A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay Review

A book which features a quote from Stephen King saying that even he was scared by it most certainly deserves a good look. A Head Full of Ghosts tells the story of a family troubled by the supposed possession of the elder of the two daughters, with the events surrounding her exorcism televised in a huge national TV show. While the family struggle to come to terms with the difficulties, more so with TV crews in the house 24/7, it’s the younger daughter Merry who takes centre stage.

Part of this is because she’s the one retrospectively telling the story to a writer, keen to cover her story several years after the event. It’s a handy angle to cover the story from, making the action feel genuine while still recognising some possible inconsistencies through the time gap.

The story is very enjoyable, and while there are a few possession cliches thrown in, there’s genuine uncertainty throughout as to whether there are demons at work, and the final part of the family’s story is as heart-wrenching as it is shocking – I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s a scary book at all, but it’s definitely a tense story and the final few chapters will fly by until you realise it’s 3am and you should’ve been asleep hours ago.

Worth picking up if you’re in the market for a book dealing with (maybe) possessed teens going a bit nuts, but don’t pay too much attention to the quotes on the cover.