A Head Full of Ghosts

A Head Full of Ghosts
AuthorPaul G. Tremblay
Cover artistAmanda Kain
LanguageEnglish
GenreHorror
Set inBeverly, Massachusetts[1]
Published2015 (HarperCollins)
Pages304[2]
AwardsBram Stoker Award for Novel[3]
ISBN978-0-06-236323-7

A Head Full of Ghosts is a 2015 horror novel by American writer Paul Tremblay.[4] The plot involves a Massachusetts family under financial and emotional strain while their fourteen-year-old daughter, Marjorie Barrett, exhibits signs of severe mental illness. The Barretts come to believe she is possessed by a demon, and her behavior is publicized when the family stars in a reality TV show.[5] Marjorie's younger sister, Merry Barrett, relays the experiences of her childhood fifteen years later. Themes include elements of Catholic exorcism and reality television exploitation.

Tremblay dedicated the novel to Shirley Jackson. A Head Full of Ghosts has been noted to have plot and thematic similarities to Jackson's We Have Always Lived In The Castle.[6] Merry Barrett's name is also similar to that of Merricat Blackwood.

The novel was published on June 2, 2015 by William Morrow[2] and won the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award for Novel in 2015.[3][7] Focus Features has acquired the rights to develop a movie adaptation.[8]

  1. ^ Tremblay, Paul (2 June 2015). A Head Full of Ghosts. HarperCollins. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-06-236323-7.
  2. ^ a b "A Head Full of Ghosts". Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  3. ^ a b "2015 Bram Stoker Awards® Winners". 15 May 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Bibliography, Official Website of Paul Tremblay". Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  5. ^ "September '15 - Book Club Selection - 'A Head Full of Ghosts' by Paul Tremblay". Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  6. ^ "A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay review – scares in layers". the Guardian. 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  7. ^ "A Head Full of Ghosts". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved Apr 18, 2020.
  8. ^ "Focus Boards 'Head Full of Ghosts' With Robert Downey Jr". Retrieved 6 June 2016.