Week 6 Annotations: “Heart-Shaped Box" by Joe Hill

Heart-Shaped Box

By Joe Hill

Synopsis:

Former rock star Judas (Jude) Coyne is a collector of all things disturbing.  He has items personally sent to him from John Wayne Gacy, a hangman’s actual noose, a three-hundred-year-old confession from a witch, and so on and so forth.  Most of these items were sent to him from fans of his music, however, if something ever caught his attention, he was likely to purchase and add it to his collection.  So, when Jude’s assistant, Danny Wooten, came to him with an email from someone claiming to be selling their stepfather’s ghost, Jude did not hesitate to purchase it.  He paid the $1,000 for it to be immediately shipped to him, and went on with his day. Days later, the suit arrives to Jude’s house in a black heart-shaped box. Jude immediately gets the impression that this suit is in fact haunted, and the spirit that haunts him is evil. After a little investigation, Jude determines that this suit was sent to him by the sister of a former girlfriend/groupie who committed suicide, and that the spirit is out for revenge on Jude and anyone who tries to help him.  Jude is determined to rid himself of this evil spirit, and save the lives of himself and his current girlfriend, Georgia.

Characteristics of Horror:

·     Tone/Mood:  Author, Joe Hill, did not follow his famous father’s (Stephen King) trend in bolding, capitalizing, or italicizing words for extra emphasis in this novel.  The tone of this novel follows the Visceral end, where “violence occurs early on and the intensity never flags” (Saricks, p. 114).  As soon as the suit is delivered to Jude, we are introduced to the vengeful spirit, and he is present throughout the entire novel, wreaking havoc on all the lives that surround Jude. 

·     Frame/Setting:  This novel is extremely descriptive, and feels like you’re watching a film while reading it.  Descriptive writing is a must in a horror novel, because in order to scare a reader, they must be able to picture with detail everything that is happening in the novel.  Heart-Shaped Box follows the horror trend of containing a supernatural “monster”, which in this case is the vengeful spirit, Craddock.  “Horror novels usually contain graphic violence and themes of sensuality and sexuality...” (Saricks, p. 115) and Heart-Shaped Box contains all of these as well.

·     Storyline:  The storyline of Heart-Shaped Box is pure horror; a highly-troubled goth rock star purchases a suit that is said to contain the ghost of the sellers step-father.  After purchasing the suit, the main character becomes haunted and is unable to rid himself of the evil spirit who was delivered to him with the suit.  As stated in our class reading, “The presence of the supernatural pervades these stories and sets Horror apart from other genres” (Saricks, p. 116).  One way that this book does not follow the traditional horror style, is the ending.  It is common for a horror novel to end unresolved, with loose ends. This book seems to be heading in that direction, but turns out to end clear and straightforward.  

·     Style/Language: Profanity and sex play a role in this novel. As I stated before, the language of this book is extremely descriptive, with the use of a lot of adjectives to help describe to the reader what is going on. 

·     Characterization: Majority of the characters in Heart-Shaped Box have dark back stories.  These stories range from child abuse, to molestation, to depression and suicide.  The two main characters, Jude and Georgia/Marybeth are both described as gothic.  This is a common theme in horror books as most characters in horror are out-of-control and “shattered individuals” (Saricks, p. 118). 

·     Pacing: The pacing in Heart-Shaped Box is erratic, like most horror titles — jumping from a slow and calm pace to heart-thumping terror.  Some parts of this book seem slow, but then are immediately followed with a sudden burst of intensity.  This book is unpredictable, and the pace of it keeps readers at the edge of their seat, waiting in fear and anticipation for what will happen next.

Read-A-Likes:

If you enjoyed Heart-Shaped Box, you might also enjoy these similar books:
-   A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

-      The Damned by Andrew Pyper
-      A Stir of Echos by Richard Matheson
-      The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin