61 pages • 2 hours read
Paul G. TremblayA Head Full of Ghosts
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Part 2, Chapters 14-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2, Chapter 14 Summary
“Karen Brissette’s” second blog post delves into the first episode of The Possession. Her perspective is that the show’s introduction succeeds at indirectly citing the Barrett’s dire financial situation as the motivation behind their willingness to allow a “documentary” film crew access to their private anguish. “Karen” suggests that Father Wanderly was the intermediary who contacted the Discovery Channel, as his parish was also struggling and in need of funds. The show was structured around background dramatic recreations, with members of the Barrett family portrayed by actors, talking head interview footage, and raw footage of the actual Barrett family collected once the film crew arrived at their home.
“Karen” highlights the elements of the production which mimic the film The Exorcist. “Karen” delves into her own vast knowledge of popular horror to illustrate that the production crew of The Possession clearly shared the same frame of reference and deliberately integrated elements of The Exorcist into the final cutting of the show. “Karen” emphasizes the difference in age between 14-year-old Marjorie and 23-year-old Liz Jaffe, who portrayed Marjorie in The Possession’s dramatizations. She discusses how the actress was sexualized through the decision to dress her in minimal clothing and camera angles which highlighted her physical attributes. “Karen’s” opinion is that the camera work functions as the “male gaze.” Particularly “disturbing” to “Karen” is the recreation of the masturbation incident, which she finds portrayed Marjorie in a tantalizing, fetishistic light rather than depicting her actions as a loss of control. In John Barrett’s talking head interviews, he insists that Marjorie’s “disturbing,” insulting, and frightening assertions about her family must be “supernatural” or “sinister” in nature and proof of her torment by an evil entity or entities. The real Marjorie is not featured until the final few moments of The Possession’s pilot, when she looks into the camera and says: “I’m Marjorie Barrett, and I need help” (101).
Part 2, Chapter 15 Summary
Rachel visits Merry at her condo in South Boston, and asks the purchase price, replying only “wow,” when Merry happily tells her. Merry says that no one in the neighborhood recognizes her, but, chipper and optimistic, suggests that might change with the release of “our best-selling book” (103). Rachel mentions that she has spoken to producers involved with The Possession, but hasn’t been able to determine how the Discovery Channel became involved. Merry claims she isn’t entirely sure; Marjorie was sent to a psychiatric hospital for a few weeks and Merry was sent to their aunt’s house when Marjorie came back. Mom began smoking inside the home instead of sneaking outside, drinking frequently.
Merry says she thinks that Marjorie curtailed her symptoms which their father associated with possession while she was in the hospital. When Merry came home, there were two priests upstairs with Marjorie. Dad informed her that they were going to make a television show, which would be a “job” that they would be paid well for. Merry recognizes, without saying so to Rachel, that she is being asked questions that Rachel could have discovered the answers to elsewhere. She knows that Rachel is attempting to ascertain whether Merry will tell the truth, or whether Merry knows the truth at all.
Rachel is taken aback when she discovers the extensive collection of horror books and DVDs in Merry’s “playroom,” perplexed at why Merry would be so compelled to relive or confront some of the most horrific elements of her childhood. Rachel tries to justify Merry’s engagement with this material as way of Merry making sense of her experiences. Merry asks: “Isn’t that why you want to write a book about me?” (111).
Rachel asks what Merry’s motive was for showing her this room and its collection. Merry is coy and feigns innocence. Merry clarifies that in retrospect she does not believe that her sister was ever possessed. She brags to Rachel that she has “just landed her first paying writing gig” for an online horror publication (113). She confesses that she has been writing an independent blog under the pseudonym “Karen Brissette,” and eagerly encourages Rachel to read it.
Part 2, Chapter 16 Summary
When the film crew arrives, they outfit the home with cameras everywhere, except the bedrooms and bathrooms. Merry escapes down to the basement, where she is startled by Marjorie appearing behind her. Marjorie explains that their father and the priests think that she is possessed by a demon and that the camera crew is there to document her exorcism. Marjorie swears Merry to secrecy and confesses that she knows that she is not possessed, and that while she is truly hearing voices, she knows that somehow, they are a product of her own mind. Marjorie confesses that she has been intentionally pretending to be under the influence of evil; after the voices began, she hated seeing Dr. Hamilton and being on medication, and she recognized how stressed her parents were and how desperate their financial situation was.
According to Merry’s account, Marjorie escalates her behavior and symptoms, particularly when their father involves Father Wanderly. Marjorie insists that their family should be grateful to her for finding a way out of their destitution when it is their parents, not she, who truly need help. She tells Merry that she did in fact get the molasses story from the Internet, but stresses that she made up the story about the sisters and the killer vines and that Merry must remember the story. Merry states that at the time she felt that Marjorie didn’t truly believe everything she was claiming about her mental state, that she was attempting to put on a brave face and avoid confronting the seriousness of her escalating symptoms.
The upstairs hall is transformed into a “confessional room,” a private space where family members can retreat and record thoughts and impressions. In her first visit, Merry intentionally embellishes stories about Marjorie’s behavior for the camera, believing that she is helping to bolster her sister’s efforts.
Part 2, Chapter 17 Summary
The Discovery Channel airs the premiere of The Possession two weeks after filming begins. That Sunday morning, Dad is frustrated when Merry declines to attend church with him. Merry commands her mother, sitting at the table with show-writer Ken, to design an obstacle course for her, and demands that Mom and Ken time her. She says Ken should write the obstacle course into the show. Merry whines about being barred from the confessional room for wasting camera memory and batteries. Ken takes Merry to the production trailer, giving her a handheld camera to shoot footage of her own.
Merry is surprised by the festive crowd gathered in the house before the premiere. She finds herself near Father Wanderly and a man who appears to bear some importance. She overhears terms in their conversation which suggest that financial and political interests inspired the advent of the show. Merry is put to bed, not allowed to watch the show.
She wakes up to a strange sound in her room, and presses record on her camera. Merry warns Marjorie that she is recording, saying: “I know you’re faking. You told me you were faking” (144). Marjorie begins violently struggling as though she were being attacked. She erupts in a flurry of destruction, decimating the cardboard house, leaving Merry shaken.
Merry creeps across the hall, where Marjorie asks Merry if she captured everything. She praises Merry and tells her to show Ken in the morning. Thinking herself a celebrity, Merry dresses up to attend school; outside she finds a group of protestors gathered in front of the house. Merry is disappointed when she does not receive the positive attention she expected from her peers; most didn’t watch the show, and those who had mock the Barretts as “freaks.”
When Merry returns home, the group of protesters has grown. Showing Ken her footage, Merry is concerned about her recorded assertion that Marjorie is faking, asking what editing will be like. Ken expresses his sympathy. He acknowledges that it is unfair that Merry will inevitably face escalating negative reactions from the public because of the show.
Part 2, Chapter 18 Summary
Merry lies about feeling sick to avoid going to school on the morning after the second episode airs. She comes downstairs dressed as “a reporter” writing down what everyone says. That afternoon, Merry is instructed to remain on the couch in the living room while her parents; Father Wanderly; Ken; and Barry, the executive producer, meet in the next room. Mom turns up the volume on the TV so that Merry cannot hear them.
Merry tries to sneak in and eavesdrop, but Dad notices her and she is redirected. The adults join Merry in the living room, joined by camera operators Jenn and Tony. Father Wanderly compliments Merry’s red jacket, part of her reporter outfit, and tells her how important the information she has shared has been in helping Marjorie. She writes in her notebook the whole time he is talking. Father Wanderly explains that his task is to eliminate the possibility that Marjorie might just be sick; confirm that there is an evil spirit possessing her, which he already believes is true; and then obtain permission from the bishop to perform an exorcism.
Dad interrupts, asserting that everyone in the house is in agreement that Marjorie is possessed. Merry looks to her mother for confirmation. Mom says that so far she and Dad believe that Marjorie’s treatment and medications have not been effective, but that Dr. Hamilton is still Marjorie’s doctor, even though another doctor will be coming in to evaluate Marjorie on the church’s behalf. Father Wanderly describes Dr. Hamilton as an atheist, and Merry realizes she is one too. Father Wanderly requests Merry’s presence at the evaluation when Dr. Navidson arrives to examine Marjorie. Mom quickly affirms that Merry does not have to be present if she does not want to. Merry is enthusiastic, asking what role she will be able to play and what tasks she will be asked to perform. Father Wanderly assures her that she need only be present, as they have decided that the entity inside Marjorie presents and manifests the strongest when Marjorie is in Merry’s company.
Mom emphasizes that the experience might be stressful and very frightening for Merry, wanting to make certain that Merry understands that before agreeing to help. Merry is apprehensive; she is so compelled by her need to be included that she never considers not participating.
Part 2, Chapters 14-18 Analysis
The novel explores how Ordinary Human Malignancy Is the True Horror. The real “evil” of the novel is not demonic possession; it is Dad’s labeling of Marjorie’s mental health condition as demonic possession, and the exploitation of Marjorie and the family by the church and “documentary” crew. In consenting to allow the Discovery Channel to film their private family moments, including behavior Marjorie might consider embarrassing and a violation of her privacy, the Barretts don’t take into account the impact of the project. Though Marjorie gives a kind of consent, as a minor with a mental illness, she cannot give true, meaningful consent.
Marjorie is the only one in the Barrett household who sees the extent of her parents’ shortcomings, and how her father is unable or unwilling to use conventional methods to extract them from their destitution. The book shows how children in dysfunctional families often assume responsibility for the survival of everyone in their home. Though she likely doesn’t fully comprehend what she is doing, Marjorie recognizes that by orchestrating the success of the show she can save her family.
Merry claims in her unending monologue to Rachel that she was afraid of her sister. Yet when the film crew arrives she monopolizes their time, turning them into her own audience. This behavior seems inconsistent with the idea that Merry is truly worried about Marjorie. While Merry, as an eight-year-old, cannot be expected to fully understand what is happening with her sister, her family is clearly in crisis. Her reaction seems shallow: Merry is preoccupied with opportunities to eavesdrop and broods over perceived slights.
Merry is proud to show Rachel her condo, which she would never have been able to afford if not for the proceeds from The Possession. She’s living a very comfortable life procured from the suffering of her family, and eagerly looks forward to receiving the proceeds from Rachel’s book. Though writing “Karen’s” blog eventually leads to a paid writing position, Merry’s lifestyle is entirely funded by The Possession. Her “playroom,” as she calls it, is whimsical and infantile in its chaos; Merry is characterized as an eternal child, and in the playroom feels the most comfortable reveling in her horror obsession. She brings Rachel into the room to gauge her reaction to her collection and volunteer her secret identity as the author of “Karen’s” blog. Rachel would never have had any idea about the blog if Merry hadn’t mentioned it; her bragging suggests that Merry is eager for Rachel’s reaction.
Rachel’s book is likely about the Sacrifice and Exploitation of the Vulnerable—how a young woman with mental illness managed to find herself subjected to an exorcism and reality TV show, and how family dynamics deteriorated to the point that most of the family ended up dead. However, Merry is obviously enthusiastic about “a book about me” (111). Rachel reveals that she is talking to the production crew. At this point in the novel, the reader may wonder when Rachel might mention her discussions with Marjorie, Dad, and Mom. At this point, the novel hasn’t revealed that they are not available to be interviewed.
