Heart-Shaped Box: A nail-biting ghost story that will keep you up at night
Jun 2010 · Hachette UK
4.3star
115 reviewsreport
Ebook
416
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About this ebook
'Buy my stepfather's ghost' read the e-mail.
So Jude did.
He bought it, in the shape of the dead man's suit, delivered in a heart-shaped box, because he wanted it: because his fans ate up that kind of story. It was perfect for his collection: the genuine skulls and the bones, the real honest-to-God snuff movie, the occult books and all the rest of the paraphanalia that goes along with his kind of hard/goth rock.
But the rest of his collection doesn't make the house feel cold. The bones don't make the dogs bark; the movie doesn't make Jude feel as if he's being watched. And none of the artefacts bring a vengeful old ghost with black scribbles over his eyes out of the shadows to chase Jude out of his home, and make him run for his life ...
So Jude did.
He bought it, in the shape of the dead man's suit, delivered in a heart-shaped box, because he wanted it: because his fans ate up that kind of story. It was perfect for his collection: the genuine skulls and the bones, the real honest-to-God snuff movie, the occult books and all the rest of the paraphanalia that goes along with his kind of hard/goth rock.
But the rest of his collection doesn't make the house feel cold. The bones don't make the dogs bark; the movie doesn't make Jude feel as if he's being watched. And none of the artefacts bring a vengeful old ghost with black scribbles over his eyes out of the shadows to chase Jude out of his home, and make him run for his life ...
Ratings and reviews
4.3
115 reviews
A Google user
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February 18, 2012
A genuinely scary and also deeply sad story. I am a fan of horror fiction but find it hard to find stories that really scare me, as they focus too often on unrealistic supernatural, or psycho killer themes without being grounded in real life. This book is an exception as the true horror of the story is not the killer ghost but the very real abuse that preceeded it.
Emily T
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July 1, 2015
First time I have read a book of this genre without losing interest. Really unusual storyline with hints of Poltergeist. Read it in less than 2 days, not sure I would visit the authors other books though.
3 people found this review helpful
Serge V
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July 4, 2018
A decent read which kept me entertained on a lazy week of holidays. Hill
has written better books but HSB is still worth the effort.
About the author
Joe Hill is a recipient of the Ray Bradbury Fellowship and the winner of the A.E. Coppard Long Fiction Prize, William Crawford, World Fantasy, British Fantasy, Bram Stoker and International Horror Guild Awards. His short fiction has appeared in literary, mystery and horror collections and magazines in Britain and America. For more information, visit www.joehillfiction.com or follow @Joe_Hill on social media.
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