorie actually possessed?) is never answered. There are multiple things and characters that could be considered monsters throughout the novel. Of course the devil/demons are one of the monsters. If Marjorie is truly just mentally ill, she could be considered the monster of the novel, especially after she mentally tortured her little sister. The father could also be considered a monster with his increasing and terrifying brand of religious zealotry. The novel is told through multiple perspectives. One of the ways is through a blog post about the show. This unique perspective is the “doubting Thomas” and seeks to explain all of the events in the show. When Meredith is recounting her story for the interviewer we are transported to her viewpoint of the events as interpreted through her eight-year-old self. We also get the present day explanation of events through Meredith’s interviews with the writer. All of these viewpoints confuse and elude the reader and don’t give the reader a solid explanation for what really happened to Marjorie. The characters in the novel fit with the horror genre definition as well. Meredith is sympathetic and also haunted by the events her family experienced. Marjorie, while we feel sympathy for her, is simply terrifying and unpredictable and we don’t know what she is going to do next.
Read alikes:
Night After Night by Phil Rickman: Liam Defford, the head of a production company, has a great idea for a tv show. He hires a journalist Grayle Underhill to research the history of Knap Hill- a farmhouse turned into a luxury hotel, and later abandoned by the owners. He wants to know what exactly happened in that hotel, and he plans to find out while filming the next hit ghost hunting show featuring six celebrities locked inside with no way out.
The Voices by F.R. Tallis: A young film soundtrack composer moves his family into a crumbling Victorian mansion in London during the summer of 1976. Thinking this house will provide a great place to make his own recording studio, he begins to hear voices coming through the baby monitor. As he becomes more and more obsessed with the voices, he notices one in particular stands out more than the others. Can he figure out what the voices want?
References
Saricks, Joyce. “The Rule of Three”. Booklist, vol. 106 no. 3, 1 October 2009, pp. 25-25. Academic Search Premier, https://web-a-ebscohost-com.proxy.ulib.uits.iu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=309d92ae-6094-47f4-9f1b-0d46d02b34f4%40sessionmgr4006. Accessed 13 February 2019.
Saricks, Joyce. The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. American Library Association, 2009.
“Read-alikes for A head full of ghosts”. Novelist, http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?sid=f8b2fbcf-bd25-49da-952a-e7b1acc81744%40sessionmgr4009&UI=UI+10423814&vid=7. Accessed 13 February 2019.
“Night After Night”. Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22055289-night-after-night?from_search=true. Accessed 13 February 2019.
“The Voices”. Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20729837-the-voices?from_search=true. Accessed 13 February 2019.
“A Head Full of Ghosts”. Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23019294-a-head-full-of-ghosts. Accessed 13 February 2019.
All images taken from Goodreads.
Very interesting pick! I always feel like ghost stories should be their own category. I know they fit into the horror genre but there are so many ghost stories out there, legends even, that get overlooked because they are lumped into the horror series.
ReplyDeleteI do feel like you should have noted that this is book 3 in a series. I have noticed that a bit with annotations that people forget to mention if the book is part of a series or not. I would not have known if I didn't look it up on goodreads to add it to my list. I do realize there are books that are part of a themed series rather then a traditional ones, but i still feel like it should be mentioned. I personally, cannot read books out of order. I have in the past, both willfully and by accident, and I just feel like i missed something, even if i didn't miss anything significant.
Great annotation though!
I was unaware this was part of a series actually! When I looked it up on Goodreads there is no mention that it is part of a series and it reads like a stand alone book. Where do you see that it is part of a series?
ReplyDeleteThis was one of the read-a-likes I found for the horror book I chose (Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill)! After reading your annotation, I do feel that I added a good one to my read-a-likes. I really enjoyed Heart Shaped Box, and I feel like I would also like this one as well. It seems dark and twisty, which is exactly what I enjoy most!
ReplyDeleteIt actually sounds like something I’d like to read myself, so I’m adding it to my list! Did you enjoy it? I read the other comments, and I don’t see that this is part of a series, so I am thinking that Sledsome looked up the wrong book. I checked KDL’s What’s Next (which is my favorite book for determining if books are a part of a bigger series) and it’s not listed.
I enjoyed it very much! I really liked the juxtaposition of the blog posts with the narrator's retelling of what happened behind-the-scenes during the tv show. It was tense throughout and really creepy.
DeleteThis book sounds awesome! Something about ghosts, demons, and hell is always more terrifying! Great job on the summary! Your characteristics are spot on and so are your readalikes. Full points!
ReplyDelete