In Chapter 14 of A Head Full of Ghosts, Merry (blogging as the web figure “Karen”) gives a great recap of many horror franchises, including lots of academic, thematic elements that are included in classic movies such as Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project, and of course The Exorcist. However, beyond the analytical dissection of The Possesion and bringing in elements of the aforementioned horror franchises, Merry also seems to debate the entire premise of The Possesion, namely that her sister Marjorie was ever actually possessed. She openly questions that premise on page 92 describing Marjorie as “a teenage daughter going through a particularly nasty, devastating psychotic break, while believing (or pretending, yeah?) she was possessed by a demon, and a stereotypical demon at that.” Merry, as Karen, further casts doubt on Marjorie’s supposed possession at later points in her post, insinuating that Marjorie heard of the Great Molasses Flood and the song Gloomy Sunday at the library or via the internet, both of which are entirely plausible.
On one hand, it is possible that the conclusion of this book will show us that Marjorie was never possessed (lame) but was experiencing the horrific effects of what would have to be some extreme form of schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder. On the other hand, given the absolutely unbelievable nature of the actual things Marjorie did in the past several chapters (speaking in gibberish or different voices, uncontrollable bodily functions, climbing on the walls and spider walking, anyone?) it seems to me that Marjorie might very well be “possessed,” if such a thing exists.
In any case, I believe 23-year-old Merry is being a jerk, both to Marjorie and to her father. Even if Marjorie was experiencing a severe psychotic break, she is still suffering greatly from a mental illness and while she has inflicted countless horrors on Merry and her parents, it’s hard not to be greatly concerned for Marjorie’s well-being. Merry, as Karen, even says so towards the end of Chapter 14: “We [the audience] are afraid for her.” Given that, it seems awfully calloused to me for Merry to just trash her sister in a blog post and dismiss her possession so readily. I’m curious as to where the plot will take us and if Merry will develop a better (or more legitimate) reason to be so harsh and bitter towards her sister.
Likewise, I believe Marjorie is awfully hard on her parents, particularly her father. I recognize the patriarchal tendencies and framing that permeate The Possession but even at age 23, Merry has not even come close to experiencing something so difficult for parents as being on the brink of divorce and losing your home when suddenly one of your children starts acting possessed. She seems to hold in contempt her father’s religion, describing his attempts at prayer with Marjorie during one of her episodes as those of “an amateur, a poser, a fraud.” Again, I am intrigued to see how the plot advances and if Merry has more of a reason to be so spiteful towards both Marjorie and her father. As of right now, she seems to look back on the events that transpired and attack her entire family which comes off as selfish and rude.