Favorite short story by Stephen King?

[Kyriakos]

I finally read some stories by King, having been discouraged to do so before due to the movie adaptations which i mostly disliked.

I read only three of his stories, all three in a collection titled "the Graveyard Shift".

Of these i sort of liked the two, and one of them i liked quite a lot, the one titled (i am translating here so the original title might be another) "the final step". I did not expect King to be consciously using symbolism, more so of the particular type found in that story, which i am very fond of in literature, so i was rather impressed.

I also read the anti-smoking company one, but i found it to be too epidermic and not at all even trying to have a deeper level. Nice idea, but not my preferred type of story

By short story i mean anything up to 40 pages.

So, do you have a favorite story by King, and which is it? You can also mention why.

 

[PeteAtoms]

I enjoyed "The Jaunt" in Skeleton Crew.

 

[SuperJay]

It sounds like you have the collection called Night Shift in the American edition. That's the one with "Quitters, Inc," but I'm not sure what "The Final Step" story is that you're referring to - maybe "The Last Rung on the Ladder?" Is it the one about the sister who commits suicide?

Some of my favorites:

"Gray Matter" from Night Shift always stuck with me. It's a simple story, nothing amazing from a literary standpoint, but it's creepy and memorable. (That should be in the book you have.)

"The Little Sisters of Eluria" is another favorite, mostly because it's a nice glimpse into Roland's world from a different angle than we get in any of the Dark Tower books. The "little sisters" are also referenced in Black House.

"Jerusalem's Lot," of course - that's central to King's fictional world; it operates as a prequel to the "Salem's Lot" novel, and is connected to various other books and stories, including "Wolves of the Calla" in the Dark Tower series, the short story "One for the Road" in the same collection, the epic novel "The Stand," and IIRC, "Children of the Corn." It's probably longer than 40 pages but whatever.

"Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" can't go unmentioned. IMO it's one of his best stories. Longer than 40 pages of course, but it's a must-read if you're interested in King at all, especially in his non-horror stories, especially if you enjoyed the "Shawshank Redemption" movie. (Also one of the best adaptations of one of his stories for film, alongside "Stand By Me.")

Gotta go for now, more later

 

[Kyriakos]

It sounds like you have the collection called Night Shift in the American edition. That's the one with "Quitters, Inc," but I'm not sure what "The Final Step" story is that you're referring to - maybe "The Last Rung on the Ladder?" Is it the one about the sister who commits suicide?

Great deducing work, Holmes Indeed it is the last rung on the ladder

The book i have also includes the children of the corn, the lawn-mower man, gray matter and a few more stories. Not sure if it is the exact copy of the english edition of the similar title

 

[SuperJay]

Great deducing work, Holmes Indeed it is the last rung on the ladder

The book i have also includes the children of the corn, the lawn-mower man, gray matter and a few more stories. Not sure if it is the exact copy of the english edition of the similar title

Haha thanks, I'm actually kind of amazed I remember it by name. It's been years since I read that collection.

More stuff:

I also really enjoyed the mysterious gentleman's club where eerie stories are told by the members, featured in both "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands" (from the Skeleton Crew collection) and "The Breathing Method," from Different Seasons. Both are intriguing stories-within-stories.

"The Body," is of course one of his most famous stories, the nostalgic coming-of-age tale that was adapted into the film "Stand By Me." This story is also part of Different Seasons. (I highly recommend you read that collection, by the way.)

Oh man, "The Mist" (from Skeleton Crew) is SO worth mentioning. I'll never forget the way that story ends. Again, just an excellent, gripping tale.

 

[Kyriakos]

I read "Gray matter" yesterday.

It reminded me a bit (or rather quite a lot) of Arthur Machen's "The recluse of Bayswater/the novel of the white powder". The latter is my favorite horror story of all time.

I think it was a good story, although a bit too much relying on supernatural things. Also the ending was not particularly good imo, since King seems to have tried to provide a global threat scenario, which in my view was not that needed in this story.

I did like the general atmosphere and the way it was narrated. The main characters had considerable life i think.

Another issue with it is that supposedly it is being narrated as things happen, but we do not know to whom it is being narrated. Of course this could have had the effect of placing us, the reader, in the story, as a person in that store, but it did not work perfectly well in that sense i think- at least not for me (maybe i am to blame though too).

Overall a nice story I did dislike the quasi-frequent use of bad language though...

 

[RedRalph]

Autopsy Room Four and Beachworld

 

[SuperJay]

I read "Gray matter" yesterday. It reminded me a bit (or rather quite a lot) of Arthur Machen's "The recluse of Bayswater/the novel of the white powder". The latter is my favorite horror story of all time.

Good work! King was definitely influenced by Machen. I don't know if this particular story was intended as a deliberate homage to Machen or not, but the similarities between "Gray Matter" and "White Powder" are almost too many to be coincidental.

I think it was a good story, although a bit too much relying on supernatural things. Also the ending was not particularly good imo, since King seems to have tried to provide a global threat scenario, which in my view was not that needed in this story. I did like the general atmosphere and the way it was narrated. The main characters had considerable life i think.

Oh come on, the ending was great. Maybe you didn't need that bit where the narrator is calculating the exponential number of 'creatures,' but when the creature is openly revealed for the first time and is seen dividing, that's an excellent, chilling moment that escalates the horror of the situation. King likes these kind of endings - where you get just a brief glance at the terrible implications but don't see the whole situation play out in full.

Autopsy Room Four and Beachworld

Good call on both stories. I'd forgotten Beachworld entirely, but I definitely remember Autopsy Room Four, and I'm resisting the urge to make a cheap pun on the word "stiff"

 

[Kyriakos]

I found many good things in the ending, but i think King tried to fit in too many different potentially working fine by themselves, pinnacles to the plot. For example a pinnacle could have been the realization that the lost children were eaten by the creature. Another that the creature was dividing. Yet a third one that it merely appeared on the door and was battled.
Maybe he wanted to have a multiplying effect, and maybe he does have that in other readers, but i felt it was too many different plot lines in too little space.

I had the same problem with the ending of quitters.inc since by then it does not really mean much to verify that the mob was meaning its threats (i refer to the part where a finger is missing from the wife of a secondary character).

Got to keep in mind though that i speak as a fellow writer, and i have my own peculiarities. That said i am rather enjoying King's book. Before it the most modern thing i had bought was Camus, Sartre and Ionesco (late 1960s)

 

[Wolfbeckett]

Longer than 40 pages, but The Mist is my favorite. The movie adaptation blew but the actual story is one of my favorites of his, of any length.

 

[Skwink]

Maybe you guys could help.

Spoiler :

I'm trying to remember the name of one of his books where the king is poisoned by his son, the younger one, and his other song, the rightful prince, is framed and locked in the tower, where he uses the doll house to make a rope?

 

[Wolfbeckett]

The Eyes of the Dragon is the book you are thinking of Skwink. One of the first King novels I read and quite a bit different from his usual stuff.

 

[Skwink]

The Eyes of the Dragon is the book you are thinking of Skwink. One of the first King novels I read and quite a bit different from his usual stuff.

Ah, thank you very much.

 

[NovaKart]

Most of the movie adaptions are terrible. A big reason for that is that they are mostly made for TV movies and made for TV movies usually suck. I've read several of his novels but not short stories but I think I'll give that a try.

 

[Kyriakos]

I read the boogeyman last night.

Well, i rather disliked it. But i have to mention that i had read a synopsis of it long ago, so the story could not effect me to its full force...

Some parts were nice imo,

Spoiler :

like the progression in the children's deaths, and how each tried to speak of the enemy in the room

but overall i found it too weak, and also it had something which i do dislike, namely having a supernatural explanation be almost the sole one. I mean one could still claim that this is psychologically explained, but surely this would not be the norm to do for this tale.

Next i will probably read the children of the corn, although i recall that the movie of it was so pathetic that i stopped watching after two minutes...

 

[SuperJay]

but overall i found it too weak, and also it had something which i do dislike, namely having a supernatural explanation be almost the sole one. I mean one could still claim that this is psychologically explained, but surely this would not be the norm to do for this tale.

I don't quite follow what you're saying, but if you're bothered by the inclusion of supernatural phenomena in fiction, I suspect you may be reading the wrong author. Granted, not everything King writes is horror and not every story involves the supernatural, but he's not going to appeal to you if you expect everything to have a "realistic" explanation at the end of the story. (I mean

Next i will probably read the children of the corn, although i recall that the movie of it was so pathetic that i stopped watching after two minutes...

It's an alright story, but I don't remember thinking it was particularly remarkable one way or the other. Don't base your thoughts on the movie, though - his stories are often horribly mangled in the adaptation. (Pet Sematary, Stand By Me, and Shawshank Redemption are examples of stories that did transition well, but they're the exceptions rather than the rule.)

 

[Wolfbeckett]

So due to the power outage yesterday and having nothing else to do, I picked up Skeleton Crew and was reading it. I haven't read this in like 12 years. The Mist was just as good as I remembered, it's still overall my favorite, but I have to say that Mrs. Todd's Shortcut is competing for equal space in my mind right now. This one didn't stick at all the first time I read this book, I didn't even remember it, but it stuck hardcore this time.

 

[Kyriakos]

Just read "The man who loved flowers".

Although i did guess what was going to happen, i liked the story a lot. Really i am surprised with King, and i have to state again that the movies of his work made me think he was a very bad writer. But he does have talent. I am happy that i got the book

 

[azzaman333]

I don't like any of them.

 

[SuperJay]

So due to the power outage yesterday and having nothing else to do, I picked up Skeleton Crew and was reading it. I haven't read this in like 12 years. The Mist was just as good as I remembered, it's still overall my favorite, but I have to say that Mrs. Todd's Shortcut is competing for equal space in my mind right now. This one didn't stick at all the first time I read this book, I didn't even remember it, but it stuck hardcore this time.

I do remember that one, it's an interesting tale. Definitely not what appealed to me when I was a teenager, but I've found it much better since, like you said. (Pet Sematary was the same way for me. I didn't get what actually made it so scary when I was younger. I was like "LOLzombiecats kk." Reading it as an adult, it was terrifying.)

Really i am surprised with King, and i have to state again that the movies of his work made me think he was a very bad writer. But he does have talent. I am happy that i got the book

Glad to hear you've come around a bit. I'm not the most die-hard fan of his or anything - and I readily acknowledge that a lot of his stories or novels are junk - but there's a reason he's one of the best-selling novelists in the world. He actually does have some talent after all.