Line #37 Literature/HeartShapedBox


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2	[[quoteright:324:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/HeartBox_9245.jpg]]
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4	The first full-length horror novel by Creator/JoeHill.
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6	Semi-retired rockstar Judas Coyne likes to complement his dark and edgy persona with a [[CollectorOfTheStrange collection of strange and macabre items]], most donated by his fans. These include things like a witch's confession, a used hangman's noose, and a genuine SnuffFilm (which he only saw once, then locked away forever). One day, he is sent an email directing his attention to the online auction of a dead man's suit, evidently still haunted by the dead man's ghost.
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8	[[ShmuckBait Jude doesn't even think twice before buying it.]]
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10	Soon enough, the suit is delivered to his place in a [[TitleDrop heart-shaped box]]. And what do you know... the ghost reveals himself to be real! Except the dead man, Craddock [=McDermott=], a hypnotist and occultist in life, doesn't like Jude one bit. It turns out Jude unknowingly has a connection with the dead man, and the real ghosts of his past are about to come back with a vengeance.
11	----
12	!!''Heart-Shaped Box'' provides examples of:
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14	* AbusiveParents: All over the place.
15	** Jude's father was a wife-beating, drunk asshole who broke his son's fingers after Jude's first attempt to learn guitar playing. [[spoiler:In his final assault, Craddock uses Jude's dying father as a vessel, making the attack even more nightmarish.]]
16	** Jessica seems to be a loving mother, but [[spoiler:is secretly involved in ParentalIncest practices on her daughter, encouraged by Craddock]].
17	** Craddock takes the cake as the most hideous character in the cast. He abused both his daughters [[spoiler:sexually, and using hypnotism to make them more receptive]], then manipulated Jessica [[spoiler:into making her daughter another object for his incestuous practices]], and finally topped himself with taking Florida away from Jude, trying to put her back into her original state [[spoiler:as his sex slave]], and when that fails, conspires with Jessica [[spoiler:to kill Florida and destroy Jude]].
18	* ArcWords: Craddock spouts a couple.
19	** "We will ride at nightfall."
20	** "The dead pull the living down."
21	* BlackEyesOfEvil: Craddock has sinister black shapes covering his eyes, looking like someone marked them out with a pencil. [[spoiler:Subverted when another, non-malicious ghost is revealed to have the same kind of eyes. Florida later reveals it's the only way for ghosts to see the world of the living without being blinded, like Jude is when he sees Heaven.]]
22	* CollectorOfTheStrange: Jude. Bordering on TooDumbToLive, since he keeps purchasing all sorts of morbid curios even after one of them [[spoiler:- the SnuffFilm -]] directly contributes to the smoldering wreck his personal life is.
23	%%* CoolCar
24	* ADarkerMe: Jude's persona and attitude at the start of the novel is an identity he created to distance himself from his abusive father [[spoiler: and how he'd felt he'd sold out his mother for a kiss from his father at the age of 9]]. He also notes that most of his goth girlfriends are very deliberately trying to erase their former selves, or at least the place they'd come from.
25	** This later becomes a plot-point. [[spoiler: In a subversion of IKnowYourTrueName, Jude's attempts to contact Anna only succeeds once he calls himself "Judas Coyne" and Anna "Florida", revealing that they have a deeper connection to their later identities than to their origins.]]
26	* DarkIsNotEvil: Jude is a heavy metal star and a morbid, cynical JerkAss, but definitely not as evil as his act would suggest.
27	* DeepSouth: Birthplace of most of the characters, and the location of most of Jude and Georgia's haunted road trip pursued by Craddock.
28	* DistractedFromDeath: [[spoiler:Angus dies on the backseat of Jude's car without Jude noticing at first, with only a few minutes passing between the last time he saw Angus alive and when he realizes the dog finally died.]]
29	* DoNotAdjustYourSet: One of Craddock's favourite methods of communication, talking through televisions, radios, an electrolarynx, etc.
30	* DrivenToSuicide: Craddock's favourite MO. [[spoiler:Didn't quite work on Florida, though.]]
31	* EvilDetectingDog: Jude's two dogs, [[Music/{{ACDC}} Angus and Bon]], can detect Craddock's presence, and protect him and Georgia for most of the story. [[spoiler:That is, until Craddock eventually kills both of them.]]
32	* {{Fingore}}: A recurring motif.
33	** Jude's father punishes him for running off to play a show in New Orleans by smashing his left hand in the basement door. The after-effects of the injury force Jude to start playing guitar left-handed.
34	** Georgia pricks her thumb on a (phantom) pin in Craddock's suit, leading to an infection that gradually eats away at both hands.
35	** Reese shoots Jude's right index finger off.
36	* FreudianExcuse: Nearly every named character in the book is at least somewhat maladjusted, which can be traced back to their troubled, abusive childhoods. CharacterDevelopment, however, helps Jude and Georgia begin to heal even as they fight for survival.
37	* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: [[spoiler: Jessica Price, Anna's older sister, was Craddock's first victim and he certainly uses MoreThanMindControl to keep her under control. However, she (unlike Anna) kept all her memories of Craddock raping her and her sister but still remained his [[TheDragon loyal]] and [[DarkMistress willing]] co-conspirator. Reaching adulthood without ever accepting the reality of who and what Craddock was, she allows him to rape Reese, ''her own daughter'' and later even helps Craddock kill Anna when she finally remembers everything and threatens to expose their misdeeds. Still Craddock's victim, but far from helpless in her own complicity.]]
38	* GhostlyGoals: Type B -- making the living suffer is an end in itself.
39	* GirlFriday: Jude's lawyer has shades of this, being one of his former "State Girls" and the person who provides a coverup story for his "adventure".
40	%%* HellIsThatNoise
41	* GoodBadGirl: Georgia/ Mary Beth initially comes across as a goth bimbo GirlOfTheWeek for Jude, but once CharacterDevelopment occurs and HiddenDepths emerge, she's more clearly a moral, intelligent and loyal person.
42	* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Georgia [[spoiler:started off as a molested teen,]] moved on to being a stripper and by the time we meet her, she's been Jude's lover for a while, fully aware of her sex toy status. It doesn't stop her from genuinely caring for Jude, taking his verbal abuse and tolerating his weirdness. She stays with him to face Craddock despite the odds, [[spoiler:even attempting to pull a HeroicSacrifice in the end. She survives, and the two eventually get married]].
43	* ImpaledPalm: Jude drives a shard of a smashed platinum record into his hand in order to stop himself from killing Georgia under Craddock's influence.
44	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Jude is rather prickly as a person, especially to his girlfriends, who all end up leaving him due to his aloof nature and verbal abuse (when he doesn't leave ''them'', like he did with Florida). It's easy to assume based on how young they are he's really only just using them for sex. However, it's shown throughout the novel that deep down he does care about them and other people, and it's the years of abuse he endured throughout his life that's caused him to act like a Jerkass.
45	%%* MagicMusic
46	* MayDecemberRomance: All of Jude's "state girls" are considerably younger than he is. At one point he realises he is possibly older than Georgia's ''grandmother.''
47	* TheNicknamer: Jude nicknames all of his girlfriends after their state of origin. He briefly freaks out when it's revealed that Georgia's grandmother's nickname, Bammy, is short for "Alabama". In the epilogue, we get to meet another "State Girl".
48	%%* OurGhostsAreDifferent
49	* {{Revenge}}: Craddock's motivation initially seems pretty straightforward - a PapaWolf taking revenge beyond the grave upon the man who [[SpurnedIntoSuicide drove his mentally ill stepdaughter to suicide]]. The sadistic glee he takes in tormenting Jude and Georgia, and his [[spoiler: [[KickTheDog murdering Danny even after he left]]]], hints that there's more to the haunting than your typical [[TheScourgeOfGod Scourge Of God]] scenario. [[spoiler: Indeed, Craddock ''is'' out for revenge; not because Jude destroyed Anna's self-esteem, but instead because Jude [[GrewASpine inadvertantly helped Anna find the courage to face the truth]] and break free from being his SexSlave.]]
50	* SecretKeeper: Jude kept the secret about one of his bandmate's homosexuality well after the latter's death.
51	* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: Jude is a veteran rocker, but hasn't actually played with his band in a long time. He spent four years addicted to cocaine, but kicked the habit.
52	* ShoutOut: Lots of shout outs to RockAndRoll, including the book's [[Music/{{Nirvana}} overall title]] and [[Music/LedZeppelin the title]] [[Music/{{ACDC}} of each]] [[Music/NineInchNails of its]] [[Music/PearlJam four sections]].
53	* SnuffFilm: Because of his reputation as a CollectorOfTheStrange, he gets sent a snuff film from a fan. He accepts the gift, and eventually his wife finds it, which instantly ends the marriage.
54	* SociopathicSoldier: A vision of the past reveals Craddock to have been one, using his powers to fuck with a POW's head.
55	* StageName: Judas Coyne. His real name is Justin Cowzynski.
56	** MeaningfulName: "Judas Coyne" is an allusion to how Jude felt about his relationship with his parents, especially about allowing the continuing abuse of his mother by his father.
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Context Literature / HeartShapedBox