The Gilgul

by Henry W. Hocherman

The day of a wedding--ostensibly the happiest day of a person's life--becomes for Karen Gordon, memorable for another reason when she is possessed by a hideous evil and turned into a mass of putrefying flesh

Genres: Horror, Paranormal

350 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1990

Reviews

[Grady Hendrix · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jewish brides spray blood out their nipples and finger-bang the nurses at the local loony bin, sending their shocked fiances to Miami where they get drunk and pick up street walkers in an attempt to die of liver failure or get AIDS. The Holocaust dead appear as ghosts and march of singing into the skies over Long Island and a local therapist gets injected with HIV+ blood to teach him a lesson. Not a particularly sensitive depiction of Judaism or AIDS. Or getting married, as far as that goes. Great stepback art behind that cover, though.

[GracieKat · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've read this. I thought some of the sexual stuff was pretty gratuitous but I liked the twist at the end that explains why the ghost possessed the young lady.

[Coral · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was PAINFUL to read.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite trying its hardest, The Gilgul is proof that possession novels can’t all be The Exorcist.

While Hocherman deserves some credit for taking a totally different view on possession, it’s still a bit of a slog to get through. I will admit that the first 1/2 of this book kept my interest as I wondered how things were all going to be explained but overall it ends up being overly long by about 50 pages and any spooky moments are quickly forgotten as the penultimate moment reveals the true nature of the Gilgul.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Jewish horror novel. It seems that a beautiful young bride is taken over bodily by the dead. Or, Gilgul. The groom to be freaks out and runs to Florida. The mom tries to kill her offspring. The dad seeks out religious council. The friend and his shrink make a pact with the Gilgul. This has it's moments. To few to be a real winner.

[Amanda Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Gilgul opens with a memorable premise: on the day of her wedding, Karen becomes the victim of a malevolent entity rooted in Jewish mysticism - a Gilgul. As her behavior spirals out of control she ends up in a straightjacket at the local hospital. Friend of the groom, journalist Neil DeLuca, becomes ensnared in the strange happenings and supernatural mystery. From there, the novel descends into a bizarre and unsettling blend of supernatural horror, gothic atmosphere, and body horror.
This is an unapologetically wild story, equipped with outrageous sexual encounters, graphic gore, and a Holocaust revenge subplot. Like a lot of 80s/90s horror novels it's disturbing, unpredictable, has some strange sex stuff thrown in here and there, and of course there’s AIDS.
The incorporation of Jewish folklore gives the possession story a unique identity, while the gothic tone keeps the sense of dread building throughout. If you're looking for conventional horror, this probably isn't it. But if you enjoy transgressive fiction that mixes religious mysticism with visceral horror and isn't afraid to push boundaries, The Gilgul delivers.
Despite long winded explanations and a few large passages of telling instead of showing, this uncanny slow burn tale of Jewish lore and possession was exactly my kind of wedding story.

[Phrique · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve come to regard vintage horror books as ghost stories your drunk uncle tells you. Some are good, some are bad, most of them are problematic by today’s standards, and they usually throw gratuitous sex scenes in at the most random spots. This one did not stray from that whatsoever. This was just a ghost story my Jewish uncle told me, and in the name of Jewish horror, it wasn’t horrible. It gets a pass for working in a decent revenge story regarding the Holocaust and a court scene that I would have loved to sit in on. 👀 Uncle started to stumble a bit with the blood-spewing nipples and when they diddled the nurse’s skittle, and the AIDS angle was…a choice…but he got back on track eventually. Overall, I’ve read worse & like the majority who did, I read this mainly for the cover art. 👰🏼

[Gregory Dark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aside from a few pretty shocking scenes to set things up, this is chock full of Jewish history, superstitions, and culture. I skimmed a few passages that went on and on. It’s an interesting relic for sure but I can see why he wrote just the one book.

[Alice]

*This sounds so wrong in every way, but Grady put it in Paperbacks From Hell... even though he gave it a 2 star, I'm still morbidly curious about it. Plus I want to see the cover art in person.*