Horns

Horns (2009), a horror novel with strong paranormal themes by Joe Hill, centers on a man who commits many terrible deeds one night and wakes up the next morning with devil horns. He must find out what the horns mean and why God has abandoned him. The book received nominations for the 2010 Bram Stoker Award and the 2011 Locus Award. Hill is the pen name of Joseph King, a New York Times bestselling horror and fantasy writer, best known for his debut book, Heart-Shaped Box. Horns is his second novel. He is the son of Stephen King, the internationally bestselling horror writer.

Horns takes place in Gideon, New Hampshire. The protagonist is 26-year-old Ignatius Perrish. His younger brother, Terry, is a TV star, and his father is a famous musician. Ignatius always feels like the odd one out because he doesn’t have any special talents. To make matters worse, someone raped and murdered his girlfriend, Merrin Williams. The police can’t find the killer, but everyone secretly blames Ignatius.

The book begins as Ignatius wakes up after a heavy night of drinking and partying. Hungover and miserable, his problems are only just beginning. Ignatius runs his hands over his forehead and feels bony protrusions sticking out from his skin. They’re not just bony protrusions, though—they’re devil horns.



Ignatius has no idea what to do. At first, he assumes that he’s hallucinating. However, when the horns don’t disappear, Ignatius must accept that they’re real, a part of him now. He is terrified to show anyone else the horns, but no one else around him seems to notice the horns, or if they do, they don’t care.

After some deliberation, Ignatius goes to a medical clinic. The doctors don’t know how to help him; when they touch Ignatius’s horns, they are compelled to confess their darkest desires and secrets. Ignatius feels like the most powerful man in the world. He decides to take full advantage of the horns—and how good it feels when someone touches them.

Ignatius receives a shock when he visits his closest friends and family. His parents admit they think that he killed Merrin. They want him out of their house and don’t want to speak to him again. Desperate, Ignatius goes looking for a friendly face. He tells his casual girlfriend, Glenna, about what happened, but she’s not interested; she only cares about confessing her sins. She admits that she had sex with another man the night before and she’s sorry for it.



Ignatius thinks the horns are more trouble than they’re worth, until his best friend, Terry, approaches him with a startling confession—he knows who killed Merrin. The killer is a man called Lee, the same man with whom Glenna slept. Ignatius plans to take revenge, but first, he needs more evidence.

In the meantime, Ignatius reminisces about the good times he had with Lee. He remembers how, for so many years, they were inseparable. They vowed to never let girls come between them, and for a while, they stayed true to their promise. However, when Merrin shows up at the local church one day, their friendship is never the same.

Ignatius flirts with Merrin first, but Lee comes on stronger. Ignatius backs off because he doesn’t want to lose his friendship over a girl. Lee’s strong-handed tactics don’t work and Merrin prefers Ignatius. Lee never recovers from his humiliation although he acts as though everything is okay. It makes sense to Ignatius that Lee killed Merrin, and he vows to put Lee behind bars.



In the meantime, Lee reflects on his own situation. He was convinced that he and Merrin belonged together, but she ruined everything. He offered her the world, and she threw it back in his face. In a blind rage, Lee raped and murdered Merrin for rejecting him. This isn’t the first time Lee has committed a brutal and sadistic act, but it’s the first time he has killed someone. Although he knows he went too far, he doesn’t plan to repent or pay for his sins.

Ignatius confronts Lee about what happened. He touches Lee, but Lee is immune to his compulsive confession power; he won’t admit to anything. Ignatius visits the murder site to see if he can dig up any clues. Deciding that he’s the Devil, after all, he asks the local snakes and beasts to help him get revenge.

Ignatius compares Merrin to Eve. He claims that God abandoned Merrin, letting Lee rape and murder her. No loving God would do such a thing. Ignatius decides that the only loving entity is the Devil, because the Devil embraces people for who they truly are, no matter what crimes they commit. The Devil, in other words, forgives everyone.



Lee sneaks up on Ignatius, setting him on fire. Ignatius survives the fire, planning to kill Lee. He lures Lee back out to the woods, but Lee is too smart for him. Lee beats Ignatius with a heavy object; Ignatius retaliates, strangling Lee with a snake. Ignatius fakes his own death and disappears, satisfied that he took revenge.