Chapter 150 Summary and Analysis – The Séance That Backfires
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Colin, hospitalized with a punctured heart and suffering photophobia from digoxin, sends his security chief Garrett to retrieve a conch and Wolf Messing’s helmet from the Cabinet of Curiosities at The Briars. Donna, who had promised to bring St. Helen’s blood, instead gave it to Gwen and cut off contact. Using the divination tools and a digital copy of the Elwood Hondo film, Colin tries to contact the spirit Elwood to kill Gwen’s allies. The attempt plunges him into a vision of the original 1970s séance where Llewellyn and others summoned Hondo. In the vision, Llewellyn reveals that all participants are dead and that Hondo brought them to him, not the other way around. Colin wakes to find Elwood Hondo standing beside his bed. Hondo puts on the helmet and smothers Colin with a pillow. Colin dies, calling out to Arthur in his final thoughts.
Key Events
- Garrett returns from The Briars with the conch and helmet; Colin instructs him not to disturb him.
- Colin recalls his exchange with Donna: she gave St. Helen’s blood to Gwen, not him, and accused him of lying about Gwen’s intentions.
- Colin arranges the helmet and conch, plays the Elwood Hondo film, and enters a trance.
- In the vision, Colin sees Llewellyn and the other mediums; Llewellyn says everyone at the table is dead and that Hondo brought them to him.
- The vision shows the table levitating, chairs crashing, and a reel-to-reel playing the song “Bad Mistakes.”
- Colin wakes to darkness; he sees Hondo in his phone camera reflection.
- Hondo dons the helmet, quotes “a perfect fit,” and uses Colin’s own pillow to smother him.
- Colin dies, imagining Arthur holding a light, then plunges into eternal darkness alone.
Character Development
Colin: Shows profound vulnerability and fear for the first time. His physical weakness mirrors his moral decay—he tries to use the same séance methods that created King Sorrow, but this time he is the victim. His final thoughts of Arthur reveal a deep, unacknowledged reliance on Arthur’s steadiness and courage, suggesting Colin understood Arthur as a moral counterweight he lacked.
Elwood Hondo: Appears exactly as the evil entity Colin sought to control. His casual murder of Colin demonstrates that Hondo is neither a tool nor a servant; he is an autonomous, malevolent force that exploits any weakness.
Garrett: Obedient but skeptical; his discomfort when Colin warns him not to enter the room foreshadows danger.
Donna (off-page): Her choice to give the blood to Gwen and her harsh words to Colin mark a definitive break. She sees through Colin’s manipulation and aligns with Gwen, whom she now believes saved her life.
Themes, Symbols, and Motifs
The Danger of Summoning Evil: Colin attempts to weaponize Elwood Hondo the same way King Sorrow was used, but the entity instead destroys him. The chapter reinforces that dark forces cannot be controlled—only served or destroyed.
Light and Darkness: Colin’s photophobia and his longing for a Cree hi-thrower symbolize his descent into moral darkness. The black scribbles over the vision participants’ eyes represent death; Colin fears they will cover his own. Arthur, remembered as someone who carried daylight, contrasts with the suffocating darkness of Hondo’s presence.
The Conch and Helmet: These divination tools, associated with past figures (Aztec conch, Wolf Messing), are conduits for the séance. The helmet’s “perfect fit” on Hondo suggests that evil finds a home in those who invite it.
We Are the Champions / Bad Mistakes: The distorted song from the conch underscores Colin’s final recognition of his own life as a series of grave errors. The lyrics “I’ve made a few” directly parallel his acknowledgment.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 150 is a turning point: Colin, the master manipulator who spent the novel using occult forces for his own ends, is killed by the very entity he hoped to command. His death leaves Gwen and Donna without their primary antagonist, but also releases Elwood Hondo into the world freely, raising the stakes for any survivors. The chapter also closes Colin’s arc by showing his ultimate regret—not for his cruelties, but for losing Arthur, the one person who might have saved him from the darkness.
Study Questions and Answers
1. What does Colin hope to accomplish by the séance, and why does he fail?
Colin wants to summon Elwood Hondo to eliminate Gwen’s remaining supporters. He fails because he is physically and spiritually weakened—his heart is failing, he is on morphine, and he underestimates Hondo’s autonomy. Instead of being a tool, Hondo seizes control and kills Colin.
2. How does Donna’s decision to give the St. Helen’s blood to Gwen affect the plot?
Donna’s betrayal deprives Colin of healing and pushes him to desperation. It also aligns Donna with Gwen, creating a potential alliance against Colin. The act reveals Donna’s moral shift: she chooses Gwen’s mercy over Colin’s cynicism.
3. What does the vision of the 1970s séance reveal about the nature of King Sorrow / Elwood Hondo?
The vision shows that Hondo is not merely summoned—he actively brings the summoners to his realm. Llewellyn’s line “everyone around this table is dead now” implies that Hondo has been collecting victims all along. The séance was never a control; it was a trap.