A Head Full of Ghosts
Narrated by Joy Osmanski
Why Listen to This Audiobook?
Joy Osmanski narrates this like a true-crime deposition — and the longer you listen, the less certain you are who's actually lying.
- Great if you want: literary horror that weaponizes unreliable narration
- Listening experience: slow-burn dread with a cerebral, meta edge throughout
- Narration: Osmanski's measured tone makes Merry's testimony feel disturbingly credible
- Skip if: you want clear answers — this book deliberately withholds them
About This Audiobook
When fourteen-year-old Marjorie Barrett begins exhibiting disturbing behavior, her financially struggling New England family faces an impossible choice between medical treatment and spiritual intervention. Desperate parents turn to both a Catholic priest and a reality television crew, transforming their private crisis into public spectacle as cameras document what may be mental illness, demonic possession, or something far more sinister. Fifteen years later, Marjorie's younger sister Merry recounts the events that destroyed their family to a bestselling author, but her childhood memories don't align with the sensationalized version that captivated television audiences.
Joy Osmanski delivers a masterful performance that captures both the innocence of eight-year-old Merry and the haunted perspective of her adult counterpart. Her nuanced portrayal distinguishes between multiple timelines and characters without relying on obvious vocal tricks, allowing the psychological complexity to emerge naturally. Osmanski's restrained approach proves particularly effective during the story's most unsettling moments, where her measured pacing builds dread through silence and subtle inflection rather than theatrical dramatics. The audio format amplifies Tremblay's unreliable narrator technique, as listeners experience the same uncertainty about truth and memory that permeates Merry's recollections.