The 29 Best Stephen King Short Stories
Stephen King is one of the most successful fiction writers of all time. Over the course of his career he’s written more than sixty novels and more than two hundred short stories.
Stephen King was a name I’d heard long before I ever read any of his works. Even in the 90s in Germany, his popularity was huge, even among those who’d never read his books. This was primarily because of the many movie adaptations of his work.
The very first book of his I ever read was The Gunslinger, and I remember how impressed and fascinated I was by it. It was different from anything I’d ever read before. I was a young teenager, and until then most of what I’d read consisted of folk tales, fables, fairy tales or books I had to read for school.
Stephen King’s The Gunslinger was full of bloody action and cursing, and set in a world so strange and vast it blew my mind. After The Gunslinger, I devoured the rest of his Dark Tower series, four books at the time, and absolutely loved them.
Over the years, though, I only read a few more of Stephen King’s works, some released under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman. I read all of the Dark Tower, The Stand, The Dark Half and the Bachman novels Thinner and The Long Walk. Not a whole lot of Stephen King’s vast body of work.
Being a horror writer, I made a decision a while back to read deeper into horror literature. Lovecraft’s complete works came first, then Poe’s, and Stephen King’s catalog followed naturally from there.
Since I’m mostly a writer of short stories, I decided to start with his short story collections. Over the last couple of months, I read all six of them, and I must say it was a very enjoyable experience. There’s without a doubt a reason that Stephen King is so popular and well liked.
After I finished The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, I decided to put together a list of my favorite Stephen King short stories.
Something worth noting, though, is that Stephen King is a much more prolific writer than I’d originally thought. I’d expected his collections to consist solely of horror or suspense, but there are quite a few stories that are a bit different. While I enjoyed almost all of them, I was hoping for horror, terror and suspense. Some stories were different from that, and I felt a bit disenchanted by them and didn’t include them in this list.
I’ve also put together a full guide to the Stephen King novellas, if his longer short fiction is what you’re after.
But now, on with the list of my favorite Stephen King short stories.
Fiction by René Rehn
But now, on with the list of my favorite Stephen King short stories.
29. Cain Rose Up (Skeleton Crew)
Cain Rose Up is a story that you’d most likely not see published these days because of its disturbing subject matter. It’s a short tale about Curt Garrish, a university student.
We follow Curt as he walks back to his room and interacts with some fellow students before he starts a murderous sniper rampage from his dormitory room.
It’s a story that’s utterly unsettling and disturbing. The most disturbing aspect was how normal Curt was in his interactions with other people. Sure, his mind was clearly disturbed, but he was able to put on a facade, pretending to be just another student before he started shooting the place up. I’m not sure if King had this specific idea in mind, but I feel the story showed just how normal otherwise screwed up people can act.
There are also the things the narrator sees and imagines. His idea of why it doesn’t matter that he kills those people. It’s truly disturbing, and more so because of how believable it is.
28. Survivor Type (Skeleton Crew)
Stephen King himself wrote about this story that he likes his stories grisly, but that this one might have gone a bit too far, even for him.
I have to agree with him, but this also makes the story stand out. It’s more gruesome and absurd than almost any other of Stephen King’s short stories I’ve read.
The story is written as the diary of a surgeon, Richard Pinzetti. He was aboard a cruise ship, attempting to smuggle a large amount of heroin, when the ship sank. He escapes via a lifeboat and finds himself stranded on a tiny island with limited supplies and no food.
The diary reveals that Pinzetti thinks of himself as a survivor type. Determined to hold out until rescue comes, he goes to horrifying lengths to survive. Desperate for food he eats insects, kelp and seagulls. After breaking his ankle and a subsequent infection, he amputates it. Yet he doesn’t waste it, and that’s barely the beginning.
What made this story much more interesting was King’s detailed backstory for our main character. It’s for this reason that everything else works out so well and makes sense, at least in a way.
The diary format also works increasingly well as it showcases the narrator’s descent into madness brought on by drug abuse, blood loss and starvation.
Truly one of the most disturbing Stephen King short stories, one that made me quite uncomfortable, yet it’s interesting, if only to see how far King can go.
27. That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French (Everything’s Eventual)
King suggested that hell is not “other people”, as Sartre claimed, but repetition, enduring the same pain over and over again without end.
That’s what this story about déjà vu is about. A woman named Carol is on her second honeymoon, yet as she and her husband drive along the road, she gets this strange feeling, the one you can only say what it is in French. She knows the places they’ll pass, the things they’ll see, and eventually it all ends with the same bloody outcome. Only to repeat.
It’s never explicitly stated what happened to Carol and her husband, but we get enough information to figure it out.
What I enjoyed most about this tale were the little hints and the strange feeling you get throughout the story. We all know the strange sensation of a déjà vu and how unsettling it can be. Just the idea of not having it once, but constantly, constantly knowing that you already saw the things you’re about to see and experience, yet never knowing why.
It’s downright creepy, and in a way I have to agree with King that this version of hell is truly terrifying. Yet this is a story that’s terrifying in a different way, in a truly existential way.
26. Willa (Just After Sunset)
Willa’s an odd little tale, but one that I enjoyed a lot. It’s different from the truly terrifying and gut-wrenching tales of Stephen King. Willa is a nice, almost cosy little story.
It’s about a man who’s at a train station with a few other passengers. He’s unable to find his fiancée, Willa, and sets out to find her in a nearby town. The others warn him that the train will arrive any minute and that it’s an almost three-mile hike to town through deserted terrain inhabited by wolves. He ignores their advice and heads out anyway, having a close encounter with a wolf.
Eventually he finds Willa at a club, sitting alone in a corner booth. He tries to convince her to come back with him, but as the two of them talk, he realises something he’s known all along.
Willa is a nice little tale, one that’s almost a romance story, if not for the haunting ending. I don’t know what it is that made me feel so strongly for this story. It might be that it’s not just a tale about love, but also one about life and its fragility.
This is a story different from usual Stephen King short stories, but it’s a good one and well worth the read.
25. The Reaper’s Image (Skeleton Crew)
The Reaper’s Image is a story about an antique collector, Johnson Spangler. He visits a museum to buy a legendary Delver’s mirror. The museum’s curator, Mr. Carlin, recounts the mirror’s infamous history and that anyone who’s looked into it mysteriously disappeared.
Supposedly the Grim Reaper is rumored to appear in the mirror, standing close to those who look into it. Spangler, of course, doesn’t believe it and looks into the mirror.
The Reaper’s Image is as typical as Stephen King short stories can be, but it’s by no means a bad tale. It has all the hallmarks of a great horror story. What I liked especially was the history of the mirror and how it sets the mood for the rest of the story.
While it’s not the most original or groundbreaking among the many other Stephen King short stories, it’s well worth the read for how unsettling it is.
24. Sneakers (Nightmares and Dreamscapes)
What I really enjoy about most Stephen King short stories is that they don’t happen in a vacuum. Stephen King is always able to put together a nice, living setting before he slowly introduces his horror.
Sneakers is the story of a recording studio executive, John Tell, who notices a pair of dirty old sneakers in a stall in the restroom at work. At first he assumes the shoes belong to an employee or a delivery person. However, when he visits the bathroom again, the sneakers are still there, haven’t moved, and are surrounded by dead flies and other bugs.
What made this story so great wasn’t just the unsettling imagery of the sneakers, but the framework narrative at the recording studio. The small details and intricacies Stephen King describes when talking about recording and editing made the story just a tad more interesting.
Stephen King once mentioned that people are naturally interested in the work and the jobs of others, and I have to agree that it’s true. While the mystery of the sneakers lured me in, I read as much for them as for the setting.
23. The Dune (The Bazar of Bad Dreams)
The Dune is an interesting and gripping little tale. Stephen King mentioned that The Dune features one of his favorite endings he ever wrote, and I have to agree. What makes this tale as good as it is, is the ending.
It’s the story of a retired judge named Harvey Beecher who has a lifelong obsession with a mysterious sand dune on a small Florida island.
As a child he ventured there for the first time, looking for buried treasure, only to find the name of someone written in the sand. Before long he discovers that the names are of people who are going to die within a month.
He confides this story to his lawyer, Anthony Wayland, whom he visits to help him with his last will.
The Dune was one of the shorter Stephen King short stories I read, but it was still one I truly enjoyed.
22. My Pretty Pony (Nightmare’s and Dreamscapes)
Stephen King once wanted to write a Richard Bachman novel about a group of hitmen. Eventually he grew disenchanted with the project and scrapped it. Yet one little part survived, a flashback scene in which the protagonist, as a child, talks to his grandfather.
In this story an elderly man, whose death is approaching, gives his grandson a pocket watch. After he’s given him the watch, he talks to him about time.
He tells him that when you grow up, time begins to move faster and faster, slipping away if you don’t hold onto it tightly. He ends by telling him that time is a pretty pony with a wicked heart.
It’s a fantastic story. Both characters, the old man as well as the grandson, feel alive and realistic. Yet what makes this story so great is the subject matter. It’s something that many of us realise. As we grow older, time starts to move faster. It’s a melancholic topic, one to muse on and one that hits a little too close to home.
21. Strawberry Spring (Night Shift)
The unnamed narrator notices the words “Springheel Jack” in the newspaper and recounts his memories from eight years back.
At the time he attended New Sharon College. On the 16th of March, 1968, the strawberry spring arrived. It brought thick fog, covering the campus at night, and also Springheel Jack, a serial killer. The narrator describes the dark mood it cast over the town, the various victims of the killer, the rumors that were spread about them and the toll it took on the entire community. Even worse, he states, no suspect was ever found and the case remained unsolved.
Now, eight years later, a new strawberry spring arrives and so does Springheel Jack. Another victim was just discovered at New Sharon College.
It’s a very creepy and visually unsettling story. As thick fog envelops the small town, fear and trauma envelop its inhabitants. It’s one of the darker and more melancholic Stephen King short stories, but it still packs a punch. It’s well worth the read, not only for its eerie and sombre descriptions and settings, but also for its great ending.
20. Dedication (Nightmares and Dreamscapes)
Dedication is different from other, more typical Stephen King short stories. It’s less a horror story than a weird mixture of things.
Now, full disclosure here, the story gets mentioned quite a lot because of a certain deed the protagonist commits. Frankly, it’s disgusting.
Yet to me, while that particular scene made me shudder, the rest of the story was well written and deeply interesting. Who knows, maybe it’s because I’m a writer myself, so reading about other writers might inherently be interesting to me.
It’s the story of a black maid named Martha Rosewall. One day she arrives at work, showing her friend and colleague, Darcy Sagamore, that her son’s first novel has arrived.
At the end of their shift, the two women meet up to have a few drinks and Martha reveals a secret to her.
Dedication is one of the darker Stephen King short stories, involving a violent husband, a gifted yet hateful and racist writer, and black magic. Yet Stephen King is able to mould all of those elements together into an interesting mixture and a great story, apart from maybe one little detail.
What’s interesting to note is that Stephen King wrote this story to explore the idea that sometimes gifted and famous people can be utterly horrible in real life.
Dedication is honestly one of the weirder Stephen King short stories, yet somehow I came to enjoy it and hold it dear.
19. The Raft (Skeleton Crew)
The Raft is a rather simple story, but one that I enjoyed quite a bit. It’s a typical horror story.
A group of college students goes to a Pennsylvania lake and swims out to a wooden raft. One of them, Randy, notices a mysterious black substance floating on the lake’s surface, and that it chases the last person to make her way to the raft.
One of them, Rachel, states that the strange substance’s surface shines in various beautiful colors and leans forward to touch it. When she does, she’s pulled into the water and torn apart by the substance.
From here on out, the story continues as the remaining three try to escape from the raft and the mysterious creature.
As I said, it’s a rather typical monster story, but Stephen King’s able to make things more interesting in various ways. There’s the setting, the titular raft. Our characters aren’t able to run away, they’re crowded together on a small raft.
Stephen King’s also able to make us feel for the characters. During the first half of the story we learn about their relationship troubles and their sadness, which in turn makes us feel for them more once the horror hits.
While it’s a simple story, and one of Stephen King’s earlier efforts, I enjoyed it all around. Stephen King is at his best here. It’s gory, violent and scary.
18. Autopsy Room Four (Everything’s Eventual)
Autopsy Room Four is one of Stephen King’s most suspenseful short stories of all time. The premise itself is downright terrifying and it made for some delightfully unsettling reading.
It’s about a man who wakes up in an autopsy room, paralysed after an incident during a golf game. While he’s conscious, his body appears to be entirely lifeless.
Soon enough the medical personnel present start to prepare for an autopsy, and our narrator struggles to somehow get their attention via small, minute clues.
What makes this story is the palpable tension, the idea of just lying there while people talk about which part of you to cut open first. And Stephen King is able to render it in acute detail.
Autopsy Room Four was one of the tensest reads I’ve ever had. The sheer idea of being in a situation like that made me shudder. My only problem with the story was the humorous ending, but I guess there are different ways to relieve tension. And I have to say, it was rather unexpected.
17. I Am the Doorway (Night Shift)
Stephen King has written his share of science fiction short stories. While I enjoyed him switching to different genres and subject matter at times, I wasn’t too big a fan of most of them.
I Am the Doorway stood out to me, though.
It’s the story of a former astronaut, Arthur. After being exposed to some sort of extraterrestrial mutagen during a space mission to Venus, he notices strange changes to his body.
Tiny eyeballs emerge from his fingertips, allowing an alien species to see into our world. Yet as the story continues we learn that this is not all they are able to do.
I Am the Doorway is a strangely surreal story, but one that’s truly creepy. I’m a big fan of body horror, and the idea of alien eyeballs sprouting from your own body is utterly unsettling to me. And as so often, Stephen King is able to describe them in intricate detail, making things so much worse.
Overall, a story that starts out kind of strange, but lures you in with a scenario that is both fascinating and terrifying.
16. Quitters, Inc. (Night Shift)
Good old Quitters, Inc., a story I first came to know in the anthology movie Cat’s Eye. The movie adapted three Stephen King short stories, Quitters, Inc. being the first one.
It’s the story of Richard Morrison, who meets up with an old friend at an airport. His friend used to be a heavy smoker, but has now given up the habit and enjoys a better life. Before he leaves, he hands Richard a business card for Quitters, Inc., a company that helps people give up smoking.
Unhappy with his life, he eventually pays the place a visit and learns of the rather unorthodox methods the company uses to get people to stop smoking.
It’s an interesting, yet somewhat bizarre concept. Of course a company like Quitters, Inc. would never work in real life, but the story itself works damn well. It’s such a strange concept, one that grows more terrifying as the story continues.
The story resonated with me especially since I’m a former smoker and know how hard it is to give up the habit and how easy it is to slip back into it.
Quitters, Inc. is one of my favorite Stephen King short stories and one that I enjoyed immensely.
15. 1408 (Everything’s Eventual)
1408 is one of the most popular Stephen King short stories of all time and one that I enjoyed immensely.
It’s the story of Mike Enslin, a writer of books about haunted places. His books are vastly successful, but Enslin himself is not a believer in the paranormal.
The story begins with his arrival at the Dolphin Hotel in New York City, intent on spending a night in the hotel’s infamous room 1408. A room that’s responsible for 42 deaths and 12 suicides over the span of 68 years.
The hotel’s manager, Olin, tries his best to get Enslin to give up on his idea, but he eventually agrees and leads him to the room.
From here on out the story picks up steam, as Enslin comes to experience the horror of 1408.
What made this story so great was the slow build-up as Olin tells the tale of the room itself and what happened there. Something that doesn’t only unnerve Enslin, but us, the reader.
What happens in the room itself is pure nightmare fuel, and Stephen King describes it in great detail, using stunning imagery. The horror that happens in 1408 is utterly surreal.
I think it’s one of his best pure horror stories, one that I enjoyed immensely. The only problem I have with the story is that the time Enslin spends in the room is rather short, taking up barely half the story.
14. The 10 O’clock People (Nightmare’s and Dreamscapes)
What an interesting and strange little story.
Our protagonist is Pearson, an office worker in Boston who’s tried giving up smoking before and has cut down on the habit.
During his ten o’clock smoke break, he witnesses a strange bat-like creature on its way into his office building. A young black man, Duke, stops him from screaming and calms him down. He explains that Pearson has to act normal and go about his day as usual.
The two of them meet up and Duke explains that it’s the unique chemical imbalance caused by nicotine withdrawal that allows them to perceive the creatures as what they really are.
Pearson learns that various people in positions of power are in fact not human, but batmen, as they come to call the strange creatures.
Duke is quick to invite Pearson to a meeting of his group, and eventually Pearson agrees.
I really enjoyed this story of monsters lurking among us and disguising themselves in the midst of society. It’s a premise that’s always interesting and The Ten O’Clock People delivers.
13. Children of the Corn (Night Shift)
Children of the Corn is another classic Stephen King short story. It’s another story I knew about because of its movie adaptations. While I enjoyed the movie for what it was, I was impressed by how good the original story was.
The story follows a couple, Burt and Vicky, as they are on their way to California for a vacation, in the hope of saving their failing marriage.
While driving through rural Nebraska, they accidentally run over a young boy, but soon discover that his throat was slit and that he must have stumbled onto the road. They decide to report the incident to the police and make their way to the nearest town, a small isolated community called Gatlin.
When they arrive there, however, the town is entirely deserted. There are no people, and the only building in town that seems to still be maintained is the church. While Vicky stays in the car, Burt explores it and finds hints of a strange cult. Soon after, the two of them have a run-in with the titular children.
What made this story so interesting was in large part the characters. Stephen King is great when it comes to writing realistic characters, and his portrayal of Burt and Vicky’s failing marriage and the tension between the two is incredibly well done.
Another great thing is the rich setting. Stephen King is able to fit a lot into this short story. We get beautiful descriptions of an abandoned town, religious subtext, crazy pagan children, endless cornfields and, of course, the terror lurking within.
Children of the Corn is without a doubt one of the best Stephen King short stories out there.
12. Gray Matter (Night Shift)
Another one of Stephen King’s earlier short stories.
The story is told from the perspective of an older man who sits together with his friends at a convenience store during a heavy snowstorm.
Soon a young boy, the son of a local man called Richie Grenadine, arrives. They all know the boy because he was sent to the store frequently to get beer for his father.
Henry, the store owner, takes the terrified boy aside and speaks to him privately. Soon after, Henry, the narrator and a few of the other men decide to take the beer to Richie personally. On the way, Henry tells them the terrifying story the boy told him.
Gray Matter is typical among the many Stephen King short stories and does exactly what it’s supposed to do, terrify us.
What made this story so great to me was the creeping horror, the disgusting imagery and the body horror so prevalent throughout it. It’s a fantastic, unique horror story that I truly enjoyed.
11. The Woman in the Room (Night Shift)
Here we have another different one among the many Stephen King short stories. The Woman in the Room is less a horror story and more a heart-wrenching tragedy.
It’s the story of a man burdened by deep remorse and pain because of his suffering, terminally ill mother. The story details the last time he visits her at the hospital.
The Woman in the Room might not be a horror story, but seeing our loved ones die is horrible. It’s a poignant read, a tale rooted in the real world and horribly relatable. While it’s essentially a simple story, the intimate way it’s told, the details and the descriptions make it so good.
We all have to say goodbye to our loved ones one day, and this story tackles it in the most heart-wrenching way.
What really stuck with me was the intricate description of the narrator getting drunk before he made his way to the hospital. It’s a fantastically sad tale with one of Stephen King’s strongest endings ever.
10. The Last Rung on the Ladder (Night Shift)
Another one of King’s more tragic stories, but one that I think is fantastically told.
The story concerns a man named Larry, who discovers his sister has taken her own life. He recounts how the two of them often played in the family’s barn when they were children. They’d climb to the top of a very tall ladder and leap into a huge haystack. However, the ladder was old and unsafe, and on the last turn it broke, leaving his sister clinging to the last rung.
This intense scene, though, is only the beginning, and Stephen King ties it together with the rest of the story, showing the impact the incident had on both Larry and his sister.
This is a deeply and stunningly emotional tale. What made it so great was the tie-in between past and present. Everything about this raw and emotional story is great, and the ending is simply fantastic.
9. The Ledge (Night Shift)
The Ledge is another early Stephen King story that I first came to know from the anthology movie Cat’s Eye.
Our protagonist is a man named Stan Norris, who’s being held by Cressner, a wealthy crime boss. Cressner intends to get revenge on him because Norris had an affair with Cressner’s wife.
Instead of killing him outright, Cressner proposes a wager. If Norris is able to circumnavigate the small ledge surrounding the building in which the penthouse is located, he can have both Cressner’s wife and \$20,000.
Should Norris refuse, he’ll be framed with heroin possession and never see his lover again. Without any other option, Norris accepts the wager and makes his way outside.
As someone who’s afraid of heights myself, this story disturbed me immensely. I was anxious throughout, and it didn’t help that Stephen King painted such a great picture of the view down onto the street. I couldn’t help imagining myself out there, on the ledge, about to fall. It was an incredibly nerve-racking read, but one that came to a very satisfying conclusion.
The Ledge is one of the best stories in Stephen King’s Night Shift, and it stands out because the horror is entirely feasible and relatable.
8. Graveyard Shift (Night Shift)
Graveyard Shift is one of my favorite Stephen King short stories. It’s such a dark, visual tale of horror, it’s amazing.
It’s the story of a young man named Hall who’s been working at a textile mill in Maine. Warwick, his foreman, recruits him and others to clean the basement of the mill. It’s been abandoned for decades and over the years it’s become infested with rats.
As the men make their descent, they start to notice how severe the rat infestation is. Eventually they discover the source of it, a sub-basement, and eventually Hall and Warwick descend to investigate.
There’s something about cleaning an old, abandoned basement in the middle of the night. Adding in a rodent infestation only serves to make things worse.
Yet King isn’t satisfied with just this, and he makes the story much worse and much more nightmarish.
I truly loved this story. Once more, Stephen King, as so often, is able to make his characters realistic and interesting.
The best part about this story, however, were the visuals. The dark, decrepit tunnels and rooms of the mill’s basement, and later the sub-basement, are rendered in intricate detail, as are the rodents who infest it.
Graveyard Shift is a true treat for any horror fan out there.
7. The Moving Finger (Nightmare’s and Dreamscapes)
There are horror stories that only allow us a glimpse at the true horror, or only at part of it. The Moving Finger is one such story.
It’s the story of a man named Howard Mitla. One day, when going to the bathroom, he finds a human finger poking out from the bathroom sink.
At first he denies the finger’s existence, but when he returns to the bathroom, it’s still there, and eventually more and more of it starts to push out from the drain.
Finding a finger pushing out of a sink is already creepy and surreal enough, but that finger extending and growing longer and longer makes it so much worse.
Yet, as I mentioned at the start, this is only part of the horror, for a finger can’t exist by itself and must be part of something.
6. Crouch End (Nightmare’s and Dreamscapes)
Crouch End is one of Stephen King’s Lovecraftian horror tales. As a fan of Lovecraft, I truly enjoyed this rendition of his.
The story starts off with two police constables in London, Ted Vetter and Robert Farnham, who work at a small station in the London suburb of Crouch End.
The two of them discuss the case of Doris Freeman, an American woman who reported the disappearance of her husband and spoke of monsters and supernatural occurrences.
Doris relates that she and her husband got lost in Crouch End while searching for the home of a potential employer. As they wandered the neighbourhood, it became strangely deserted and alien, and things got weirder and weirder.
I really love the idea of places in which the dark of the universe can slip through more easily than in others, and where the influence of otherworldly entities is stronger.
What made this story was the warping of Crouch End and the descriptions of the outlandish place it becomes, as well as the strange things going on there.
Crouch End is a fantastically creepy story that works so well because it’s not only about being lost in an unknown place, but a place that’s truly alien and surreal.
5. The Reach (Skeleton Crew)
Stephen King has his share of sad or wholesome short stories. The Reach might be one of the best, if not the best story of this kind he’s written.
It’s the story of Stella Flanders, one of the oldest residents of Goat Island. She’s never crossed the reach, the water that separates the island from the mainland, stating she never had a reason to go.
Stella starts to have visions of the dead people of the island and realises that her time to go is approaching. Dressed in her warmest clothes, she decides to finally make her way across the frozen reach towards the mainland.
The Reach is a story that’s both sad and beautiful. It’s a tale ripe with emotion and one that made me tear up quite a bit at its ending.
I highly recommend people read this one. It’s fantastic, if different from Stephen King’s usual work.
4. Jerusalem’s Lot (Night Shift)
I’m a big fan of H. P. Lovecraft, and Jerusalem’s Lot is the closest any of Stephen King’s short stories ever came to him.
It’s an epistolary short story, written as a series of letters and diary entries by a man named Charles Boone and his manservant, Calvin McCann.
The story details what happens after Charles Boone and his manservant arrive at Chapelwaite, the ancestral home of Charles’ dead cousin. Many of the people in a nearby town consider them mad for living in the mansion because of its history of strange events, disappearances and mysterious noises.
Eventually they discover a deserted village called Jerusalem’s Lot. Thus starts their exploration of the decrepit place, as well as their uncovering of the Boone family line and how it’s connected to Jerusalem’s Lot.
While the format of the story might not be for everyone, I came to really enjoy it. The plot is close to what one’s used to from Lovecraft. A slow, deliberate uncovering of an old family mystery and the mysterious powers the family dealt with.
As a Lovecraft fan, I absolutely loved this story. The writing is as close as Stephen King ever got to Lovecraft, and the ending is simply fantastic.
One of the best, if not the best story from Stephen King’s Night Shift.
3. Gramma (Skeleton Crew)
Gramma might be the most suspenseful story Stephen King has ever written. While there are other Stephen King short stories that are ripe with tension, there’s something about Gramma, about the intimacy with which it’s told and the narrative voice, that made it stand out to me.
The story details what happened one day when an eleven-year-old boy named George Bruckner has to watch over his grandmother. His mother has to leave because George’s thirteen-year-old brother has broken his leg playing baseball, and drives to the city an hour away.
The remainder of the story details not only what happens that day, but also events he’s witnessed earlier in his life regarding his grandmother.
Before long, George hears strange noises from his grandmother’s room and eventually realises that she’s died. But this is only the beginning of the story.
What made this story so enjoyable was the narrative voice. The entire story is written from the perspective of a young boy who’s clearly freaked out about what’s going on. Stephen King’s able to nail this voice and the thoughts of a young boy perfectly. It makes you wonder if King was ever in a similar situation, left alone with an invalid relative as a young boy.
The story is also fantastically written and told in a way that never releases the tension. Instead, the suspense just keeps growing and growing.
Definitely one of my favorites and one of the best Stephen King short stories of all time. I absolutely loved it.
2. The Jaunt (Skeleton Crew)
I stated before that many of the Stephen King short stories in the science fiction genre were hit or miss for me. The Jaunt was definitely a hit. I think it’s one of the absolute greatest short stories he’s ever written.
The story is set in a future in which a form of instantaneous teleportation called the Jaunt has been developed, allowing man to colonise the solar system.
The story begins with Mark Oates and his family at one of the Jaunt terminals in New York City. While the family waits for their turn to be jaunted, Mark relates to them the history of how Victor Carune, an eccentric scientist, discovered the Jaunt.
What I really enjoyed about this story was the pseudo-history of the Jaunt and its creator. I don’t know why, but I really enjoy these pieces of invented history in fiction, and Stephen King tells it masterfully. Yet there’s more to this tale. This is not merely a history lesson, as we soon learn when Mark’s story takes a darker turn.
It’s an absolutely fantastic story, masterfully told, containing a concept that is both fascinating and utterly terrifying.
I can’t recommend The Jaunt highly enough.
1. Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut (Skeleton Crew)
Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut is my favorite Stephen King short story of all time.
The narrator, David, meets his elderly friend Homer. The two of them talk about Mr. Todd and his new wife, and how different she is from his former wife, who vanished years ago.
Homer then relates his experiences with the former Mrs. Todd and her habit of finding shortcuts. At first things are normal enough, as she explains her different routes, their length and the time it takes her to get from point A to B. Soon enough, though, the tale gets stranger as Homer realises there’s no way some of her shortcuts are possible.
The entire concept of this story is incredibly unique and told in such an interesting way, I couldn’t stop reading.
I think anyone who’s used to driving certain distances has tried to find shortcuts before. Mrs. Todd’s habit, however, almost borders on an obsession, and that’s what makes things so interesting. The meticulous way she explains things to Homer, the minute detail Stephen King goes into describing her routes. Even before the weird and strange elements were introduced, I was drawn in and interested in learning more about Mrs. Todd’s various shortcuts.
I don’t know what it was, but I was absolutely blown away by this story and the idea behind it. There’s something about it, among the many other Stephen King short stories, that made it stand out to me.
Even though it was one of the first of his short stories I read, I was constantly thinking back to how good it was. That’s the reason I think Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut is the best of the two hundred plus Stephen King short stories out there.
