** spoiler alert ** I wanted to like this book - I really did. The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby both utterly creeped me out and had consistent plot lines, neither factor of which was to be found in this book. Sadly, the plot kind of meanders in places - the possession stuff wasn't as scary as I would have liked. The book was relatively well-written, with some excellent descriptions of imagery, but other than that it was lacking. Plus it had one trait I usually despise in a book, because it makes it so un-satisfying, which is a cliffhanger-y, "let's see how you, gentle reader, interpret this ending" - no closure.

I like the vague endings sometimes in a standard/drama novel, but I like my horrors (psychological or not) to have a clear ending. This book did not. What the hell was up with that ending? I haven't been so mad since I read Stephen King's "Cell", another one with the vague ending. I could discuss the ending with someone... the boy gets grabbed up by the father and the demon is supposedly outside.

We as readers are never told what happens to George's son, nor are we ever really told if George killed anyone actually, or if the demon even ever existed (George could just be crazy, and this too is left up for interpretation).

If you want to read a good horror story in which you never know if the ghost really existed, but it's far creepier and has a clearer ending, you need to check out Shirley Jackson's "Haunting of Hill House". Just my opinion.