Shrine (novel)

Shrine (1983) is a horror novel by English writer James Herbert, exploring themes of religious ecstasy, mass hysteria, demonic possession, faith healing and Catholicism. The story is about Alice Pagett, a deaf-mute child who's cured one night when she runs to an oak tree behind St. Joseph's, her local church. She's found by reporter Gerry Fenn and, when news of her cure spreads, their village becomes ablaze with publicity. After Alice performs several "miracle" cures in front of the tree, and claims to have seen the Virgin Mary there, it starts to be treated as a Lourdes-like shrine by Catholic pilgrims. St. Joseph's priest, Father Hagan, however, senses spiritual danger.

Characters

• Alice Pagett, "miracle" healing child
• Molly Pagett, Alice's mother, a devout Catholic
• Len Pagett, Alice's father, an atheist
• Gerry Fenn, an ambitious journalist
• Father Hagan, troubled priest of St. Joseph's
• Monsignor Delgard, paranormal investigator for the Catholic church
• Bishop Caines, Hagan's superior
• Sue Gates, Gerry's lover and fellow journalist
• Nancy Shelbeck, American journalist

Style

Each chapter begins with a quote from a famous literary work, often a fairy tale or poem dealing with folklore, like the Grimms' canon, Peter Pan, and Hans Christian Andersen. The third-person narrative switches between several points of view, including village businessmen, Catholic officials, and other minor, as well as important, characters. According to critic Adrian Schober: "It is a pretentious novel, with aspirations to the literary [...] Unfortunately, Herbert is never able to transcend his melodramatic B-grade imagination, which is perhaps what allows the book to succeed at all."^[1]

References