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Voluntary Committal
This short story was originally published in Joe Hill's collection 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS.
336 pages, ebook
First published October 16, 2007
91 people are currently reading
474 people want to read
About the author
Joe Hill
507 books29.8k followersJoe Hill's debut, Heart-Shaped Box, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His second, Horns, was made into a film freakfest starring Daniel Radcliffe. His other novels include NOS4A2, and his #1 New York Times Best-Seller, The Fireman... which was also the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel.
He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.
He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.
He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.
He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
September 4, 2025
Our narrator, Nolan, takes us through his memories of his younger brother Morris, who has recently gone missing from the local Mental Health Centre. He was there voluntarily. Morris had been diagnosed with various illnesses as a child, including depressive schizophrenia and compulsive personality disorder.
When Morris was younger, he was good at building things with Dixie cups. This then developed into him making forts out of cardboard boxes and other materials. Nolan remembers how these structures were elaborately constructed, and when you went inside them, they felt different from what they looked like on the outside, full of tunnels, twists and turns.
When Nolan and his friend Eddie get into trouble, Eddie threatens Nolan. Morris overhears this, and it upsets him. The next time Eddie comes over, Morris persuades Eddie to go and take a look inside his latest creation, which he keeps in the basement...
This is part of a collection of short stories and novellas by Joe Hill, all of which are from his book 20th Century Ghosts but are also available to read individually. I think this was one of the slightly longer ones, but also the best.
I enjoyed this; it was a pretty good, original, creepy story. It is left fairly ambiguous; nothing is ever really spelt out, but as the story progresses you can use your imagination as to what happened. It seems Morris had a special talent.
When Morris was younger, he was good at building things with Dixie cups. This then developed into him making forts out of cardboard boxes and other materials. Nolan remembers how these structures were elaborately constructed, and when you went inside them, they felt different from what they looked like on the outside, full of tunnels, twists and turns.
When Nolan and his friend Eddie get into trouble, Eddie threatens Nolan. Morris overhears this, and it upsets him. The next time Eddie comes over, Morris persuades Eddie to go and take a look inside his latest creation, which he keeps in the basement...
This is part of a collection of short stories and novellas by Joe Hill, all of which are from his book 20th Century Ghosts but are also available to read individually. I think this was one of the slightly longer ones, but also the best.
I enjoyed this; it was a pretty good, original, creepy story. It is left fairly ambiguous; nothing is ever really spelt out, but as the story progresses you can use your imagination as to what happened. It seems Morris had a special talent.
October 16, 2025
The novellas of Joe Hill stands out among the best. This story is not an exception. It starts out with three main characters, Nolan, the big brother, Morris, the little brother that is a bit on the strange side and Eddie that seems to have a negative effect on Nolan. Morris is more than he seems. This is proven through his creative ability with the simplest of everyday items. These range from Dixie cups to plain paper boxes. What he creates defines himself and affects others around him.
There is suspense, guilt, confusion, compassion and a bit of the supernatural. Smooth prose with a dash of Hill’s flair. Some foreshadowing but not overdone. Good read in general.
There is suspense, guilt, confusion, compassion and a bit of the supernatural. Smooth prose with a dash of Hill’s flair. Some foreshadowing but not overdone. Good read in general.
February 23, 2015
Definitely the best one in the collection. Really enjoyed this one!
It was quite a bit longer than the others, more of a novella than a short story, but it was a really fun read.
This was an early sign of the brilliant stories that were to come from Joe Hill.
All reviews can be found at http://lennonslair.blogspot.co.uk
It was quite a bit longer than the others, more of a novella than a short story, but it was a really fun read.
This was an early sign of the brilliant stories that were to come from Joe Hill.
All reviews can be found at http://lennonslair.blogspot.co.uk
September 28, 2014
Voluntary Committal is one of the most amazing novellas I've read in 2014. Once again Joe Hill breaths more fresh air into the horror genre! With so many over done cliches filled with vampires, teen slashers and the walking dead, Joe Hill shows us that we can have original plots that take place within a horror setting! One of the many things I admire about Joe Hill is that he gives us characters we can care about and would like to see survive until the end of the adventure. They have flaws, imperfections, likeable personalities, and realistic problems. As Joe Hill so elegantly put it, "You want to cringe every time their life it put in danger." As a avid horror fan I find it charming when someone can actually make me connect with the main protagonists in any horror story.
The basic set up of this precious morsel is the regret and ongoing trauma of a older brother named Nolan. His younger sibling named Morris who has a strange ability to open up doors or gateways to other worlds. Joe Hill does the right thing by keeping these abilities mysterious and varied enough, so you get the genuine creeps throughout the whole 40 page story. We are also introduced to the troubled delinquent Eddie who pulls our main protagonist into a world of regret and trouble. I found all three of these main characters very interesting and very unique.
I give this story a five out of five stars! It's definitely one of my top three favorite stories in 20th Century Ghosts! And for the most hardcore Joe Hill fans, my fan theory is that Morris' ability is really his inscape!
The basic set up of this precious morsel is the regret and ongoing trauma of a older brother named Nolan. His younger sibling named Morris who has a strange ability to open up doors or gateways to other worlds. Joe Hill does the right thing by keeping these abilities mysterious and varied enough, so you get the genuine creeps throughout the whole 40 page story. We are also introduced to the troubled delinquent Eddie who pulls our main protagonist into a world of regret and trouble. I found all three of these main characters very interesting and very unique.
I give this story a five out of five stars! It's definitely one of my top three favorite stories in 20th Century Ghosts! And for the most hardcore Joe Hill fans, my fan theory is that Morris' ability is really his inscape!
June 5, 2013
My favorite story in Hill's collection 20th Century Ghosts. 20th Century Ghosts It is novella-length, I forget the exact page count. It involves childhood life-and-death trauma and the talents of the narrator's younger schizophrenic brother to make problems disappear. 20th Century Ghosts is as strong as Hill's father's first collection, Night Shift - and "Voluntary Committal" is its strongest story, IMHO.
April 12, 2019
The best story in the entirety of 20th Century Ghosts. A shy boy named Nolan gets wrapped up in the troublesome affairs of a juvenile delinquent named Eddie. Nolan is a decent kid, but his biggest flaw is that he doesn’t have the backbone to tell people no. Eddie takes advantage of this, getting Nolan involved in some pretty nasty situations, one of which causes a serious accident that sets Nolan up for a life full of guilt and regret.
Nolan has a mentally ill little brother named Morris that seems to have the strange ability of opening portals to other worlds by creating complex tunnels and fortresses with cardboard boxes. After the accident that severely injured an entire family, Nolan wants to break off his friendship with Eddie but he doesn’t have the spine to say no. Since Nolan can’t say no, Morris takes the initiative.
Morris leads Eddie into the basement where he has elaborately constructed a tunnel of boxes and playfully tricks Eddie into venturing inside the tunnel to retrieve one of his belongings. Eddie never comes back out.
A strange yet satisfying thriller with just the right amount of ambiguity. Three boys with very different personalities come together to form a horrifying story with high tension and shocking results.
Nolan has a mentally ill little brother named Morris that seems to have the strange ability of opening portals to other worlds by creating complex tunnels and fortresses with cardboard boxes. After the accident that severely injured an entire family, Nolan wants to break off his friendship with Eddie but he doesn’t have the spine to say no. Since Nolan can’t say no, Morris takes the initiative.
Morris leads Eddie into the basement where he has elaborately constructed a tunnel of boxes and playfully tricks Eddie into venturing inside the tunnel to retrieve one of his belongings. Eddie never comes back out.
A strange yet satisfying thriller with just the right amount of ambiguity. Three boys with very different personalities come together to form a horrifying story with high tension and shocking results.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 5, 2014
A well written and creepy tale about the little brother who built tunnels in the basement out of cardboard boxes with some unexpected results!
I would highly recommend this short little story to fans of Joe Hill and horror readers in general. It's very imaginative!
I would highly recommend this short little story to fans of Joe Hill and horror readers in general. It's very imaginative!
June 10, 2013
Interesting story of an unusual child who builds forts that are more than forts.
September 10, 2013
Highly enjoyable short story. Pretty much in the vein of his father, Stephen King, its a tale of weird and magical happenings set in the dull background of suburbia. Need to get the collection next!
December 9, 2019
Technically this was read to me rather than my reading it--a friend read it aloud at a ghost story reading party--but I did hear the whole thing, so that counts.
Prior to this, the only part of Joe Hill's work I had read was the Locke & Key books, which is much more overtly supernatural than Voluntary Committal was. This story is much less about magic and monsters, though, and more about personal issue and familial bonds. Nolan is an ordinary kid, he has an ordinary family and does okay in school, and his brother Morris is rather odd but very good at childish architecture, starting with building elaborate castles out of plastic cups before moving on to Legos and then to cardboard boxes, taking over the entire basement to build forts. Nolan falls in with Eddie Price and thus into thoughtless delinquency, until they commit a deed that has real consequences for someone else. They try to forget about it, but Morris can see that Eddie is causing a problem for Nolan and decides that the simplest solution is to make the problem...go away.
I was a little bothered by the reappearance of the "developmental disabilities give you superpowers" trope, like some kind of RPG character creation where people take Dyslexia and use the points to buy Telekinesis, but I appreciated how the entire story was from Nolan's perspective and so he only sees Morris from the outside. Morris clearly is aware of his ability but can't really explain it, and his forts and architecture have a goal but it's only defined through his offhand statements. Most of the story is about Nolan meeting Eddie, Nolan and Morris, and Nolan's reaction to Eddie's disappearance. It feels like the concept behind From a Buick 8 but done much better.
Prior to this, the only part of Joe Hill's work I had read was the Locke & Key books, which is much more overtly supernatural than Voluntary Committal was. This story is much less about magic and monsters, though, and more about personal issue and familial bonds. Nolan is an ordinary kid, he has an ordinary family and does okay in school, and his brother Morris is rather odd but very good at childish architecture, starting with building elaborate castles out of plastic cups before moving on to Legos and then to cardboard boxes, taking over the entire basement to build forts. Nolan falls in with Eddie Price and thus into thoughtless delinquency, until they commit a deed that has real consequences for someone else. They try to forget about it, but Morris can see that Eddie is causing a problem for Nolan and decides that the simplest solution is to make the problem...go away.
I was a little bothered by the reappearance of the "developmental disabilities give you superpowers" trope, like some kind of RPG character creation where people take Dyslexia and use the points to buy Telekinesis, but I appreciated how the entire story was from Nolan's perspective and so he only sees Morris from the outside. Morris clearly is aware of his ability but can't really explain it, and his forts and architecture have a goal but it's only defined through his offhand statements. Most of the story is about Nolan meeting Eddie, Nolan and Morris, and Nolan's reaction to Eddie's disappearance. It feels like the concept behind From a Buick 8 but done much better.
August 30, 2017
Classic magical realism
This is a masterful short story. It's written from the point of view of a young man, his brother and his "friend" (really one of those strange relationships, more of a dominance struggle),, that can develop during the high school years. It is written in the form of a "confession." Yet this confession, like his friendship with Eddie, isn't a confession. It is a dark secret about the disappearances of first Eddie and then, years later, that of his brother.
It begins with a brief description of his brother Morris; who, although never correctly diagnosed, appears to be autistic. That and an architectural/engineering/artistic "idiot savant". Morris's abilities are revealed to us as they develop, beginning with building houses and buildings out of papers cups at first.
When he moves into dominoes, he attains brief local celebrity status with a creation which, when the first domino is struck and they fall down, is a masterpiece reminiscent of Leonardo daVinci.
Things come to a head when Eddie begins to lead the narrator in a direction clearly leading to juvenile delinquency. Morris is able to comprehend this plus his brother's emotional torture as a result.
Using Eddie's fascination with his creations, which are now made using cardboard boxes, Morris decided to help his brother in an unusual way.
When Morris becomes unable to function in the outside world, he voluntarily agrees to live in a mental institution. Within a year of his move, the adult boys are orphaned. Look for some beautiful prose here.
The protagonist, a responsible brother, maintains close contact with Morris until one day, when he receives a phone call informing him that his brother has gone missing. In his last visit to Morris' residence, he discovers that Morris had never outgrown his interest in designing complex structures out of boxes.
I love the way Hill, similarly to his father Stephen King, can weave a great story appealing to a wide variety of people. His stories are interesting and compelling. And for those of us who love to jump into a text, lingering over phrases, symbolism and metaphors - it definitely doesn't disappoint.
This is a masterful short story. It's written from the point of view of a young man, his brother and his "friend" (really one of those strange relationships, more of a dominance struggle),, that can develop during the high school years. It is written in the form of a "confession." Yet this confession, like his friendship with Eddie, isn't a confession. It is a dark secret about the disappearances of first Eddie and then, years later, that of his brother.
It begins with a brief description of his brother Morris; who, although never correctly diagnosed, appears to be autistic. That and an architectural/engineering/artistic "idiot savant". Morris's abilities are revealed to us as they develop, beginning with building houses and buildings out of papers cups at first.
When he moves into dominoes, he attains brief local celebrity status with a creation which, when the first domino is struck and they fall down, is a masterpiece reminiscent of Leonardo daVinci.
Things come to a head when Eddie begins to lead the narrator in a direction clearly leading to juvenile delinquency. Morris is able to comprehend this plus his brother's emotional torture as a result.
Using Eddie's fascination with his creations, which are now made using cardboard boxes, Morris decided to help his brother in an unusual way.
When Morris becomes unable to function in the outside world, he voluntarily agrees to live in a mental institution. Within a year of his move, the adult boys are orphaned. Look for some beautiful prose here.
The protagonist, a responsible brother, maintains close contact with Morris until one day, when he receives a phone call informing him that his brother has gone missing. In his last visit to Morris' residence, he discovers that Morris had never outgrown his interest in designing complex structures out of boxes.
I love the way Hill, similarly to his father Stephen King, can weave a great story appealing to a wide variety of people. His stories are interesting and compelling. And for those of us who love to jump into a text, lingering over phrases, symbolism and metaphors - it definitely doesn't disappoint.
January 17, 2017
Wow! is the most fitting statement for this story. It is a chapbook (really a novella) about a man who feels he is going insane after the disappearance of his brother and childhood friend. His brother is autistic and builds these elaborate cardboard forts down in the basement. This is his ability, but the forts are so elaborate that they don't just run through a bunch of boxes, they run into somewhere else entirely.
This was a very original story, and very creepy. It has been a long time since I was disturbed by a book, but this one did just that! Joe Hill is Stephen King's son, and this was one of his first releases, through the small publisher. But I gotta say if he keeps writing like this, he will give his father a run for his money. A great book!
This was a very original story, and very creepy. It has been a long time since I was disturbed by a book, but this one did just that! Joe Hill is Stephen King's son, and this was one of his first releases, through the small publisher. But I gotta say if he keeps writing like this, he will give his father a run for his money. A great book!
February 10, 2019
Very interesting!
You know how you read a book and the story might be fun or what not, but you know you're reading because the characters are just too large for life or flat or unlikable? Not this book. Joe Hill has a very cool knack for writing strangeness around incredibly developed characters which intensifies the mysterious storyline. I like a book that makes me forgot I am even reading. This is my third Joe Hill behind Horns (very entertaining) and Heart Shaped Box (terrifying). I'll keep reading his books.
You know how you read a book and the story might be fun or what not, but you know you're reading because the characters are just too large for life or flat or unlikable? Not this book. Joe Hill has a very cool knack for writing strangeness around incredibly developed characters which intensifies the mysterious storyline. I like a book that makes me forgot I am even reading. This is my third Joe Hill behind Horns (very entertaining) and Heart Shaped Box (terrifying). I'll keep reading his books.
March 19, 2013
Again, this is one where I wish I could do 3.5. I liked it. Not sure why I didn't give it a 4, but 3.5 is strongly where I would put it. Lol
This is a story about 3 children really, two brothers and a trouble-maker, bully type friend. The bully talks one of the brothers into doing something that has ramifications for the rest of their lives.
This is a story about 3 children really, two brothers and a trouble-maker, bully type friend. The bully talks one of the brothers into doing something that has ramifications for the rest of their lives.
July 18, 2014
Wow!Not very long as audible titles go, but wow.
August 3, 2014
This is a good story, though it partook perhaps a little too much of the style of its inspiration. I'd like to see this notion blown up into a book.
May 6, 2015
Short story from 20th Century Ghosts about a savant who uses cardboard boxes to "build". Creepy & chilling.
October 18, 2016
Just a really good and kinda creepy short story. It was fun to read it and it's definitely one of the best in the 20th Century Ghosts collection.
December 16, 2016
Ооооо, брилянтно! Това е разказът, в който си личи чий син е Джо Хил и какъв точно потенциал има! Малки момченца със странни възможности, мистерии, заигравки с времепространството... чудно! 6/5!
May 27, 2017
Excellent. One of Hill's best.
October 30, 2017
Thoughtful
A melancholy story about growing up and connection to siblings with a sinister undertone. The cleverness is that the narrative doesn't say too much - just enough.
A melancholy story about growing up and connection to siblings with a sinister undertone. The cleverness is that the narrative doesn't say too much - just enough.
April 14, 2025
Another story examining the relationship between brothers. This story reminded me a lot of "The End of the Whole Mess" by Stephen King; I did like this story; it had a good atmosphere and there were a couple lines that really hit home and were nicely phrased. I would just like to have seen what was on the other side of the doorways; maybe that is what is hinted at in the ending.
July 27, 2022
I LOVE Mr. Joe Hill
Joe's literary "voice" is very much like his Father's. In "Scheherazade's Typewriter" for instance, I knew as soon as I read the words old electric typewriter, that it was going to be an IBM Selectric. This is what SK references throughout his stories and career, so it's no surprise to me that his son would also use this in at least one of his stories. I'm not comparing son to father, Joe is already a fabulously brilliant spinner of tales in his own right, and I've loved everything he's written. I'm no literary critic, just a dear, longtime reader, but I gave this a 4 star only because I didn't quite get that "I just finished a satisfying, belly full, filling meal" feeling that I usually get with Joe Hill. As if the stories weren't quite finished. Still, I do LOVE me some Joe Hill!
Read it!
Joe's literary "voice" is very much like his Father's. In "Scheherazade's Typewriter" for instance, I knew as soon as I read the words old electric typewriter, that it was going to be an IBM Selectric. This is what SK references throughout his stories and career, so it's no surprise to me that his son would also use this in at least one of his stories. I'm not comparing son to father, Joe is already a fabulously brilliant spinner of tales in his own right, and I've loved everything he's written. I'm no literary critic, just a dear, longtime reader, but I gave this a 4 star only because I didn't quite get that "I just finished a satisfying, belly full, filling meal" feeling that I usually get with Joe Hill. As if the stories weren't quite finished. Still, I do LOVE me some Joe Hill!
Read it!
November 3, 2020
I think Joe Hill has a knack for writing creepy stories that are rather short. Less than a hundred pages, maybe. I mean, "Voluntary Committal" is a very yummy snack I could see myself getting addicted to. He left out many, many things unexplained, but I cannot be mad at him because knowing that I don't know anything that can explain them giving the shivers and the creeps.
Voluntary Committal is a story about a rather unusual brotherhood. The narrator's quirky brother loves to build things, from cup towers to cardboard forts, and from there the story unfolds. Because his cardboard forts are probably not 'just' forts.
Oh, and one more thing: Joe Hill is definitely better at writing endings than his father.
Voluntary Committal is a story about a rather unusual brotherhood. The narrator's quirky brother loves to build things, from cup towers to cardboard forts, and from there the story unfolds. Because his cardboard forts are probably not 'just' forts.
Oh, and one more thing: Joe Hill is definitely better at writing endings than his father.
March 1, 2022
This has to be the best story in 20th Century Ghosts. It didn't blow me away but it is unique and quite effective in delivering super-natural horror and developing memorable characters. This story is far and away the best in the collection because it is the only one Hill devotes enough time on to make the reader invested. The frustrating thing about this story is it shows what Joe Hill is capable of and how he could have improved so many of his other stories to the quality of this one.
This story involves two brothers, one an average teenager with a trouble maker best friend and an autistic brother who makes mysteriously otherworldly forts with boxes down in his basement. The three lead characters were all memorable and I enjoyed the strange nature of the story.
This story involves two brothers, one an average teenager with a trouble maker best friend and an autistic brother who makes mysteriously otherworldly forts with boxes down in his basement. The three lead characters were all memorable and I enjoyed the strange nature of the story.
May 8, 2023
There were a few aspects of this book that I really enjoyed as metaphors for life as a young child. Falling in with a troublemaker and being too shy to pull yourself out. The experience of having a close friend who (in this case literally) simply disappears from your life one day. The way we build walls to forget the scariest parts of growing up and the way that incidents can knock that wall down. This isn’t Joe Hill’s best story (the prose tended to drag on at points compared to the other, way more concise stories in 20th Century Ghosts) but it’s some of the best allegory I’ve read recently.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2021
This was such a good story. It had a ton of mystery and kept me wanting more. I love Joe Hill because he writes very unique stories and has quite the eccentric imagination. I will read anything he puts out and highly recommend picking up a Joe Hill book next time you have the chance! Great short story and one of my favorites in the collection.
April 6, 2023
rating-3.25
a creepy story of 2 brothers with one of them being autistic brother who builds mysterious lovecraftian fort/castles with cardboard boxes.
- the story was good and creepy with coming of age undertones and had well written characters.
-i am not fond of stories about children or their POVs so it wasn't in my wheelhouse
recommended
a creepy story of 2 brothers with one of them being autistic brother who builds mysterious lovecraftian fort/castles with cardboard boxes.
- the story was good and creepy with coming of age undertones and had well written characters.
-i am not fond of stories about children or their POVs so it wasn't in my wheelhouse
recommended
June 9, 2025
Brilliant coming of age story about Nolan, Morris and Eddie Prior? Where did two of the boys vanish two? What about Morris' cardboard constructions? How do the kids proceed in life? Joe Hill comes up with an absolutely outstanding tale. Well carved characters and some incredibly darkness inside. A true page turner. Loved this one and can highly recommend it!
July 1, 2020
Povest müəllifə mükafat qazandıran ilk əsərdir. Joe Hillə olan sevgimi onsuz da bilirsiniz. Qısadır, ona görə boş vaxtınızda göz atmağınızı məsləhət görürəm. Yüngül qorxu və triller havası əladır, mövzunun uzanmaması dadı damaqda qoyur. #jmıx birnəfəsə
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews