15 Greatest Stephen King Short Stories Of All Time

The greatest tales from the master storyteller.

stephen king

Stephen King is not just one of the greatest novelists currently on the go, but he has been one of literature's most prolific short fiction writers since the 1970s. Many of his stories are pure horror, focused on macabre monsters, grisly murders and told by unreliable narrators, but he also has his fair share of heartbreaking tales.

A master of not just conjuring up sinister creatures that lurk in the shadows and horrid people who may well exist within society, King has an uncanny ability to draw up compelling and powerful characters and events in a very short period of time. With a novel, readers have hours of reading to get to know the characters and story playing out; with a short story or novella, King is able to maintain that incredible detail and narrative power even when he has less time to share his vision.

The following list will take a look into the deepest, darkest pits of Stephen King's bibliography, from the stories that spawned a franchise, the stories that make you think, the tales that make you reminisce, and the novellas that make you squirm and think about what you've just read for hours after you've turned the last page.

Stephen King is a visionary, a true master of his craft, and these tales prove it without question.

stephen king

1408 tells the story of supernatural skeptic Mike Enslin. Enslin writes hugely successful books about his experiences in supposedly "haunted" hotels across the United States, though he himself is a firm believer that ghosts and the like are not real.

His latest project takes him to the Dolphin Hotel in New York, where the infamous room 1408 has been left vacant by hotel manager Mr Olin because of the sheer number of suicides and bizarre deaths that have occurred there. Despite Olin's protests, Enslin gets his wish and prepares to spend the night in the room. But behind closed doors, strange and deeply unsettling things start happening, causing the writer to not only question his skepticism, but his sanity.

1408 is a quick, violent and shocking short story, in which King's powers are on full display. His drawing of Mike Enslin is so meticulous and subtle, it ropes you in and leaves you questioning the existence of ghosts with him, making the events in the room all the most sudden and unexpected, right up until its harsh and hopeless conclusion.

I get to write about what I love, so that's pretty cool. Be excellent to each other. You can catch my other work here: https://halfwaydown.substack.com/

130 Stephen King Short Stories

Join Discovery, the new community for book lovers

Trust book recommendations from real people, not robots 🤓

Blog – Posted on Wednesday, Apr 03

130 stephen king short stories.

130 Stephen King Short Stories

Did you know that there are over 130 Stephen King short stories in existence? There’s no doubt that the man’s publishing career is impressive, but King was perhaps most prolific with his short stories: starting with "The Glass Floor" in 1967, he continued to write many short stories thereafter to pay the bills.

So if you want a taste of King's horror but don't have time to sit down and read a whole novel, we've got you covered. This list will take you through all of Stephen King’s short story collections , from the 1978 Night Shift to his most recent 2015 collection, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams . Read on… if you dare.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the number of great horror books out there, you can also take our 30-second quiz below to narrow it down quickly and get a personalized horror book recommendation  😉

Which horror book should you read next?

Discover the perfect horror book for you. Takes 30 seconds!

Night Shift (1978)

This was King’s first collection of short stories, and let’s just say he entered this realm of literature not with a whimper, but with a bang. If you’ve ever watched an 80s zombie movie and found the low-budget, unrealistic gore scarier than the high-quality effects of today’s horror films, you’ll be a fan of Night Shift : its stories might lack the finesse of some of King’s later works, but they are the stuff of nightmares nonetheless. So rest assured: from deeply emotional stories — such as “Last Rung on the Ladder,” which is about a man who blames himself for his sister’s suicide — to gruesome post-apocalyptic tales like “Night Surf,” Night Shift has something for all horror lovers.

Number of stories: 20

Fun facts: Six of the stories in this collection have been made into feature-length films: "Children of the Corn," "The Lawnmower Man," "Graveyard Shift," "The Mangler," and "Sometimes They Come Back.”

1. "Jerusalem's Lot"

2. "Graveyard Shift"

3. "Night Surf"

4. "I Am the Doorway"

5. "The Mangler"

6. "The Boogeyman"

7. "Gray Matter"

8. "Battleground"

9. "Trucks"

10. "Sometimes They Come Back"

11. "Strawberry Spring"

12. "The Ledge"

13. "The Lawnmower Man"

14. "Quitters, Inc."

15. "I Know What You Need"

16. "Children of the Corn"

17. "The Last Rung on the Ladder"

18. "The Man Who Loved Flowers"

19. "One for the Road"

20. "The Woman in the Room"

Different Seasons (1982)

King's first collection of novellas has a more dramatic than horrific bent. Indeed, its first story inspired the popular film (and an obsession with Morgan Freeman’s voice): The Shawshank Redemption . And while “Apt Pupil” and “The Breathing Method” could still very much be considered scary, Different Seasons stands out for the lack of sinister supernatural beings or luridly horrific images that have become staples of some of the other Stephen King short stories.

Number of stories: 4

Fun facts: King wrote each of these four stories at different times and left them unpublished for a while because his editors had expressed concern that readers wouldn’t buy non-horror fiction from King. Eventually, King and his editor decided to publish all four stories together, positioning the book as “something different” — hence the title of the book.

1. "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: Hope Springs Eternal"

2. "Apt Pupil: Summer of Corruption"

3. "The Body: Fall From Innocence "

4. "The Breathing Method: A Winter's Tale"

Looking for something new to read?

Trust real people, not robots, to give you book recommendations.

Or sign up with an email address

Skeleton Crew (1985)

Sometimes the best type of horror is the kind that turns the seemingly normal and innocuous into something sinister and downright terrifying. This is the rallying cry of Skeleton Crew . In one tale, a word processor — an otherwise boring and practical tool — becomes a deadly device in the hands of a man ("Word Processor of the Gods"). In another story, a supermarket becomes the site of a life-or-death face-off between an ever-growing mist consuming a town (“The Mist” — technically a novella, and one of King’s most famous shorter works).

Number of stories: 22 (including a novella and two poems)

Fun facts: “For Owen” is a poem King wrote for his son. And here’s a warning while we’re at it: of “Survivor Type,” King wrote that, while he prefers his stories grisly, this one might have gone too far even for him .

1. "The Mist"

2. "Here There Be Tygers"

3. "The Monkey"

4. "Cain Rose Up"

5. "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut"

6. "The Jaunt"

7. "The Wedding Gig"

8. "Paranoid: A Chant"

9. "The Raft"

10. "Word Processor of the Gods"

11. "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands"

12. "Beachworld"

13. "The Reaper's Image"

15. "For Owen"

16. "Survivor Type"

17. "Uncle Otto's Truck”

18. "Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1)"

19. “Big Wheels: A Tale of The Laundry Game (Milkman #2)"

20. "Gramma"

21. "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet"

22. "The Reach"

Four Past Midnight (1990)

Do you keep wishing that Stephen King’s short stories would last just a little longer? Rejoice: here’s another collection of novellas! Unlike Different Seasons , this book stays true to King’s quintessential flare for supernatural horror — also blending in elements of psychological and cosmic horror . 

Linking the four stories of Four Past Midnight is the theme of, well, midnight: a time fragmented between two days, inviting reality to fragment as well. Thus the stories feature people desperately attempting to clutch their sanity, while being pulled further and further from it.

Fun facts: Secret Window, Secret Garden features a thinly veiled version of King himself.

1. "The Langoliers"

2. "Secret Window, Secret Garden"

3. "The Library Policeman"

4. "The Sun Dog"

Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Jumping from horror genre to horror genre, incorporating a gamut of scary tropes, and inspired by a number of King’s favorite authors, Nightmares and Dreamscapes is a funhouse of a horror novel — in fact, it doesn’t take much effort to picture a real funhouse at an old-timey fair boasting this very title atop its unsettling doors. It’s said to be one of his stranger collections, and one doesn’t have to look much further than the freaky "Chattery Teeth" to be convinced: it’s a story about a pair of killer joke teeth on the hunt for blood.

Number of stories: 24

Fun facts: Crack open the novel and you will find mention of a “Thomas Williams” in the dedication. Who is he? A writing instructor and author of one of King’s favorite books, The Hair of Harold Roux .

1. "Dolan's Cadillac"

2. "The End of the Whole Mess"

3. "Suffer the Little Children"

4. "The Night Flier"

6. "It Grows on You"

7. "Chattery Teeth"

8. "Dedication"

9. "The Moving Finger"

10. "Sneakers"

11. "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band"

12. "Home Delivery"

13. "Rainy Season"

14. "My Pretty Pony"

15. "Sorry, Right Number"

16. "The Ten O'Clock People"

17. "Crouch End"

18. "The House on Maple Street"

19. "The Fifth Quarter"

20. "The Doctor's Case"

21. "Umney's Last Case"

22. "Head Down"

23. "Brooklyn August"

24. "The Beggar and the Diamond"

Hearts in Atlantis (1999)

This book features five sequential stories that take place during the 1960s-1990s, all connected to the horrifying events of the Vietnam War that continue to haunt well past its end in 1975. Despite the intended connection between each story, some reviewers still feel that each work better as part rather than a whole. However, other reviews claim that while this certainly isn’t King’s scariest work, it is one of his deepest, reflecting on the very real terrors that can stay with people for a lifetime. We invite you to read Hearts in Atlantis and to let us know what you think! 

Number of stories: 5

Fun facts: Hearts in Atlantis features a number of connections and references to King’s Dark Tower series.

1. "Low Men in Yellow Coats"

2. "Hearts in Atlantis"

3. "Blind Willie"

4. "Why We're in Vietnam"

5. "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling"

Everything's Eventual (2002)

This one has been called one of the “lighter” collections in King’s repertoire. This is perhaps because many of the stories provoke a sense of unease more than actual terror. But, as we all know, a deep sense of anxiety can stay with you much longer than an intensely frightening moment. The book’s most popular entry is “1408” — a story about a non-fiction writer who writes about the supernatural, despite not believing in it. Now, room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel is on a mission to prove him wrong in a fantastic meta take on the classic ghost story.

Number of stories: 14

Fun facts: In the introduction of Everything’s Eventual , Stephen King explained how he picked the order of the stories: “What I did was take all the spades out of a deck of cards plus a joker. Ace to King = 1-13. Joker = 14. I shuffled the cards and dealt them. The order in which they came out of the deck became the order of the stories, based on their position in the list my publisher sent me. And it actually created a very nice balance between the literary stories and the all-out screamers.””

1. "Autopsy Room Four"

2. "The Man in the Black Suit"

3. "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away"

4. "The Death of Jack Hamilton"

5. "In the Deathroom"

6. "The Little Sisters of Eluria"

7. "Everything's Eventual"

8. "L. T.'s Theory of Pets"

9. "The Road Virus Heads North"

10. "Lunch at the Gotham Café"

11. "That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French"

13. "Riding the Bullet"

14. "Luckey Quarter"

Just After Sunset (2008)

Not sure whether this book will leave you with that deliciously disturbing sensation that so many of King’s other works do? Well, take one look at that holographic book cover and we guarantee that your stomach will turn, proving right from the outset Just After Sunset’s ability to provoke unease. For a truly weird read, check out “The Cat from Hell.” Or if you’re looking for an excuse to avoid exercise, give “Stationary Bike” a try — it’s a story about a man whose efforts to reduce his cholesterol levels turn into the stuff of nightmares. Whichever of these Stephen King short stories you read, you’re sure to be left with that feeling that can only occur right after sunset, when the day gives way to night and sun gives way to darkness: that something is lurking in the shadows.

Number of stories: 13

Fun facts: The title of this book went through many iterations , including Pocket Rockets and Unnatural Acts of Human Intercourse . 

2. "The Gingerbread Girl"

3. "Harvey's Dream"

4. "Rest Stop"

5. "Stationary Bike"

6. "The Things They Left Behind"

7. "Graduation Afternoon"

9. "The Cat from Hell"

10. "The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates"

12. "Ayana"

13. "A Very Tight Place"

Full Dark, No Stars (2014)

A collection of four novellas that’s not for the faint of heart. Not because of splattering blood or graphic violence, but because of the emotional turmoil readers are put through: each story burns slowly, with a twist for the grim bubbling away all the while. Readers know things will eventually go wrong, but they don’t know how or when — or what the consequences will be. Each story leaves you with the bleak sense that nothing is as it seems, and that we are all constantly teetering on the brink of chaos.

Fun facts: “1922” is set in Hemingford Home, Nebraska — a name you might recognize from a few other King works: the novels The Stand and It , as well as the short story “The Last Rung on the Ladder.”

2. "Big Driver"

3. "Fair Extension"

4. "A Good Marriage"

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015)

Do you love watching movies with the “director’s commentary” cranked up? If so, King’s latest collection will likely be one to add to your list, as each story is accompanied by a brief autobiographical passage that reveals the how the story came to be. 

Many see it as one of King’s more “polished” collections — mourning the freaky, pulpy tones of some of his earlier books like Night Shift . However, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams celebrates King’s years of experience, showing his ability to adeptly switch between themes of life, death, morality, guilt, and regret — all with his trademark spine-tingling, bone-chilling overtone.

Fun facts: Stephen King addresses readers directly a number of times in this book. In one instance, he creepily writes, “I made these stories especially for you. Feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth.”

1."Mile 81"

2. "Premium Harmony"

3. "Batman and Robin Have an Altercation"

4. "The Dune"

5. "Bad Little Kid"

6. "A Death"

7. "The Bone Church"

8. "Morality"

9. "Afterlife"

11. "Herman Wouk Is Still Alive"

12. "Under the Weather"

13. "Blockade Billy"

14. "Mister Yummy"

15. "Tommy"

16. "The Little Green God of Agony"

17. "That Bus Is Another World"

18. "Obits"

19. "Drunken Fireworks"

20. "Summer Thunder"

Can’t get enough horror? Check out some of our other posts to lead you to even more scary reads:

Continue reading

More posts from across the blog.

Kindle Cloud Reader 101: What It Is and How to Use It

Much has been made of the eBook’s rise this decade. More of them are being published than ever, and the vast majority are sold through Amazon, the dominant player in online book and eBook retailing. From self-published titles to New York Times bestseller...

50 Best Self-Help Books of All Time

Want to better yourself, but don't know where to start? Our list of 50 titles is sure to give you the guiding hand you need to start improving your life today.

The 30 Best Biographies of All Time

Biographer Richard Holmes once wrote that his work was “a kind of pursuit… writing about the pursuit of that fleeting figure, in such a way as to bring them alive in the present.” At the risk of sounding cliché, the best biographies do exactly this...

Heard about Reedsy Discovery?

Or sign up with an

Or sign up with your social account

  • Submit your book
  • Reviewer directory

Bloody Disgusting!

Thirteen Stephen King Short Stories Every King Fan Should Read

' src=

Stephen King may be the master of horror, but he’s also mastered the art of short fiction. With six collections of short stories and five quartets of novellas, Stephen King has published nearly 400 works of short fiction in his decade spanning career. He served as editor for the 2006 volume of Best American Short Stories and described how the task reignited his love for the format in his introduction to his own collection Just After Sunset . Never one to rest on his laurels, King also loves to take a risk and frequently publishes short stories in new formats.

In 2000, “Riding the Bullet” became the world’s first mass market ebook and “Blockade Billy” was published along with a baseball card as a limited edition hardcover to coincide with the start of the 2010 Major League Baseball season. Stephen King also lends short stories to anthology collections with other authors, most recently contributing a story to Revelations: Horror Writers for Climate Action . With no shortage of ideas, it’s an art form he returns to frequently and this May 2022 saw the publication of a brand new story.

Finn follows a young Irishman prone to bad luck who winds up in a very scary place. At just under 30 digital pages, the darkly humorous tale flies by, but never fear…

Here are 13 more Stephen King short stories to read when you’ve reached the final pages of Finn .

One for the Road

Stephen King’s first short stories collection, Night Shift , contains bookends to one of his most popular early novels, ‘Salem’s Lot . The collection opens with “Jerusalem’s Lot,” an 1850s era epistolary tale which serves as an origin story for the vampires that eventually overtake the small community. The collection’s penultimate story, “One for the Road,” closes the chapter on King’s doomed town. The story follows Booth and Herb “Tookey” Tooklander, two old-timers waiting out a blizzard in the general store of Falmouth, Maine, adjacent to the deserted town of ‘Salem’s Lot. When a stranded motorist, Gerard Lumley, bursts in begging for help, the two old men venture out into the snowy night to save his wife and young daughter. Unfortunately the undead residents who now live in the Lot have found them first. The story is a haunting coda to King’s second novel and a perfect conclusion to his vampire saga. 

I Am the Doorway

Best known as a horror writer, King has also written quite a bit of science fiction with many stories in his canon straddling the line between genres. An early example is “I Am the Doorway,” a disturbing mashup of alien invasion and body horror. Artie is a retired astronaut paralyzed after a botched return trip on a mission to Venus. But his body endured more than just physical injuries from the accident. Having been exposed to a mysterious alien life force, Artie returns to earth with a cluster of eyes growing on his hands. His body becomes the doorway through which the aliens watch our world. They eventually grow stronger, possessing Artie’s body and causing him to commit terrible crimes. Artie’s attempts to contain this growing infection are both terrifying and relatable, made even worse by his growing assertion that once the door has been opened, it cannot be closed. 

I Know What You Need

This unsettling tale of college love may be set in the 1970s, but it feels frighteningly familiar today. Elizabeth Rogan is a college student who’s new friend Ed Hamner Jr. has an uncanny ability to anticipate her every need. Though initially resistant to the charms of this quirky young man, she finds herself growing disillusioned with her current boyfriend and more dependent on the support Ed constantly offers. A shocking tragedy draws them together and Elizabeth begins to fall for Ed who appears to be the perfect boyfriend. But Elizabeth’s roommate worries there may be something sinister lurking beneath his devotion. Originally published in a 1976 issue of Cosmopolitan , this haunting story of obsessive love is perfect for long days at the beach or to pass the time waiting for an exciting date. 

Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut

Stephen King’s second short stories collection may not boast as many cinematic adaptations as its predecessor, but Skeleton Crew contains some of the author’s best short stories to date like “The Raft,” “Gramma,” and “The Jaunt.” Also lurking within the frightening collection are gems like “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut,” an early foray into the author’s connected universe. The story follows Ophelia Todd, a wealthy housewife who spends her time volunteering in the city of Castle Rock, Maine. When not donating her time to help others, she obsesses over finding the shortest possible route between any two points on a map, traversing unpaved roads and hidden paths in her Mercedes Go Devil. She keeps her trips logged in a notebook and relishes sharing stories of her adventures with handyman and caretaker Homer. But some of her roads lead to mysterious worlds and Mrs. Todd finds herself growing both younger and stronger with every passing mile. Though not particularly scary, this fantasy story is filled with excitement and empowerment, a beautiful tale about testing life’s limits and daring to find out what lies beyond. 

The Reaper’s Image

Clocking in at just eight pages, this haunting tale proves that less is more and packs a powerful punch with the story it leaves untold. James Spangler is an antiques collector obsessed with viewing and obtaining the unique Delver Glass, a mirror with an unsettling habit of consuming those who view it. The glass is currently in storage after a string of notable disappearances, building the piece’s deadly reputation. While most people who look into the mirror will see nothing but a slightly distorted version of themselves, the occasional viewer will notice a blurry figure in black standing behind them in the distance. Those who do see the Reaper walk away from the glass and into the unknown, never to be seen again. Perfect for fans of ghost tours and haunted attractions, the story begins with a fascinating recount of the mirror’s tragic history. But the final pages are a masterclass in tension and dread, steadily building to a conclusion that will leave Constant Readers wary of looking into mirrors of their own. 

King’s third collection, Nightmares and Dreamscapes , is divisive among Constant Readers earning its contradictory title with fan favorites like “Popsy” and the “Night Flier” alongside less savory entries like “Dedication.” The collection also features some genuine oddities including a screenplay, a Sherlock Holmes story, and a non-horror essay called “Head Down” which chronicles Owen King’s 1989 little league baseball season. King ventures into Lovecraftian Lore with “Crouch End,” a deeply unsettling story of an American couple on a doomed trip to London. Having lost their way, they wander down the wrong street and possibly into another dimension filled with hideous monsters and sinister approximations of city life. Set in a real district of London, the story was inspired by King’s trip to the UK to visit collaborator and friend Peter Straub. King resists the urge to fully reveal Crouch End’s mysteries, creating another haunting example of less-is-more horror. 

Home Delivery

“Home Delivery” is one of King’s few zombie stories and finds the master of American folk horror putting his unique stamp on the genre. Maddie Pace is a young mother-to-be who suffers from crippling indecision and struggles to get by after her fisherman husband is lost at sea. The oblique title comes into sharp focus when Maddie realizes that she will have to give birth to her child at home due to the zombie outbreak currently ravaging the world. Her small island community must defend themselves against hordes of reanimated dead including Maddie’s husband who returns to her from his watery grave. First published in the 1989 zombie anthology Book of the Dead , “Home Delivery” is quintessentially King, a massive tragedy filtered through an intimate lense. 

The Road Virus Heads North

King’s fourth collection, “Everything’s Eventual” sees King returning to the fast and furious horror of earlier collections. While “1408” is arguably the crowd pleaser, another story is equally scary and perhaps even more gruesome. “The Road Virus Heads North” follows Richard Kinnell, a horror writer from Derry, Maine who makes a deadly purchase at a yard sale on his way back from Boston. He’s entranced by a painting called The Road Virus, an unsettling portrait of a young greaser and his titular hot rod. Each time Kinnell looks at the painting, the kid’s sinister glare and sharp-toothed grin turn more firmly in his direction as the Road Virus heads north in pursuit of Kinnell. Another entry in King’s unofficial Derry saga, the short, but horrifying story is a fast-paced horror with a grim final image. 

The Man in the Black Suit

This award winning story is King’s homage to Nathaniel Hawthorn and reminiscent of his famous “Young Goodman Brown.” Gary is a nine-year old boy in a rural town who passes a beautiful day by going fishing. Having recently lost his brother to an allergic reaction to a bee sting, Gary is now terrified of the tiny creatures and wakes from a nap on the river’s edge to find one perched on his nose. He then encounters a man in the titular attire with an aura of sulfur and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Chuckling, the man tells Gary of the awful tragedy currently happening at home before describing his plans to devour the young boy. Though he escapes with his life, Gary’s encounter with a man he comes to believe is the devil will haunt him for the rest of his life. First printed in the New Yorker, “The Man In the Black Suit” is a perfect example of daylight horror and a mesmerizing character study from a time long gone. 

The Gingerbread Girl

One of the longer stories in King’s fifth collection, “The Gingerbread Girl” is a spiritual sister to the novel Duma Key . Emily has retreated to a small Florida Key to recover from the devastating loss of her infant daughter. She manages her grief with long runs on the deserted beaches, perhaps hoping to outrun her pain. On one of her sprints, she glimpses an ominous bit of hair spilling out of her neighbor’s open trunk. Investigating further, she stumbles into the lair of a serial killer who decides to make her next victim. Emily must use all the strength she’s gained in her recovery to escape his terrible plans. Though it takes a little while to get to the hook, “The Gingerbread Girl” is touching and relatable story about a woman trying to hold herself together that takes a grisly turn into terror. 

One of King’s most unique stories is also one of his best. Told through the notes and letters of a therapist, “N.” recounts the tragic life of an anonymous man who stumbles upon a gateway to another world. While photographing the sunset in a remote field, he finds a formation of seven stones. Or is it eight? N. becomes obsessed with the stones and consumed with the responsibility of holding the door closed against a hideous monster lurking on the other side. The story, filled with slowly creeping dread, is also a heartbreaking depiction of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the horror of believing the weight of the world rests on your shoulders. 

The Little Green God of Agony

Stephen King’s most recent collection of short stories, T he Bazaar of Bad Dreams is filled with characters struggling in the aftermath of trauma. One of its most terrifying entries is “The Little Green God of Agony,” a story that may open a window into King’s response to his own brush with death. Andrew Newsome is one of the world’s wealthiest men left crippled by a crash in his private jet years ago. Sparing no expense, he’s been searching the world over for relief from the constant pain that plagues him. He finds it in Reverend Rideout, a mysterious faith healer who believes his pain is exacerbated by a god of agony attached to his shattered body. Newsome’s private nurse, Katherine Macdonald, believes her patient is simply unwilling to do the hard work of recovery until she gets a taste of Newsome’s suffering first-hand. The exorcism is terrifying, but the story’s real power lies in King’s description of Newsom’s unrelenting pain juxtaposed with Katherine’s skepticism, perhaps inspired by his own recovery after a near fatal accident in 1999. 

This short and nasty entry is a chilling story of premonition and obsession. Retired Florida Supreme Court Judge Harvey Beecher found the titular dune as a boy and has been rowing out to it ever since, reading the names he finds written on its sandy surface. Each name given by the deserted beach proves to be a kind of obituary in advance, predicting those who will die in the coming days and weeks. Judge Beecher becomes addicted to this terrible knowledge which makes him grow cold and disaffected from the world around him. Now an old man, he tells his story to a young lawyer tasked with preparing his last will and testament. The story itself is eerie, but the jaw-dropping ending is guaranteed to send chills up and down the spines of even the most hardened Constant Readers. 

Do you have any other favorite Stephen King short stories? Comment and let us know!

Finn Stephen King short stories

You may like

salem's lot 2022 movie

Stephen King Again Tweets Support for Shelved ‘Salem’s Lot’ Remake from Warner Bros.

best short story stephen king

Stephen King’s Best Sex Scenes [The Losers’ Club Podcast]

best short story stephen king

‘Night Shift’ Trailer – Haunted Motel Horror Movie Opens Up for Business in March

Why ‘The Crow: City of Angels’ Is Worth Bringing Back from the Dead

' src=

Whether you consider The Crow: City of Angels cursed or simply made in bad taste by a studio (Dimension Films) that couldn’t care less, a rewatch more than twenty years later is a real eye-opener in terms of the film as a standalone experience.

I remember being a kid who thought Brandon Lee as The Crow was one of the coolest things I’d ever witnessed in my life. For the record, I still feel that way. For years we donned black and white face makeup on Halloween night. Hell, the wrestler Sting is still doing it. I don’t know how adults reacted to The Crow at the time but I know us eleven-year-olds were rocked by it.

I bring this up because two years later I would leave the theater immensely bummed out after witnessing The Crow: City of Angels .

I remember hating the movie and vowing never to waste my time with it again. There was something about it that just felt cheap and wrong. I don’t think I realized it at the time but that disappointment wasn’t actually due to the quality of the film. Rather… you could just sniff a sense of dishonor about it all.

In some ways this was true, in others it was unfair. Some information I didn’t learn until researching for this very article was that there was a major effort from writer David S. Goyer and director Tim Pope to not disrespect the legacy of Brandon Lee or the original film. They went out of their way to structure City of Angels in a way that didn’t feel like a sequel to the film Lee gave his life making. Enter Dimension Films, who took over after filming was complete and had everything completely restructured to more closely resemble the original. They took the entire narrative and re-assembled it, even turning important story points into flashbacks so that they would remind the viewer of director Alex Proyas and Brandon Lee’s original film.

It feels important to note that while there are moments of tacky studio decision-making that can be sniffed out, those who were boots on the ground making the film seemed to have nothing but the best intent. And so, I feel comfortable saying that I was completely wrong about this movie and more than twenty-five years later, have found it to be both underrated and underappreciated.

One of the things City of Angels had right from the get-go and something a lot of fans (including myself) wish future iterations would honor is that the film did not re-cast someone else to play Eric Draven but rather told the story of a new tortured soul brought back for revenge. As Tim Pope told Cinefantastique back in 1996, “What we suggest at the beginning of this movie is that this has been happening all the way throughout history, so that there have been hundreds if not thousands of people brought back before Eric Draven and there will be more afterward. That person could be a man; that person could be a woman; that person could be a child.”

Enter Ashe Corven. Along with his young son, Ashe is murdered by a gang after witnessing them attacking someone else.

Vincent Perez ( Queen Margot ) had the unenviable task of following the footsteps of Brandon Lee as the next Crow. Though they were thankfully different characters, not a soul in the cinema wasn’t comparing the two whether intentionally or subconsciously. It felt “off” at the time for this reason, but watching Perez play the character today is a revelation. Using strange movements and spastic physical reactions, Perez did a great job physically communicating the unknowable feeling of fitting back into your body post-death. It didn’t feel like an imitation of Lee, but there was something about the way Lee had played the Crowe that Perez seemed to understand.

Nobody may want to admit it because of the serious emotional baggage the character and story walk around with but the Crow has to be fucking cool, too. Perez had all the “goth dude who will beat your ass and then cry on a rooftop afterward but still look badass doing it” ambiance one could ask for. Not a soul in this world has the voice of a Brandon Lee but Perez was able to capture the violent yet broken cadence of a dead man with a broken heart who’s ready to do violence with pizazz. He’ll likely never get his due for the performance due to all the external factors surrounding the film and that’s a damn shame. Nobody will ever top Brandon Lee, but any future iterations of The Crow will have to do a hell of a job to compete with Perez’s work here.

The Crow City of Angels sequels

Though the overall similarities between the villains of City of Angels and the original are overbearing, it’s no fault of the actors who played them. Iggy Pop had maybe the most natural performance I’ve ever seen from a musician as one of the main gangbangers, Curve. The great Thomas Jane had the thankless role of being the bad guy who dies pleasuring himself in a peep show booth when the stripper is hilariously replaced with Ashe. You might assume this to be awkward for an actor but Jane goes for it as if there were an Academy Award on the line, and the results are electric. Long Live Thomas Jane.

The soundtrack featuring PJ Harvey, Seven Marty Three, Iggy Pop himself, Korn, Bush, Filter, The Toadies, and The Deftones (who are awkwardly in the film) pairs amazingly with the all-timer soundtrack of the first film and ignites the mood for some awesome revenge murder to occur; and occur it does. Apart from the aforementioned peep show booth scene that ends with Thomas Jane dead with a blow-up doll between his legs and a paper mache crow stuffed in his mouth, there’s a moment that the warehouse scene in Batman Begins (also written by Goyer) no doubt owes inspirational credit to. In the scene, Ashe taunts his first victim (Spider-Monkey) by stalking him around the dark corners of a drug warehouse bellowing “I am all your nightmares rolled into one!” before blowing up the entire warehouse and walking away as palm trees burst into flames while a crow flies past them. It’s a lot. It’s intense. And I love it.

Ashe will go on to have a full-blown karate fight with Thuy Trang’s Kali prefaced with a dialogue exchange that shouldn’t work but somehow does due to the way the actors sell it when ”Do you know how to fight??” is answered with, “Do you know how to die?” Ashe eventually sings to her “Hush little baby, don’t say a word. Daddy’s gonna buy you a big BLACK BIRD!”… before yeeting her out of a window to her death. Later, Curve reports the death of Spider-Monkey to the lead bad guy, Judah ( Richard Brooks ), with the diction of someone getting a pack of smokes and a lottery ticket from a gas station attendant: “Spider-Monkey’s a fuckin’ crispy critter.” Scenes that seemed so terrible so many years ago have a strange charm to them now.

best short story stephen king

Finally, Ashe makes his way to Judah. Though Judah is fantastically creepy and makes for a daunting bad guy, this is where the film unfortunately falls apart. His big plan is to capture the literal crow and drink its blood. He does so and this not only gives him Ashe’s power but also takes it from Ashe because… science? Meanwhile, as Ashe loses his power, an entire Day of the Dead festival decides to kick the shit out of him for some reason. Probably just because it looked cool for the scene. The ’90s were wild, man.

When Judah comes down to face Ashe, he has absorbed all of his power and beats him up for a while, even stringing him up and hitting him with a whip. A grown-up Sarah ( Mia Kirshner ) from the first film then runs up and temporarily saves the day, stabbing Judah in the face. Sarah is a super moody character who really adds to the whole goth vibe of the film as a tattoo artist used by the forces at hand to help and guide Ashe. You almost wish this anti-climactic moment would have kept Judah down because what’s next is a bummer.

[Related] ‘The Crow’ Reboot Starring Bill Skarsgård Will Release in June 2024!

As Judah does the bad guy thing and waxes poetically about how he’s defeated Ashe, Ashe inexplicably summons a murder of crows to fly through Judah, killing him. I mean, we could have just had a cool fight scene here, guys. That’s kind of what everything was building to.

In the end, Ashe returns to the afterlife to be with his son and his new love Sarah, whom Judah killed in the fracas, and we’re left with the happiest ending a Crow movie can really offer. With our characters at peace. The Crow: City of Angels is in no way perfect but it certainly has a lot more to offer than many will ever accept. I’m glad to have resurrected it all these years later and maybe you will be too. Don’t go any further into the sequels, though. Trust me on this one.

The Crow City of Angels actor

‘Arcadian’ – Post Apocalyptic Creature Feature Starring Nicolas Cage Coming to Theaters in April

best short story stephen king

‘House of 1000 Corpses’ Tabletop Board Game Coming Soon from Trick or Treat Studios

the crow remake skarsgard

‘The Crow’ Reboot Starring Bill Skarsgård Will Release in Theaters June 2024!

The Astronaut Kate Mara

‘The Astronaut’ First Look Image Teases Intense Sci-Fi Thriller Starring Kate Mara

Netflix Thanksgiving Nell Verlaque

Eli Roth’s ‘Thanksgiving’ Slashes Onto Netflix This Weekend

best short story stephen king

You must be logged in to post a comment.

best short story stephen king

120+ Stephen King Short Stories and Where to Find Them

' src=

Jessica Avery

"Jessica has been a voracious reader since she was old enough to hold chapter books right side up. She has an MA in English from the University of Maine, and has been writing about books online since 2015. She started out writing about the Romance genre, but in recent years she has rekindled her love for Horror, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy, with an emphasis on works of queer fiction. You can follow her on Twitter , Bluesky , and Instagram .

View All posts by Jessica Avery

That’s right. 120 Stephen King short stories, and then some.

One. Two. Zero.

Stephen King, who is as well known for his prodigiously prolific output of fiction as he is for his finely crafted horror, has written over 120 short stories in his career (so far). Many of which have been captured in 11 anthologies of short fiction spanning 1978 to 2015. You can find an alphabetical list of every short story on his website, each with a date and location of publication, and a list of anthologies as well.

Like King’s novels, his short stories range from the carefully rendered mundane (straight, literary fiction short stories like “Herman Wouk is Still Alive,” though there’s nothing mundane about that horrific ending) to the wildly supernatural (I am obsessed with “The Mist” in all its incarnations). Lengths vary, subject matters vary, and you will never find a more comprehensive list of ordinary objects turned into terrifying monsters (A laundry press! He turned a laundry press into a monster in “The Mangler”).

I would even argue that King is strongest in this abbreviated form. Something about the succinctness of the short story brings out the best in his writing. (And no, that’s not just my excuse for not reading all 1116 pages of It .)

Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. By signing up you agree to our terms of use

But where do you even begin, with 120+ Stephen King short stories just waiting to be read? If you google you’ll find any number of lists of top picks: 16 scary short stories , 13 stories you’ve never read , 7 stories perfect for Halloween …the list goes on. We’ve even included him in a list of Classic Short Stories here on Book Riot.

This mini-guide should help you get under way. I’ve included each short story title, so if you’re looking for a particular work make good use of that ctrl-F function and you’ll find the story’s corresponding anthology or online location.

120+ Stephen King Short Stories and Where to Find Them | BookRiot.com | Stephen King | Horror| #horror #stephenking #horrorstories #shortstories #scarystories

Stephen King Short Stories Online

There are a few of King’s stories that are available to read for free online, if you want to take a test drive before you commit to purchasing a whole anthology. This handful of short stories is predominantly without supernatural elements. Like “The Reach,” they’re starkly human. Any elements of horror derive from King’s brilliant use of small town secrets and the human condition. So if it’s creepy clowns or undead children you’re after, these Stephen King short stories may not be your preference. But they are each uniquely compelling.

By which I mean horrifying and alarming.

King contributes fairly regularly to The New Yorker , his last story appearing in 2015. All of his stories published in the magazine are listed on his contributor page , and the first four are available to anyone. Earlier stories are available to subscribing members.

King also published a short story,  “Herman Wouk is Still Alive,”  in  The Atlantic  in 2011,   and just recently he tweeted the link to a brand new short story “Laurie,”  which he called an “appetizer” for his newest book, The Outsider , out May 22.

I'm posting a brand new short story, if you want to read it–think of it as an appetizer to the main course, THE OUTSIDER, coming next week. The story is free. Read, print, share, whatever. Go to my website or click the link. Enjoy! https://t.co/tfHIWTPoNw — Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 17, 2018

Stephen King Short Stories in Print and eBook

The bulk of King’s short stories exist only in the series of 11 anthologies he’s published during his career. Technically, four of these collections contain a handful of novella length stories rather than 20 or so short stories. But I am including them for two reasons: King lists them with his short story collections on his website, and they contain some of his best known and most incredible works.

stephen king night shift cover

The very first anthology of Stephen King short stories, published in 1978, Night Shift contains several familiar pieces, such as “Children of the Corn” and “Jerusalem’s Lot.” As well as 18 other chilling stories, including “The Mangler” (the one about the possessed laundry press!).

Other titles include: “Battleground,” “Graveyard Shift,” “I Am the Doorway,” “I Know What You Need,” “Night Surf,” “One for the Road,” “Quitter’s Inc.,” “Sometimes They Come Back,” “Strawberry Spring,” “The Boogeyman,” “The Last Rung on the Ladder,” “The Lawnmower Man,” “The Ledge,” “The Man Who Loved Flowers,” “The Woman in the Room,” “Trucks,” and “Grey Matter.”

Different Seasons

Second to be published, in August of 1982, Different Seasons includes of one King’s better known short stories: “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.” It also contains a short story called “The Body,” in which four boys travel into the Maine woods, which of course became the premise for the 1986 film Stand by Me. The other two stories in the volume are “Apt Pupil” and “The Breathing Method.”

best short story stephen king

Skeleton Crew came next in 1985. This is going to be my first anthology buy because it includes my personal favorites, “The Reach” and “The Mist.” Among the other 20 stories is also the chilling “Gramma,” a horrifying story about a young boy and his bedridden grandmother, with whom there is something terribly wrong. As John Saavedra over at Den of Geek! pointed out , devoted horror fans will recognize aspects in the short story that place it firmly in Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

Other tales include: “The Monkey,” “Beachworld,” “Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game,” “Cain Rose Up,” “Here There By Tygers,” “Morning Deliveries,” “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut,” “Nona,” “Survivor Type,” “The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet,” “The Jaunt,” “The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands,” “The Raft,” “The Reaper’s Image,” “The Wedding Gig,” “Uncle Otto’s Truck,” “Word Processor of the Gods,” “For Owen,” and “Paranoid: A Chant.”

Four Past Midnight

Like Different Seasons , this 1990 anthology of Stephen King short stories, Four Past Midnight , contains—you guessed it—only four tales. These are longer, novella-length tales, including the well known “Secret Window, Secret Garden” and “The Langoliers,” both of which have been adapted to film. The other two stories in Four Past Midnight  are “The Library Policeman” and “The Sun Dog.”

nightmares and dreamscapes by stephen king cover

This 1993 anthology contains probably some of King’s oddest short stories. There’s one about a pair of evil Chattery Teeth (you know those toy clacking teeth you wind up and then they chatter?), and one about a finger that appears poking out of the drain in the main character’s bathroom sink—“The Moving Finger.” That one I haven’t read, but the premise alone is kind of freaking me out.

Other freaky adventures include: “Head Down,” “Sorry, Right Number,” “Brooklyn August,” “You Know They Got a Hell of a Band,” “Crouch End,” “Dedication,” “The Doctor’s Case,” “Dolan’s Cadillac,” “The End of the Whole Mess,” “The Fifth Quarter,” “Home Delivery,” “The House on Maple Street,” “It Grows on You,” “My Pretty Pony,” “The Night Flier,” “Popsy,” “Rainy Season,” “Sneakers,” “Suffer the Little Children,” “The Ten O’Clock People,” and “Umney’s Last Case.”

Hearts in Atlantis

A number of people might recognize the title of this 1999 collection of five novellas, as it was also the title of a 2001 film starring Anthony Hopkins. Though the film itself is actually based on a short story within the anthology, “Low Men in Yellow Coats,” and not the titular story, “Hearts in Atlantis.” Also included are “Blind Willie,” “Heavenly Shades of Night,” and “Why We’re in Vietnam.”

Everything’s Eventual

Subtitled “14 Dark Tales,” 2002’s Everything’s Eventual is an anthology of actual short stories once again, as opposed to novellas. Among these is “1408,” which was adapted into a 2007 film starring John Cusack. This volume also contains “The Death of Jack Hamilton,” which was published in The New Yorker in 2001.

This is also the collection where you’ll find: “All That You Love Will Be Carried Away,” “Autopsy Room Four,” “Everything’s Eventual,” “In the Deathroom,” “L.T.’s Theory of Pets,” “Luckey Quarter,” “Lunch at the Gotham Cafe,” “That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French,” “Riding the Bullet,” “The Road Virus Heads North,” “The Little Sisters of Eluria,” and “The Man in the Black Suit.”

just after sunset by stephen king cover

Oh,  Just After Sunset , with its extremely strange “The Cat from Hell.” This 2008 collection of 13 tales also includes “Harvey’s Dream,” which, like “The Death of Jack Hamilton,” was previously published in The New Yorker (2003). “Harvey’s Dream” is an odd little tale about a man and his wife that takes place in Castle Rock. This fictional town reoccurs in a number of King’s novels and stories, and serves as the setting of Hulu’s  upcoming series, Castle Rock .

Also included are: “Willa,” “The Gingerbread Girl,” “Rest Stop,” “Stationary Bike,” “The Things They Left Behind,” “Graduation Afternoon,” “The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates,” “Mute,” “Ayana,” “A Very Tight Place,” and “N.”

Stephen King Goes to the Movies

Published in 2009, Stephen King Goes to the Movies is a reprint of five prior short stories that went on to the big screen: “1408,” “Low Men in Yellow Coats,” “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” “The Mangler,” and “Children of the Corn.” It also contains some commentary from King on each story, which fans will likely find of interest. Meanwhile, those making the transition from King’s films to his fiction might find this collection to be a perfect segue.

full dark no stars by stephen king cover

Described in the synopsis as “a collection of four intense short stories with retribution as the central theme,”  Full Dark, No Stars (2010) is a powerful but difficult read. The synopsis also calls these tales some of King’s “most graphic and merciless content to date.” I would not disagree. That they are also some of his most evocative is supported by the fact that two of the four have been made into films: “The Good Marriage” was made into a film in 2014, and Netflix released a film adaptation of “1922” on their streaming platform in 2017. The other two stories are “Big Driver” and “Fair Extension.”

As a side note: Mr. King should feel free to never use rats in one of his stories again, with my kind and fond thanks for the nightmares.

the bazaar of bad dreams by stephen king cover

Released in 2015, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is the most recent compilation of Stephen King short stories. Perhaps because they are so recent, they are less well known. But no less compelling. Three of them—“Premium Harmony,” “A Death,” and “Herman Wouk is Still Alive”—you will recognize from the list of freely available stories above. For the other 17 you’ll just have to pick up The Bazaar of Bad Dreams , with it’s eerily appealing cover.

Included are: “Mile 81,” “Batman and Robin Have An Altercation,” “The Dune,” “Morality,” “The Bone Church,” “Afterlife,” “UR,” “Blockade Billy,” “Tommy,” “Little Green God of Agony,” “The Bus Is Another World,” “Drunken Fireworks,” “Bad Little Kid,” “Under the Weather,” “Mister Yummy,” “Obits,” and “Summer Thunder.”

Conclusion? That’s a lot of Stephen King short stories.

It’s a lot of everything, really. Not just in terms of numbers, pages, or words, but also in terms of emotions and fears. To try to read all of King’s short stories would be quite an undertaking, and one that might be best completed in stages. But hopefully this will give you an idea of where to begin!

When you’ve finished with all 120+ Stephen King short stories, or if you feel like working some longer works in between anthologies, consider consulting a Stephen King Reading Pathway or this Ultimate Stephen King Reading Guide to get you started.

Happy reading! (With plenty of lights on, of course.)

best short story stephen king

You Might Also Like

The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists

Best Stephen King Short Stories

Stephen King’s short stories always pack a punch. They’re the perfect introduction to his work, whether you’re a fan of horror or more complex psychological thrillers. In this blog post, I ranked 13 Stephen King short stories from worst to best. Let me know what you think!

My first foray into the work of the Master of Horror was through his novels. It, Christine, Salem’s Lot, etc.

I still remember sneaking out of my bed and grabbing “The Shining” – a book I wasn’t supposed to read, according to my parents.

But it wasn’t until I got my hands on some of Stephen King’s short stories that I truly fell in love with his writing. Well, it’s a love-hate relationship, since the author will guide you through a rollercoaster of emotions!

And it’s no coincidence. King LOVES short stories. He believes it’s a lost art and young writers should earn their chops grinding away short fiction.

So, without further ado, let’s dive deep into Stephen King’s short stories. Don’t forget that how I rank them is simply my personal opinion – I like all 13 of them!

(By the way, you can use the “Constant Reader ” to keep track of which short story collections you’ve already read)

The Skeleton Crew

1. the reaper’s image.

“He stared into the mirror and waited. And waited. And waited.”

Summary: An antique collector, Johnson Spangler, visits the Samuel Claggett Museum to buy the infamous Delver Mirror. It is said that people who stare at it will see Grim Reaper. The curator, Mr. Carlin, recounts the rumour of a young student suddenly disappearing after gazing deep into the Elizabethan mirror.

Even though it’s one of King’s first short stories, it still has his signature. The foreshadowing, as well as the subtle clues like the statue of Adonis, makes it very clear that it’s a symbolic story for the inevitability of death – no matter how far you run.

Kingful score: 3/10

While I enjoyed it, it reads like a teaser chapter, part of a more ambitious novel. The plot was quite predictable, while the pacing was rushed in some cases. Still, King wrote it when he was 18, which is a feat on its own!

2. Survivor Type

“The human body is just stored energy”

Summary: A depraved surgeon, moonlighting as a heroin smuggler, becomes a castaway after an explosion in a cruise ship. Alone on a small island, with limited resources, he must survive, no matter the cost, physical or psychological.

Written in diary form, we get to see this man’s descent into madness. His habits and behavior slowly become erratic, a testament to his ever-dwindling mental health. Things escalate when he has to amputate one of his legs. 

One strange thought enters his mind: Why waste it?

King artfully applies the adage show don’t tell , making you part of Richard Pine’s crumbling mind. In the end, you might question whether YOU would have the guts to do the same in his position.

Well, are you the survivor type or not?

Kingful score: 6/10

I find the plot ingenious. He doesn’t waste any words. Everything pushes the character to the edge, creating a one-way street to madness. Yet, cannibalism isn’t my cup of tea. It was too much, and King admitted he had a hard time publishing this one.

3. Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut

“Where does the fantastic begin?”

Summary: Homer, a strange man hanging around at a local gas station, tells a story about Mrs Todd. The elusive woman has the habit of taking shortcuts. But we aren’t talking about scraping off a few miles, no. She’s able to cover distances in a way that’s not really possible. Is this the delusions of an old man or Mrs Todd discovered a loophole in our reality?

The idea came to the author because his wife loves to find these shortcuts. In his hands, something rather mundane becomes fantastic!

But there’s something I didn’t mention in the summary. Something happens to the travelers following Mrs Todd. It’s for you to find out.

Kingful Score: 7/10

I love this story because I suspect King pokes fun at his wife’s odd habit of finding shortcuts. It reads like a husband’s overexaggerated narration after they get lost during one of their excursions!

4. The Jaunt

“It’s longer than you think”

Summary: It’s the 24th century. New technology has been discovered, called “The Jaunt”, that allows people to travel huge distances instantaneously. But there’s a problem; you must be unconscious during or you might emerge from your slumber completely mad. When a family uses the machine, one of the kids decides to hold his breath to avoid anesthesia…

This is my favorite short story from the “Skeleton Crew” collection. It’s perhaps one of the most terrifying psychological thrillers from Stephen King. 

The revelation that people who don’t sleep during the process remain trapped deep within their minds for “millions, even billions of years” chilled me to the bone.

The Kafquessean horror, an eternal Hell: The Jaunt effect.

Kingful score: 9/10

This is a disturbing short story. It becomes even more terrifying when we consider that such technology might exist in the future. Imagine being in a space of white nothingness for billions of years. Only the thought of this can make you go mad!

Just After Sunset

“This was Willa on the edge of a smile.”

Summary: After a trainwreck, a husband walks a dangerous trail to find his wife Willa. After a close encounter with a wolf, he finds her in a bar, enjoying the dance and the music. But when she refuses to follow him back to the station, a grim realization sets in…

If you’re familiar with Stephen King, you can probably infer how this one is going to end. But I won’t spoil it altogether.

I will say this though: the human instinct to survive death can potentially follow us even after… death.

Kingful Score: 4/10

The author admitted that Willa isn’t the best short story in the “Just After Sunset” collection. But it’s the one that inspired a new creative era. While nothing jawdropping happens, it still remains a great, romantic… ghost story!

2. Stationary Bike

“A red LIPID hat”

Summary: A doctor warns middle-aged Richard Sifkitz that his lipids are high. He paints a vivid picture of how his metabolism is workers cleaning after his unhealthy diet – but as we age, they get tired. Richard buys a stationary bike to get fit again, only to become obsessed. Slowly, weird visions emerge; the “metabolism workers” come to life.

A clever, witty critique of modernity and how we lack moderation even when it comes to getting in shape. 

Stephen King transformed a rather mundane experience every thirty-something-year-old goes through into an imaginary horror.

So, next time you hop on the stationary bike or adopt a strict diet, remember that the workers need to get paid as well…

Kingful Score: 6/10

A different kind of short story from the Master of Horror. It’s a satire of modern times, infused with the twisted imagination of King.

Quick break : If you’re enjoying all things King, you should check out our little store here .

We have everything you need to immerse yourself in the universe of Stephen King. From printable bookmarks and checklists to cool prints and vintage postcards .

Night Shift

1. children of the corn.

“Don’t just stand there! Seize him! Punish him!”

Summary: On their way to vacations, a couple passing through Nebraska runs over a child. But once they looked closer, they realized he was already dead! They arrive at the nearest town to find the police, only to find out that they are alone. Except, a gang of children in Amish clothes make their appearance. They don’t look normal. They aren’t normal. They need something…

King is infamous for his use of innocent children as puppets of evil and wrongdoing. The juxtaposition of their angelic appearance with their malevolent nature creates a lot of emotional tension.

The themes in Children of the Corn have been used in numerous movies, to the point, we forget the original story. 

Kingful Score: 5/10

I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I was already familiar with the premise of the plot because as I’ve mentioned, it has been used in numerous projects unrelated to Stephen King. Nonetheless, if you like cults, religious fanaticism, and scary kids then this will be your cup of tea!

2. Boogeyman

“’ So nice,’ the voice from the closet said. ‘So nice.’ ” 

Summary: A man recounts the tragic story of how his three kids died. The psychiatrist is patiently listening as Lester Billings describes how a monster would lurk and kill each child in their crib after they’d scream “Boogeyman!”. He fears that this creature is following him.

A simple plot that becomes a phenomenal narrative story about the archetypical “monster under the bed”.

What if your worst fears as a child became a reality? What if your father DID find a boogeyman in the closet?

What if the boogeyman is still hiding in a dark corner as we speak?

Kingful Score: 8/10

This Stephen King short story hits the mark. While it is straightforward, the prose, the pacing, the plot twist make for a gut-wrenching ending. He tackles a very sensitive psychological chord that has to do with the primal fear of the unknown. An emotion all humans experience but we all hope it’s superstition and irrationality… until it’s not!

3. Jerusalem’s Lot

“I have walked beneath death’s umbrella and thought there was none darker. But there is. There is.”

Summary: Charles Boone and his servant, Cavin McCann, arrive at the abandoned mansion of Charle’s dead cousin. They slowly uncover the secrets of the family, after finding a map for a ghost village called Jerusalem’s lot. The darkness they unearth is scarier than death itself.

A prequel to the famous novel “Salem’s Lot”, the epistolary short story takes place in a Lovecraftian world where satanic cults and worm-like creatures lurk in the darkness. 

If you’re a fan of cosmic horror, Jerusalem’s Lot will become one of your favorite Stephen King short stories. The eerie atmosphere, the dangerous secret that pushes people to the brink of madness reminds me of the “Call of Cthulu” and “At the Mountain of Madness”.

Kingful Score: 9/10

As I mentioned, the Lovecraftian themes make this one of my favorite short stories by Stephen King, who rightly paid homage to his predecessor.

Nightmares & Dreamscapes

1. the doctor’s case.

“I believe there was only one occasion upon which I actually solved a crime before my slightly fabulous friend, Mr Sherlock Holmes”

Summary: Watson narrates a rather strange case he solved before his dear friend, Sherlock Holmes, could. Trying to figure out the impossible murder of Lord Hull, they slowly discover a much deeper secret that could potentially ruin many people’s lives.

King wears the shoes of Arthur Conan Doyle, borrowing his infamous characters. Add a little of Lovecraft’s magic and you get The Doctor’s Case. 

The short story is essentially an interactive puzzle, where you get to try to solve a mystery alongside Watson.

Essentially a pastiche, we find the same tropes employed in the Cthulu mythos and the Sherlock Holmes “universe”. Fairly enjoyable, mainly because it’s King’s foray into Sherlockiana.

2. The House on Maple Street

“It was the perfect liftoff!”

Summary: Returning to their house on Maple street after a summer away, the four Bradbury siblings discover something unusual growing in their house. Metal, bolts, and cogs slowly replace the foundation. A clock counting down to some sort of apocalypse. Suddenly, an idea! What if this weird machinery is their salvation from their abusive stepfather?

A lot of King’s short stories read like a kid’s triumph against oppressive adults. The House on Maple Street isn’t different.

Their shenanigans appear to be childish fantasies, escapism from a traumatic event. Yet, the author will gladly grant their dark wishes.

Not the fanciest, flashy story. But a very solid plot with a rather wholesome, yet twisted ending. My favorite out of the N&D collection, which happens to be my least favorite collection.

“A short story is like a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger”

By no means this is a complete list. But it’s enough to give you a taste of Stephen King’s short story collections.

I’m sure some of you disagree with the Kingful Score. Feel free to discuss your favorite Stephen King short stories in the comments below and add your own rating!

P.S. If you want more Kingful content, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter here so you don’t miss any updates!

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

10+1 Must-Read Stephen King Novels Ranked from Worst to Best

Don’t miss out on the latest Stephen King news, products, and freebies!

This site uses cookies to improve user experience. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies.

Delectable Doses of Dread: The Best of Stephen King's Chilling Short Fiction 

No matter the length of the story, Stephen King can still terrify us…

stephen-king-short-story-collection

  • Photo Credit: Featured photo: Jimmy Ofisia / Unsplash

Stephen King , maestro of horror and suspense, has given readers countless sleepless nights with his expansive novels. Yet, it's in his works of short fiction where he often distills his most potent themes, offering bite-sized, evocative tales that capture the breadth of human experience. Exploring King's short fiction is not just an immersion into the macabre and supernatural, but also a journey into an exploration of human nature, fears, and desires. Here is our list of the best of the best of King’s shorter tales, along with the collection in which you’ll find them.

Best Stories from Skeleton Crew by Stephen King

horror_short_stories

Skeleton Crew

By Stephen King

"Survivor Type": A once-renowned doctor gets marooned on an isolated island after a disastrous maritime incident. As desperation grows, he turns to unthinkable measures for sustenance. King daringly delves into the harrowing extremes of human survival instincts and the blurred lines of ethics.

"The Raft": College friends find themselves trapped atop a fragile raft on a secluded lake, with an eerie, oil-like creature menacingly lurking below. King's storytelling magnifies the tension of isolation, crafting a powerful allegory about life's relentless challenges and our transient existence.

"The Mist": A post-storm mist engulfs a Maine town, concealing monstrous creatures from another realm. As townsfolk seek shelter in a store, internal strife and mistrust escalate, proving that sometimes human conflict overshadows otherworldly threats.

horror_short_stories

Searching for chills? Sign up for The Lineup 's newsletter to get terrifying recommendations delivered straight to your inbox.

Best Stories from The Night Shift by Stephen King

books for fans of scary stories to tell in the dark

Night Shift

"The Mangler": A seemingly innocuous laundry machine becomes a murderous entity in a local laundromat. Delving into the horrors, a detective and his ally uncover a petrifying link between the machine and dreadful incidents. King employs everyday items to discuss unchecked technological advancements.

"Lawnmower Man": A homeowner's seemingly routine lawnmowing hire reveals a worker with a dark, unholy secret and a morbid way of maintaining lawns. King unravels the hidden, horrifying underbelly of suburban life.

"The Woman in the Room": A son battles with the heart-wrenching choice of easing his dying mother's pain. King's narrative poignantly navigates the intricate emotions tied to love, demise, and moral crossroads.

"Quitters, Inc.": Joining a unique anti-smoking program, a man discovers their eerie, perilous tactics for guaranteeing cessation. King humorously, yet darkly, comments on our society's fixation with instant solutions.

"The Ledge": A man's illicit love affair lands him in a terrifying dare: to walk around a skyscraper's narrow ledge. King spotlights the intense dread rooted in innate human fears.

"Children of the Corn": Travelers uncover an abandoned town governed by a child cult worshipping a dark force within their corn crops. Through this eerie tale, King delves into the perils of religious extremism.

"One for the Road": Following the unsettling events of 'Salem's Lot,’ a rescue mission unfolds in a vampire-infested town. This chilling sequel emphasizes the enduring nature of malevolence.

"The Boogeyman": In therapy, a grieving father details his belief that a closeted monster murdered his kids. King combines tangible horror with abstract notions of blame and parental anguish.

"The Last Rung on the Ladder": A letter reminisces about a fateful childhood incident, spotlighting its lasting impact. Moving away from horror, King delves into themes of nostalgia and the fleeting nature of relationships.

books for fans of scary stories to tell in the dark

8 Underrated Stephen King Books

Best Story from Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen King

nightmares-and-dreamscapes-book-cover

Nightmares & Dreamscapes

"The Moving Finger": Howard Mitla's ordinary bathroom becomes the setting for a surreal standoff with an inexplicably growing finger. King turns an everyday setting into a horror scene, blending dark comedy with the terror of the unexplained.

nightmares-and-dreamscapes-book-cover

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: 13 Best Stephen King Short Stories That Will Chill You to the Bone

Best Stories from Different Seasons by Stephen King

different-seasons-book-cover

Different Seasons

"The Breathing Method": In a secretive club, a tale unfolds of a woman's unusual childbirth method during 1930s New York. King delves into the realm of the uncanny, using the backdrop of a storytelling club to blend the mundane with the mysterious.

"The Body": Four boys set out on a journey to find the body of a missing child, confronting their own fears and the passage of childhood along the way. A poignant coming-of-age story , King captures the fragile bridge between innocence and the realities of adulthood.

"Apt Pupil": A young boy discovers that his elderly neighbor is a former Nazi war criminal and becomes darkly obsessed, leading to a sinister bond between them. King examines the seductive allure of evil and how the sins of the past can reverberate into the present.

"Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption": Convicted for a crime he didn't commit, Andy Dufresne endures life in Shawshank prison, cultivating hope and plotting a remarkable escape. King offers a meditation on hope, friendship, and redemption within the bleak confines of incarceration.

different-seasons-book-cover

Best Stories from The Bachman Books by Stephen King

the-bachman-books-book-cover

The Bachman Books

"The Long Walk": In a grim future, 100 boys engage in a fatal contest: an unending walk. Writing as Bachman, King critiques authoritarianism and societal bloodlust.

the-bachman-books-book-cover

Best Story from Just After Sunset by Stephen King

best stephen king short stories

Just After Sunset

"N": Through a psychiatrist's records, we learn of "N," a man ensnared by an ominous stone formation's pull, raising questions about the intersection of mental disorders and supernatural phenomena.

best stephen king short stories

Best Stories from Everything's Eventual by Stephen King

best stephen king short stories

Everything's Eventual

"The Road Virus Heads North": An author buys a haunting painting of a sinister figure in a car, only to realize the figure moves closer to his home each time he looks. King uses the medium of art to explore the inevitability of fate and the creeping dread of impending doom.

"Autopsy Room 4": A man wakes up paralyzed on an autopsy table, overhearing the examiners prepare to start the procedure. This tense, claustrophobic tale highlights the horror of helplessness and the dread of being trapped within one's own body.

"1408": A cynical author's skepticism is put to the test when he encounters inexplicable phenomena in a reputedly haunted hotel room. King plays with the concept of haunted spaces, questioning the line between reality and otherworldly influences while exposing the vulnerabilities of skepticism.

"All That You Love Will Be Carried Away": A traveling salesman finds solace in puzzling restroom scribbles. King highlights the human quest for purpose in the unlikeliest places.

best stephen king short stories

Best Story from If It Bleeds by Stephen King

if-it-bleeds-book-cover

If It Bleeds

"Rat": Drew Larson, a writer at his wit's end, strikes a troubling deal with a rat in his secluded cabin. King portrays the daunting pressures of artistic creation and the moral boundaries artists might breach for acclaim.

if-it-bleeds-book-cover

13 Creepy Short Story Collections to Read After You're Finished with If It Bleeds

Featured photo:  Jimmy Ofisia / Unsplash

Get our eeriest tales and best book deals delivered straight to your inbox.

Facebook

© 2024 OPEN ROAD MEDIA

  • We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

best short story stephen king

Short Works

best short story stephen king

© Copyright © 2000 - 2020 Stephen King - All Rights Reserved.

Reader Haven Long Logo

Stephen King Short Story Collections In Order (New 2024 Book)

Last Updated on January 7, 2024 by Taylor

Stephen King is one of my favorite authors of all time, and I know I’m not alone in that sentiment. Not only are his stories incredibly imaginative, but he also manages to completely immerse you in his characters’ lives, until you don’t even realize that you’re reading a story.

If you haven’t read his short stories – or you’re trying to figure out which collection to pick up next – you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a guide to all of Stephen King’s short story collections (including a new book coming in 2024!), plus details on the best TV show and movie adaptations of those stories. (Perfect for watching during spooky season, or really anytime!).

stack of Stephen King short story collections

**Please note, some links on this page are affiliate links. If a purchase is made through an affiliate link, I may receive a commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full disclosure policy  here . Thanks for your support!

Who is Stephen King?

Stephen King is one of the most popular, prolific, and best writers of our time. Some might assume he only writes horror novels, because that’s what he’s most known for, but his range is actually quite far-reaching when it comes to genre.

In fact, he’s written novels and short stories in a variety of genres, including (but not limited to) horror, fantasy, science fiction, magical realism, and general fiction.

His works have won numerous awards and have been adapted into countless TV shows, miniseries, and movies.

Not a fan of horror? Check out this post for Stephen King’s best non-horror mysteries and thrillers .

Stephen King’s Short Story Collections In Order

King’s writing shines just as much in short story form as it does in novel form. It grabs ahold of you and doesn’t let go until the final page.

No matter what genre he’s writing in, his stories are compelling and emotionally-charged. Some of his stories can scare like no other, but they’re also packed with heart at their core.

Below, I’m sharing all of Stephen King’s short story collections in order of publication date, plus some standout stories and/or popular TV and movie adaptations from those stories.

Night Shift

Night Shift book cover

Order on Amazon  |  Order on Bookshop.com

Stephen King’s first short story collection is also one of his most beloved, with many stories being adapted into movies.

Two of the stories, Quitters, Inc. and The Ledge , were adapted into a 1985 movie called Cat’s Eye starring Drew Barrymore (as a child actress). It’s definitely worth watching!

Additionally, Children of the Corn and Sometimes They Come Back were both adapted into movies, in 1984 and 1991, respectively.

In this collection, there are also two stories set in the same world as his popular novel, Salem’s Lot .

Publication year: 1978

Different Seasons

Different Seasons book cover

If you have to choose just one King collection to read, read this one. It contains some of his most beloved and well-known novellas, including Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body .

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is a must-read story, and it was the inspiration for the Best Picture Academy Award nominated movie, The Shawshank Redemption .

The Body was adapted into the 1986 film Stand By Me , with Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, and Kiefer Sutherland. It’s a nostalgic coming-of-age story about a group of boys during one summer in Castle Rock, Oregon.

Stand By Me is one of my all-time favorite King adaptations, and is a great choice if you’re not in the mood for something scary.

Publication year: 1982

Skeleton Crew

Skeleton Crew book cover

Order on Amazon   |   Order on Bookshop.com

This is a perfect read for spooky season, since some of the stories take place during Halloween.

Skeleton Crew also includes the novella, The Mist – which is a well-known (yet polarizing) movie adaptation.

Also, if you’ve read a decent amount of Stephen King stories, you’ll probably recognize his often-used fictional town setting: Castle Rock. Some of the stories in this collection take place there, too!

Publication year: 1985

Four Past Midnight

Four Past Midnight book cover

Like a couple of his other collections, this one consists solely of novellas (longer short stories).

One of the novellas ( Secret Window, Secret Garden ) is the basis for one of King’s most well-known movie adaptations (and one of my favorites): Secret Window.

The 2004 movie – about a bestselling writer who’s stalked by someone accusing him of plagiarism – stars Johnny Depp and John Torturro.

It’s suspenseful and twisty, and follows a common theme in many of Stephen King’s stories: characters who are authors, and the struggles that come along with being a writer.

Publication year: 1990

Nightmares & Dreamscapes

Nightmares and Dreamscapes book cover

Order on Amazon   |   Order on Bookshop .com

This collection includes a LOT of stories, many of which are quite short – though the collection itself is over 900 pages long.

While none of the stories from this collection have garnered blockbuster adaptations (yet), some of them were adapted into a television anthology series called Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King .

Publication year: 1993

Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales

Everything's Eventual book cover

Everything’s Eventual is one of my favorite story collections so far (though I’m still working my way through them all).

If you’re a fan of King’s Dark Tower series, you’ll find a couple gems in this collection with strong ties to that world.

This also includes the story 1408 , which was adapted into a popular movie starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. It’s about a skeptical paranormal investigator who checks in to hotel room that’s said to be haunted.

Publication year: 2002

Just After Sunset

Just After Sunset book cover

While this may not be King’s most popular collection, there are definitely some stand-out stories that make it worth reading!

The Gingerbread Girl and Rest Stop in particular are especially well-liked, plus a story titled N. that has strong Lovecraftian vibes.

Publication year: 2008

Full Dark, No Stars

Full Dark No Stars book cover

Here’s another collection of longer stories – novellas – where King explores the dark side of humanity.

The novella 1922 inspired the 2017 Netflix movie of the same name, about a farmer in the 1920s who has sinister plans for his wife.

Publication year: 2011

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams book cover

One of his newer short story collections, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams features stories that are somewhat tied together by a thread of similar themes – morality (and its many shades of gray), the afterlife, and regret.

Publication year: 2015

If It Bleeds

If It Bleeds by Stephen King book cover

Order on Amazon  |  Support local bookstores

This collection of four novellas by Stephen King contains the novella If It Bleeds , a standalone sequel to The Outsider (and part of the Holly Gibney series ). The story follows Holly Gibney as she investigates her first solo case.

The three other novellas/stories from this collection have all been adapted into film (or optioned for film):

  • Mr. Harrigan’s Phone was adapted by Ryan Murphy, Netflix, and Blumhouse. It was released in 2022 as a full-length movie starring Jaeden Martell and Donald Sutherland.
  • Rat was optioned by Ben Stiller.
  • The Life of Chuck was optioned by Darren Aronofsky.

Publication year: 2020

You Like It Darker (New 2024 Stephen King Book!)

new Stephen King 2024 book cover

Stephen King is back with a brand new short story collection coming in 2024, featuring twelve brand new stories!

These stories explore the darker side of life, from an unfortunate inheritance to a job that makes a man question if some parts of the world are better left alone.

Publication date: May 21st, 2024

Whether you’re a constant reader (i.e. Stephen King fan) or you’re new to his books, I hope you get a chance to read some of these stories!

Related posts you might enjoy:

  • Holly Gibney Books by Stephen King (Series Guide)
  • Bill Hodges Trilogy by Stephen King (Series Guide)
  • 21 Perfectly Spooky Books for Halloween
  • 17 Spine-Tingling Haunted House Books
  • The Best Ray Bradbury Books to Read During October

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

10 Stephen King Short Fiction Stories that Need a Feature Length Adaptation

Short stories for the big screen.

Stephen King is an author who has dominated the pop-culture landscape for decades. He's produced dozens of novels and hundreds of short fiction pieces, many of which have spawned feature-length films, short films, TV series, miniseries, graphic novels, and more. King even has a policy of letting burgeoning film students take a swing at adapting a rotating selection of short stories for just one dollar , dubbing these collaborations "dollar babies."

RELATED: 5 Stephen King Adaptations That Deserve a Better Remake

A lot of King's stories were born to be adapted. His style is kinetic and cinematic, and often based on a single sentence "high concept." Directors like Rob Reiner , Frank Darabont , and Mike Flanagan have all created successful adaptations of King's work. His short stories and novellas, in particular, are perhaps best suited for the big screen. It's easier to add to a story than it is to subtract, and King's short stories and novellas have just enough material to create a rich, feature-length work.

'N.' (2008)

N. by Stephen King

N. is Stephen King's take on cosmic horror in the style of H.P. Lovecraft and Arthur Machen, from its narrative structure to the Eldritch entity haunting the characters' waking moments. This story features an embedded narrative of a woman who is investigating the sudden suicide of her brother John, a psychiatrist, shortly after he treated the titular patient, N.

N. appears to be diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, believing that his rituals are keeping an interdimensional being from breaking through into our reality. John digs deeper into N.'s claims and it becomes clear that N.'s beliefs may have some truth to them. Cosmic horror works are tough to adapt. It's often easier to show audiences a big, scary monster than imply horror and let their imagination do the rest. However, if left in the right hands, N . can be made into a compelling psychological drama with a cosmic horror edge to it.

'Ur' (2009)

Stephen King with a Pink Kinldle

Amazon's Kindle was a killer piece of tech in the late 2000s, and a subtle theme in King's works is the latest technology and machinery being supernaturally inclined. King, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly , states that after his agent brought up the idea to write a Kindle exclusive, he "had previously written about homicidal cars, sinister computers, and brain-destroying mobile phones."

Ur has an interesting enough premise that could carry it as a feature-length adaptation. English teacher Wesley Smith attempts to get with the times and buys an e-reader, specifically a Kindle. However, the one he gets is fluorescent pink and has access to stories by Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Allan Poe that they never wrote. Smith realizes that his Kindle has access to a literal multiverse of literature, from novels to newspaper clippings. In the hands of the right director, a film adaptation of Ur could be less of a product tie-in and more of a study of what a normal person would do with access to that kind of incredible information.

'Fair Extension' (2010)

Full Dark No Stars Cover

Fair Extension was published in the novella collection Full Dark, No Stars . The title of the collection is apt, considering that the works contained inside it are fairly bleak and have little if any, bright spots. In Fair Extension , Dave Streeter is a man who has had a rotten life. He's been surpassed by his best friend, Tom Goodhugh in all aspects of his life, while Tom has taken advantage of his earnestness at every turn. To cap it all off, Dave has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

RELATED: The Best Horror Movies on Netflix Right Now

Enter George Elvid, a strange man that has a roadside shop by an airport. Dave has a chance encounter with Elvid and he makes him an offer he can't refuse. Elvid can increase Dave's life expectancy by dumping his "misfortune" onto someone he knows and truly hates. Naturally, Dave picks Tom as his sacrificial lamb. What follows is a stark reversal of fortune for both parties and a display of the lengths people will go to ease their suffering at the expense of others. The film could easily be made into a dark comedy as Dave soars to new heights and Tom plummets to unfathomable depths.

"Night Surf" (1969)

Night-Surf-by-Stephen-King-1

"Night Surf" is one of Stephen King's earlier short stories, but it holds a special place in his bibliography. It's the first appearance of the fictitious disease Captain Trips, a superflu that nearly wipes out humanity in King's post-apocalyptic epic, The Stand . "Night Surf" focuses on a very small group of former college students occupied at Anson Beach, New Hampshire after the world is ravaged by Captain Trips. They whittle away their days drinking, smoking, and chatting, knowing that their future holds nothing good.

The story is brief and fairly minimalist, but that's what makes it so compelling. It's a stark look at a group of people that know humanity is finished. There's no light at the end of the tunnel or dues ex machina : this is it. In the hands of the right director, they can make a compelling 90-minute feature of these people wandering through the wastes of Anson Beach and mulling over their fleeting existence. It would be closer to a stage play à la Waiting For Godot , but as the saying goes, sometimes less is more.

"Quitters, Inc." (1978)

Quitters Inc

"Quitters, Inc." is a Kafka-esque short story about breaking one of the toughest habits to break: smoking. Dick Morrison is an advertising agent that's a smoker who runs into an old friend that kicked the habit himself. He went with the secretive company Quitters, Inc. and was able to break his habit without resorting to dirty tricks or nauseating drugs. Morrison checks them out and quickly realizes that the company resorts to far worse tactics than that. Morrison is now caught between his habit and the safety of him and his family.

The short story succeeds as both a horror story about omnipresent company surveillance and the threat of violence if you break one of their rules and a satire about how far people go to kick a smoking habit. There's something comical about how seriously the employees of Quitters, Inc. take their job, but terrifying how quickly they jump between wanting to help Morrison to wanting to hurt him. "Quitters, Inc." is an engaging, satiric thriller that could come to life on the large screen.

"The Man in the Black Suit" (1994)

The Man in the Black Suit

The Devil heads up to Maine in the short story, "The Man in the Black Suit." Gary's a young boy whose family just went through a personal tragedy. His brother had died of an allergic reaction to a bee sting and his family, naturally, hasn't been the same since. One day, Gary heads out into the woods to fish, and he's accosted by a strange man in a black suit. Gary quickly realizes that the man is the Devil, and is now in a fight for his very soul.

The strength of the story comes from the fact that it's an extremely human one. It's not just about the Devil scaring a child, but a young boy coming face to face with his mortality. It would almost be too easy to just make it a jumpscare-a-minute type flick with the Devil passively haunting Gary, but not doing anything meaningful until the climax. A good adaptation would further emphasize the family dynamic and their struggles with loss and subtly hint at the Devil's presence until his confrontation with Gary.

"Everything's Eventual" (1997)

Everything's Eventual Short Film

"Everything's Eventual" is a techno-thriller from King. It follows Richard "Dinky" Earnshaw and his recent employment into the shadowy Trans Corporation. Dinky doesn't have a lot of qualities that would make employers jump at the chance to hire him. He's a high-school dropout that only excelled in his computer classes and currently works at his local supermarket. However, Trans Corporation picks him up because of his talent for drawing pictures: pictures that can drive someone to suicide.

RELATED: Stephen King’s ‘The Boogeyman’ Getting Film Adaptation From ‘Host’ Director Rob Savage

They put him to work as an assassin to kill the "bad" people of the world and Dinky jumps right into his new role. The story is loaded with intrigue and Dinky's ability is scary as it is compelling. Dinky is also the atypical protagonist in that he mostly lacks any heroic qualities and comes across as a jaded burnout. His chemistry with his employer Mr. Sharpton is also compelling, in that Sharpton, despite pushing Dinky to become essentially a mass murder, cares deeply for his welfare and has a genuine rapport with him.

"I Am the Doorway" (1971)

Poster for the short film, I Am the Doorway, directed by Simon Pearce

Space isn't scary. It's what's in that big black void is scary. King bases the premise of "I Am the Doorway" off of a fairly pulpy sci-fi presence: two astronauts go on a trip to Venus to survey it for any signs of life. Things go south from there, however. They come up empty-handed and the narrator, Arthur, is the only one to make it home: their return capsule malfunctioned, leaving Arthur in a wheelchair and his partner dead. A few years after the crash, a strange itching develops along with Arthur's hands, and he quickly realizes in the beginning phases of a shocking transformation.

King does an excellent job melding cosmic and body horror together. King provides a detailed look at what's going on in Arthur's head as his body begins to change. His thoughts are realistically and painfully anxious, and it would be great to see a performer go through Arthur's mental and physical trials in a feature-length film. In addition, the inciting incident is just as interesting. With the proper direction, the first half of the film could be 2001: A Space Odyssey -esque exploration of the solar system, and the second half could be a psychologically-tinged body horror film.

'Blockade Billy' (2010)

Blockade Bill by Stephen King

How well do you know someone? From the start of meeting someone, you think you have a good grasp of their character, but who can truly know somebody? King tackles this question with his novella Blockade Billy. The novel is framed by King interviewing a retired third base coach for the fictitious major league team, the New Jersey Titans. The coach, George "Granny" Grantham, recounts his strange experiences with William Blakely, a new third base catcher that rises to prominence as "Blockade Billy."

Billy is a natural player that seems harmless and isn't all that bright. However, George believes something is wrong with Billy after one of their players has his ankles slashed after Billy tags him out on base: Billy claims his innocence. The novella carefully unravels the mystery of Billy: in a proper adaptation, the unpredictability and uneasiness Billy creates would be emphasized. We, as the audience, know there's something wrong with Billy, but we aren't quite sure what it is or what he will do. Blockade Billy would make for a great mystery thriller for the silver screen.

"The Little Sisters of Eluria" (1998)

Little Sisters of Eluria by Stephen King

Stephen King's biggest influences come from gothic horror and Westerns. Two of his most well-known works, Salems' Lot and The Dark Tower draw from those wells, respectively. "The Little Sisters of Eluria" is a prequel to his epic T he Dark Tower series and marries these influences into one cohesive work.

The Dark Tower follows the quest of the gunslinger Roland of Gilead, the last of his order, and his quest to find the titular tower and restore balance to the universe. He finds himself in the abandoned village of Eluria and is taken captive by the resident Little Sisters. They're a group of vampiric nuns that take in "patients" and feed upon them when they're ripe and healthy. It's exciting to imagine the duster-clad gunslinger braving the horrors of an abandoned, gothic-styled town, and would serve as a good entry point into the mainline Dark Tower mythos .

KEEP READING: 7 Stephen King Adaptations That Got it Right

Den of Geek

Stephen King: 16 Best Scary Stories to Read

Here are 16 of the very best horror stories from Stephen King!

best short story stephen king

  • Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
  • Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab)
  • Share on Linkedin (opens in a new tab)
  • Share on email (opens in a new tab)

Stephen King is a master of the short story, able to dish out horror tales to make your skin crawl, astounding sci-fi, and even literary reflections aimed at more “sophisticated” readers. He’s done it all, with no sign of stopping. 

Although I’ve had the tough task of picking 16 of my favorite King horror tales for this list, you should absolutely pick up ALL of his collections and give them a read through. You’ll always find something to give you the chills. 

Make a note: this is a list of  short stories , not novellas. And on top of that, stories that are genuinely scary. I didn’t forget “The Mist” or “N.” or “Secret Window, Secret Garden” or any of those other goodies. Those deserve their own article, don’t they?

So below: a list of stories and what collections you can find them in. “N.” would have been my inclusion from Just After Sunset , but again, that’s really a novella. “The Cat from Hell” ain’t bad, either. But really, none of the stories from that collection made the cut for me. You can yell at me in the comments. 

Ad – content continues below

Night Shift (1978)

Graveyard shift.

Night Shift , King’s first short story collection, is really the crux of this article, as it features several of his best scary tales to date. They have a B-movie sensibility right at home in the late ’60s and early ’70s, and were influenced by campy cult films and plenty of EC comics. Hell, many of the stories have even become cult films themselves.  

“Graveyard Shift,” the second story in the book, is a great example of what King can do with seemingly ordinary situations turned bad…really, really bad. In one of his most campy stories to date, a group of men are tasked with cleaning up the abandoned basement of a textile mill that’s been infested by rats for years. As they descend into the depths of the mill, the horrors they find are…well, you’ll just have to find out, won’t you? 

Read more: Stephen King’s 10 Best Horror Novels

I Am the Doorway

If you’re a Constant Reader, you’re probably used to King’s use of body horror. This is one of his early ones and features a bit of science fiction as well. An astronaut returns from a mission to Venus after coming into contact with a strange alien mutagen. Upon his return, he discovers that eyeballs are growing out of his hands! This one is just too much fun to miss…

The Mangler

You’ve probably heard of this one: a series of very weird (and unfortunate) events causes an industrial laundry press to become possessed by a demon. No, I don’t know where the hell this guy comes up with all this stuff. King has a way of turning ordinary blue-collar life into grisly death. This one was turned into a movie directed by Tobe Hooper a few years back, and it stars Robert Englund. Yes, it’s as bad as you think. 

You’ve probably heard of this one, too. Because King tried to direct a movie based on this story. Motor vehicles have inexplicably come to life and decide to murder all humans who disobey them. The doomed characters in this story suffer a very tragic end that’s almost poetic. By the way, the movie King directed is called Maximum Overdrive , and it’s the only time anyone was crazy enough to let this guy behind a camera. 

Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

Sometimes They Come Back

Okay, you’re probably wondering why I totally skipped “Children of the Corn.” The answer is simple: that story has become so twisted in its movie form that a) you already know how the story goes, b) what you’ve seen in those god awful movies has tainted any good perspective on said story. That said, yes, read it or whatever. 

read more: It Chapter Two Easter Eggs and Reference Guide

BUT, you do get this treat instead: “Sometimes They Come Back” is one of my favorite King stories to date. A teacher is haunted by three psychotic greasers from his childhood. After those around him begin to die, he realizes that he has to fight pure evil with pure evil. Truly creepy. 

You can buy Night Shift right here!

Skeleton Crew (1985)

Here there be tygers.

King loves tormenting little kids in his stories, and believe it or not, “Here There Be Tygers” is one of the lighter examples. And it has nothing to do with the Ray Bradbury story of the same name. In King’s story, a little boy really needs to go to the bathroom but is too frightened to do so when he encounters a tiger in the school lavatory. Because of course there’s a tiger waiting in a bathroom. King has said that this was one of his earliest stories, written when he was in high school. 

This a weird one. A diabolical cymbal-banging monkey toy torments several characters through the years. How does a toy cause such dread in its owner? Well, every time it bangs its little cymbals, someone or something dies. Simple enough.

Read more: 12 Best Stephen King Movies

The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands

In a sort of “campfire story” format that’s quite fitting for King, a mysterious club in Manhattan gathers to tell tales of the strange and grotesque. A companion to a novella called “The Breathing Method” from Different Seasons , tonight’s tale is about a man with a peculiar phobia: he’s terrified of touching anyone and avoids all physical contact like it’s the plague. The conclusion to this one is quite fun. Maybe not a traditional scary story, but the story circle format really lends it that Halloween feel. I’d love to see an anthology series based on this format – Are You Afraid of the Dark? for King fans.

You might know this one. It was later adapted by Harlan Ellison for Twilight Zone ’85 and was recently turned into a movie starring Chandler Riggs (Carl from The Walking Dead ). A little boy is left alone with his gramma, a bed-ridden old woman who frightens him deeply. As you’d expect, he indeed has a lot to be frightened about. Interestingly enough, horror buffs will notice that this story is part of the Cthulhu Mythos, the shared fictional universe created by H.P. Lovecraft, one of King’s idols. 

You can buy Skeleton Crew right here!

Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Home delivery.

I like this one because it’s a Stephen King zombie story. Part George A. Romero outbreak epic and part intimate story about reuniting with those you’ve lost, “Home Delivery” is a good read and even gives us a reason behind the apocalypse that’s too fun to miss. King’s other “zombie” tale, a book called Cell , is also worth a read.

Sorry, Right Number

No, I guess this one is technically a teleplay, which was produced as an episode of Tales from the Darkside , but it’s short enough to read as a short story. Sue me. This is the first King story I ever read—in a school textbook, no less!!—and it remains one of my favorites. A woman receives a very strange call from a distressed woman, who can’t quite deliver her message. The message and the outcome of this story are really heartbreaking.

You can buy Nightmares & Dreamscapes right here!

Everything’s Eventual (2002)

Autopsy room four.

Perhaps the most fun story King has ever written, this isn’t the kind of King horror you’re used to. Yet, it’s still exceptionally terrifying. The situation is as real as they come (in a King story, anyway) and the outcome is actually pretty funny. A good story for those looking for lighter fare on Halloween. 

The Man in the Black Suit

King’s most literary horror story to date tells the tale of a boy’s encounter with the Devil, who appears to him as a man dressed in a black suit that smells like burnt matches. The story isn’t so much horror as it is a rumination on mortality. The monster in this story isn’t out to get you. Instead, it wants to let you know it’s there and it’s waiting. 

Read more: A Guide to Stephen King’s Dark Tower Universe

The Road Virus Heads North

A killer painting is the subject of this story. Yes, this list has proved that if you put the adjective “killer” in front of pretty much any object, you get a Stephen King monster. Still, this one’s plenty of fun, if you like a little camp with your horror. 

Latest Book reviews

Interview with the vampire episode 1 review: in throes of increasing wonder, interview with the vampire review: the best anne rice adaptation ever made, the time traveler's wife review: steven moffat drama gives us another girl who waited.

Rounding Everything’s Eventual is “1408,” another one of King’s “writer in peril” stories that he loves writing so much. This one stars Mike Enslin, a guy who writes about haunted places he’s visited. He arrives to the Hotel Dolphin in New York City after he hears about the infamous room 1408. Although he doesn’t believe that any of the places he’s written about are truly haunted, room 1408 does a lot to change his mind. 

You can buy Everything’s Eventual right here!

Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015)

King really is having fun with “The Dune,” a more classical horror story with a twist ending that will give you chills. A man tells his lawyer a story about his secret obsession with a dune on an unnamed island off the Florida coast that can predict people’s deaths. Every time he makes the trip to the island, the man sees a new person’s name written in the sand, and within a month, that person is found dead. It’s a haunting little story that might remind you of Poe, as the shocking truth behind the man’s tale is revealed with a sinister smile.

You can buy Bazaar of Bad Dreams right here!

Alright, Constant Readers, what are your favorite Stephen King horror stories? What are you reading leading up to Halloween? Tell us in the comments!

John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work  here . Follow him on Twitter  @johnsjr9 . 

A version of this article originally ran on Oct. 30, 2015.

John Saavedra

John Saavedra | @johnsjr9

John Saavedra is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Den of Geek. He lives in New York City with his two cats.

The Best Short Story Collections That Keep You Reading

Which of these captivating collections will you be picking up next?

female young behind book with face covered for a red book while smiling

Short story collections offer the perfect medium for fiction writers to craft compelling, affecting narratives that simply may not warrant a full-length novel to explore the ideas. The short story collection’s compact form delivers concise, impactful ideas and can free authors to explore a multitude of themes, characters, story arcs and styles within a single collection. Collections of short fiction have allowed writers like Edgar Allen Poe, Flannery O’Connor and James Baldwin to experiment with different tones, voices and plot devices while providing readers with gripping but approachable standalone stories.

These 8 short story collections are extremely readable, cover a variety of genres and authors and may give you a newfound appreciation of writers you already love.

Homesick For Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh

a ring with a person's face on it

From one of the most compelling, propulsive voices in contemporary fiction, Moshfegh’s 2017 short story collection is an eclectic compendium of some of her best fiction work—much of which was previously published in places like The Paris Review , The New Yorker and Vice . Exceedingly atmospheric and permeated with Moshfegh’s hallmark sordid wit, Homesick For Another World interrogates the ubiquitous afflictions of the human condition and our capacity for cruelty through the collection’s generally amoral, misanthropic protagonists. A highly anticipated follow-up to Moshfegh’s breakout debut novel Eileen , Homesick was later named a New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2017 and drew innumerable comparisons to the work of renowned authors like Mary Gaitskill and Flannery O’Connor.

Earth Angel by Madeline Cash

a lizard on a woman's head

An electric debut from author Madeline Cash, Earth Angel is a collection of short stories that rockets through the reader’s imagination like a fever dream. Teeming with chimeric vignettes synthesizing the mundanely sinister realities of a capitalist culture with cataclysmic doomsday tropes, Earth Angel manages to be both endlessly funny and deeply poignant without feeling didactic. Cash both parodies and embraces the myopic stylings dominating popular fiction in a way that never feels malicious, but rather like the playful ribbing of a writer that refuses to take herself too seriously. Irreverent, compelling and laugh-out-loud funny, Earth Angel marks the emergence of one of contemporary fiction’s most exciting new figures.

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

calendar

A surrealist collection from Severance author Ling Ma, Bliss Montage marks Ma’s first published short story collection after her phenomenal debut novel (which has no relation to the recent Apple TV+ series, by the way). Uncanny, otherworldly and above all evocative— Bliss Montage contains eight wildly different stories each touching on universal themes of the human experience against phantasmagoric, though eerily familiar backdrops. Ranging from a tale of two friends bonded by their shared use of a drug that turns you invisible to the story of a tourist caught up in a fatalistic healing ritual, Ma’s unforgettable collection manages to be both ingeniously unique and undoubtedly universal at once. Somehow both outlandish and quotidian, Bliss Montage keeps readers wrapped up in Ma’s captivating prose from start to end.

Daddy by Emma Cline

a person lying on a train

A thrilling examination of unspoken power structures (predominantly male power in a patriarchal society), Daddy by Emma Cline offers glimpses into the unexamined lives of each story's protagonist, often playfully alluding to, but never explicitly pointing to, a certain moral paradigm. Fraught familial dynamics, imbalanced romantic relationships and moral nuance permeate Cline’s collection, and each story offers a taste of her infectious prose and incisive style. The ten stories on offer often end achingly realistically, rejecting a tidy, personally gratifying ending—making each story appear as a certain tableau harkening to an idea rather than a traditional beginning, middle and end. Suspenseful, richly descriptive and engrossing—Cline’s collection begs to be devoured.

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King

a poster with a black dragon

First Person Singular by Haruki Murakami

diagram

First published in July 2020, First Person Singular is a collection of eight short stories each told from, you guessed it, the first-person singular perspective. Written by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, First Person Singular explores themes of nostalgia and lost love through stories from the perspective of mostly unnamed, middle-aged male protagonists believed to be based largely on the author himself, though some are more fantastical than others. Ranging from slice-of-life stories wherein the narrator reminisces on a past relationship, to the tale of a monkey doomed to fall in love with human women, the stories employ a myriad of hallmark Murakami techniques like magical realism, music, nostalgia and aging.

The Houseguest and Other Stories by Amparo Dávila

a green and pink bag

The first collection by beloved Mexican author Amparo Dávila to be translated into English, The Houseguest is a collection of 12 short stories touching on themes of obsession, paranoia and fear primarily featuring female protagonists and narrators. Often compared to horror writers like Edgar Allen Poe and Shirley Jackson, Dávila’s writing often deals with abstract feelings of dread and paranoia, imbuing them with magical realism to craft jarring, transfixing narratives that seem both eerily familiar and preternatural. Each tale menaced by an unseen, pernicious force, Dávila’s writing revels in its ambiguity with no straightforward answers. The Houseguest is an anxiety-inducing page-turner which will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

text, letter

Though technically a short story cycle (a collection of self-contained short stories arranged to convey a concept or theme greater than the sum of its atomized parts), Olive Kitteridge consists of 13 stories each taking place in the fictional town of Crosby, Maine. The stories predominantly center on Olive Kitteridge, a brusque but caring retired school teacher and longtime resident of Crosby. Other stories show Olive only as a secondary character or in a cameo capacity and are from the point of view of other townsfolk. Winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the collection was later adapted into a critically acclaimed miniseries starring Frances McDormand, Richard Jenkins, Zoe Kazan and Bill Murray. Profound, heartbreaking and human, Olive Kitteridge is an unforgettable first-read that will still impact you even if you watched the miniseries before.

preview for Good Housekeeping US Section: Life

@media(max-width: 64rem){.css-o9j0dn:before{margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-right:0.625rem;color:#ffffff;width:1.25rem;bottom:-0.2rem;height:1.25rem;content:'_';display:inline-block;position:relative;line-height:1;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}} All the Best Books to Read Next

savannah guthrie and family

6 Best Taylor Swift Books for Kids of All Ages

the view whoopi goldberg book memoir news instagram

Whoopi Goldberg Shares Personal Book Announcement

today show savannah guthrie book jenna bush hager instagram

Savannah Guthrie Shares Career News with JBH

the first five percy jackson books in a row

How to Read the 'Percy Jackson' Books in Order

today show savannah guthrie book mostly what god does instagram

'Today' Star Savannah Guthrie Reveals New Project

best books of 2023

Must-Read Books Before the End of 2023

best romance books

Turn Up the Heat With These Steamy Romance Books

closeup on happy housewife preparing christmas dinner in kitchen

The Best New Cookbooks That Make Great Gifts

five books in a row on an orange background

The Most-Anticipated Books of 2024 (So Far!)

midnight is the darkest hour book cover

GH+ Reads Review: 'Midnight Is the Darkest Hour'

seafaring sexism

How Women Deal With Sexism on the Open Seas

Screen Rant

10 best film adaptations of stephen king's short stories, according to imdb.

Although maybe not quite as famous as some of Stephen King's other works, these adaptations are no less scary.

Famously, Stephen King has had mixed feelings about the screen adaptations of his works. As well as his multitude of novels adapted to the screen, including the latest version of  Salem's Lot   set to debut this year, there's also a plethora of his more obscure short stories like  Rest Stop  and  The Jaunt  set to be adapted for film and television soon.

Between classics like the original  Creepshow  and more underrated tales like  1408 ,  Stephen King's short stories are all uniquely creepy. But some have had better performances than others, according to IMDb.

Graveyard Shift (1990) - 4.9

Graveyard Shift Scream Factory Blu Ray Cover Art

Based on the short story from King's debut collection Night Shift , this film centers around a rural textile mill that develops a killer rat problem. Even if newcomer John Hall gets through the bureaucracy insisting there's no problem, there are still creatures under the mill he couldn't have conceived of in his worst nightmares.

RELATED:  15 Essential Stephen King Stories Better Than The Movies

The absolute MVP of this film, though, is Brad Dourif as Tucker Cleveland. Already famous as the voice of Chucky the Killer Doll in 1988's  Child's Play ,  Dourif devours the scenery as a Vietnam War veteran turned exterminator who takes far too much pleasure in slaughtering vermin alongside his loyal dog.

The Lawnmower Man (1992) - 5.4

The VR version of Lawnmower Man.

In the original short story in  Night Shift,  the Lawnmower Man is a creature that goes around in a human disguise offering his landscaping services, with the condition that his customers never watch him at his work. When one customer peeks through the curtain and sees his true form, there are dire consequences.

This movie throws all that in the trash, to the ire of many King fans and King himself, who sued to have his name taken off the film. Its "lawnmower man" is a gardener taken advantage of by scientists and used in intelligence-boosting experiments. But its average rating indicates that most viewers consider it a decent film in its own right.

Maximum Overdrive (1986) - 5.4

The Green Goblin-headed semi truck in the film Maximum Overdrive.

One of the movies written and directed by Stephen King himself ,  Maximum Overdrive  is a ridiculous slice of eighties cheese based on the  Night Shift short story "Trucks," in which a passing comet brings all the Earth's vehicles to life. While many casual moviegoers may write it off, plenty others can have fun with it as King fans.

Viewers may recognize several big stars fending off the malevolent machines, such as Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, and Yeardley Smith less than a year away from her career-defining role as Lisa Simpson on  The Simpsons . The movie is also unique in that its entire soundtrack is performed by rock band AC/DC, King's personal favorites.

Children Of The Corn (1984) - 5.6

A still from the 1984 Stephen King movie Children of the Corn.

A staple of the "creepy child" subgenre of horror, this adaptation of a  Night Shift  story features some of the most terrifying horror movie children . The children of Gatlin, Nebraska banded together to murder every adult in town. When they themselves reach adulthood, they sacrifice themselves to their dark god, He Who Walks Behind The Rows. When married couple Burt and Vicky get lost and end up in Gatlin, the children set their sights on them.

While the film is often considered cheesy and not as creepy as the original short story, it does improve on the characters of Burt and Vicky, who are played by Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton. The couple are quite sympathetic in the film, but in the short story they are such unpleasant people it's hard to feel sorry for them.

Sometimes They Come Back (1991) - 5.7

Robert Rusler in Sometimes They Come Back

Originally intended for the anthology film Cat's Eye but extended into a movie of its own by producer Dino de Laurentiis, this made-for-TV film aired on CBS. As a child, Jim Norman watched a gang of teenage bullies kill his brother and then be killed themselves by a train. When adult Jim becomes a teacher in his hometown, he is horrified to discover the very same bullies back from the dead as his students.

RELATED: Most Anticipated 2022 Horror Movies (Still To Come)

Extending the story into a feature-length film was the right decision. It allows for Jim's trauma over his brother's death and the menace of the sadistic undead trio to be properly explored. While it isn't the greatest or most famous King adaptation by a long shot, it is still a solid film.

The Night Flier (1997) - 6.0

Vampire killer stalks private plane in rain in The Night Flier.

Based on the short story of the same name in  Nightmares and Dreamscapes,  The Night Flier  centers around reporter Richard Dees, who is growing bored of even the most disgusting stories his tabloid magazine covers. However, hunting a serial killer known only as the Night Flier brings a new thrill into his life.

The film is a skillfully done exploration of the tabloid industry and the lengths immoral journalists will go to get morbid stories, similar to King's recent novella collection  If It Bleeds .  Dees' climactic confrontation with the Night Flier is expanded from the short story to the film's benefit, with bonus points for the Flier's gruesome design and makeup (which is unfortunately spoiled on the poster).

Tales From The Darkside: The Movie (1990) - 6.2

Tales from the Darkside The Movie adapts Stephen Kings The Cat from Hell. Screenrant by Evan J. Pretzer.

The original  Tales From The Darkside   television show featured some of the best Stephen King TV adaptations already. So naturally, the segment of the anthology film that adapts another of King's stories is often considered the high point of the film.  The Cat from Hell,  based on the short story of the same name which would later appear in  Just After Sunset,  is delightfully weird.

Seasoned hitman Halston is offered a small fortune by pharmaceutical bigwig Drogan to kill a cat. Drogan claims that the cat killed his entire family in revenge for the cats that died in his animal testing labs, and is calling the hit before the cat can finish him off too. Halston is skeptical, but soon finds himself in the fight of his life with the feline.

Cat's Eye (1985) - 6.3

Drew Barrymore holding a cat in Cats Eye.

One of the most underrated horror anthologies out there is  Cat's Eye,  which features two original stories by King and adapts two short stories from  Night Shift.  These stories are loosely connected by the travels of a tabby cat, who is trying to reach a psychic girl named Amanda (played by a young Drew Barrymore) who has sent him visions pleading for help.

Related:  Stephen King's Salem's Lot (2022) Where Else You've Seen The Cast

The two adaptations are "Quitters, Inc." and "The Ledge," both suspenseful thrillers. The first sees a chronic smoker discover too late that the company he's gone to to help him quit smoking employs brutal prevention methods. The second sees a man who's been caught in his affair with a mob boss's wife is forced by the boss to sidle all the way around a penthouse hundreds of stories above the city street if they want a chance to live.

1408 (2007) - 6.8

John Cusack looking scared by the window in 1408

Adapted from the short story of the same name in  Everything's Eventual, 1408  centers around a room at the prestigious Dolphin Hotel that is so horribly haunted that nobody has been able to stay a night in it. Horror writer Mike Enslin, jaded by the lack of legitimate material for books about hauntings, decides to take on the room himself.

It is an exceptional example of psychological horror and a standout role for John Cusack . Everything about Room 1408 is unsettling, and the implications that it is not only sentient but sadistic in its torments of anyone who sets foot in it are horrifying. While the original short story ends on a harsh note, the film has three endings (theatrical, alternate, and director's cut) of varying tone to choose from.

Creepshow (1982) - 6.8

Stephen King as Jordy Verrill in the 1982 film Creepshow.

One of the most famous horror anthologies in film is the original  Creepshow,  written by Stephen King and directed by George Romero. Featuring five segments in the style of fifties horror comics, the film boasts an all-star cast and crew as well as iconic creative scares and imagery. King himself plays the title role of the segment "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill," based on his short story "Weeds."

The wraparound story features Stephen King's son, Joe Hill, as a child hit by his father for possessing horror comics, who sends away for a voodoo doll from the comic to get back at Dad. Hill grew up to become an excellent author of short stories in his own right. The film adaptation of Hill's short story  The Black Phone   is set to release in theaters on June 24, 2022.

NEXT: 15 Best Stephen King TV Adaptations, Ranked (According To IMDb)

CinemaBlend

CinemaBlend

The Best Stephen King TV Shows And Miniseries, Ranked

Posted: May 28, 2023 | Last updated: August 4, 2023

<p>                     The legacy of Stephen King adaptations began with a movie (specifically Brian De Palma’s <em>Carrie</em> in 1976), but it was soon after that theatrical release that the history of King projects began on the small screen. Tobe Hooper's <em>Salem’s Lot</em> miniseries, based on the novel of the same name, premiered on CBS in 1979, and in the decades since then we have seen dozens of King-related projects. Adaptations have been made as miniseries, on-going shows, and TV movies, and the legendary author has also penned a few original teleplays.                   </p>                                      <p>                     There is a lot of amazing stuff in the canon – but what qualifies as the best of the best? Hard cuts had to be made, including <em>Kingdom </em>Hospital, <em>The Langoliers</em>, and the 2004 <em>Shining</em> miniseries, but let’s begin with the adaptation that haunted the dreams of millennials during their childhood…                     </p>                                      <p>                     <em>By Eric Eisenberg</em>                   </p>

IT, The Stand, Castle Rock, and more!

The legacy of Stephen King adaptations began with a movie (specifically Brian De Palma’s Carrie in 1976), but it was soon after that theatrical release that the history of King projects began on the small screen. Tobe Hooper's Salem’s Lot miniseries, based on the novel of the same name, premiered on CBS in 1979, and in the decades since then we have seen dozens of King-related projects. Adaptations have been made as miniseries, on-going shows, and TV movies, and the legendary author has also penned a few original teleplays.

There is a lot of amazing stuff in the canon – but what qualifies as the best of the best? Hard cuts had to be made, including Kingdom Hospital, The Langoliers , and the 2004 Shining miniseries, but let’s begin with the adaptation that haunted the dreams of millennials during their childhood…  

By Eric Eisenberg

<p>                     Tim Curry. If you need any justification for calling the 1990 <em>IT</em> miniseries one of the best small screen Stephen King adaptations, that name alone fits the bill. When the actor was first approached about the project, he was reticent to sign on, as he had his fill of prosthetics and heavy makeup in the making of Ridley Scott’s <em>Legend</em>, but he was convinced to take part, and now his turn as Pennywise The Dancing Clown is regarded as a treasured moment of horror history.                   </p>                                      <p>                     The legacy of the Tommy Lee Wallace-directed <em>IT</em> is tarnished by its conclusion, featuring an underwhelming confrontation with a fake-looking giant spider, but everything before that point is beloved for a reason. Both the kid and adult iterations of The Losers Club are wonderful and well-cast, and it’s impressive how faithful to the book it manages to be given the restrictions and censorship of network television at the time. It’s also an important part of Stephen King adaptation history, as it opened the author’s eyes to the immense potential of TV miniseries, which in turn led to the creation of…                   </p>

10. It (1990)

Tim Curry. If you need any justification for calling the 1990 IT miniseries one of the best small screen Stephen King adaptations, that name alone fits the bill. When the actor was first approached about the project, he was reticent to sign on, as he had his fill of prosthetics and heavy makeup in the making of Ridley Scott’s Legend , but he was convinced to take part, and now his turn as Pennywise The Dancing Clown is regarded as a treasured moment of horror history.

The legacy of the Tommy Lee Wallace-directed IT is tarnished by its conclusion, featuring an underwhelming confrontation with a fake-looking giant spider, but everything before that point is beloved for a reason. Both the kid and adult iterations of The Losers Club are wonderful and well-cast, and it’s impressive how faithful to the book it manages to be given the restrictions and censorship of network television at the time. It’s also an important part of Stephen King adaptation history, as it opened the author’s eyes to the immense potential of TV miniseries, which in turn led to the creation of…

<p>                     Stephen King and George A. Romero spent years unsuccessfully trying to figure out a way to turn the apocalyptic epic <em>The Stand</em> into a movie, but everything changed in the 1990s. King couldn’t sell the idea of adapting the novel as two films (a strategy that would be used decades later for Andy Muschietti’s <em>IT</em>), and there was no way the scope of the story could fit into a single feature – but it was recognized that a miniseries’ runtime real estate would be perfect. Writing the teleplays himself, the author reteamed with director Mick Garris (with whom he worked on 1992’s <em>Sleepwalkers</em>), and what they created for ABC is an impressive achievement for 1990s television.                   </p>                                      <p>                     Budget restraints are apparent in the finished work, but Stephen King does a brilliant job translating the full breadth of the journey from the book, and there are some wonderful and memorable performances, the standouts being Gary Sinise, Bill Fagerbakke, Ruby Dee, and Matt Frewer.                   </p>

9. The Stand (1994)

Stephen King and George A. Romero spent years unsuccessfully trying to figure out a way to turn the apocalyptic epic The Stand into a movie, but everything changed in the 1990s. King couldn’t sell the idea of adapting the novel as two films (a strategy that would be used decades later for Andy Muschietti’s IT ), and there was no way the scope of the story could fit into a single feature – but it was recognized that a miniseries’ runtime real estate would be perfect. Writing the teleplays himself, the author reteamed with director Mick Garris (with whom he worked on 1992’s Sleepwalkers ), and what they created for ABC is an impressive achievement for 1990s television.

Budget restraints are apparent in the finished work, but Stephen King does a brilliant job translating the full breadth of the journey from the book, and there are some wonderful and memorable performances, the standouts being Gary Sinise, Bill Fagerbakke, Ruby Dee, and Matt Frewer.

<p>                     Miniseries were a revelation for Stephen King adaptations around the turn of the century, but the modern golden age of television now allows for whole novels to be made as full seasons of TV shows – and <em>The Outsider</em> is an excellent example of just how great that evolution is. The HBO series premiered just a year-and-a-half after the book that it’s based on was published, and the excitement about the material that speed indicates is apparent in the work. It’s a fantastic and eerie translation of a dark detective story that shows that King very much still has the capacity to horrify.                   </p>                                      <p>                     Developed by Richard Price, <em>The Outsider</em> unfolds as a slow burn mystery at the start – questioning how a child killer could leave excessive amounts of DNA at a crime scene while also having an airtight alibi – but it turns into an intense nail-biter when the protagonists start to realize that what they are dealing with comes from the realm of the supernatural.                   </p>

8. The Outsider (2020)

Miniseries were a revelation for Stephen King adaptations around the turn of the century, but the modern golden age of television now allows for whole novels to be made as full seasons of TV shows – and The Outsider is an excellent example of just how great that evolution is. The HBO series premiered just a year-and-a-half after the book that it’s based on was published, and the excitement about the material that speed indicates is apparent in the work. It’s a fantastic and eerie translation of a dark detective story that shows that King very much still has the capacity to horrify.

Developed by Richard Price, The Outsider unfolds as a slow burn mystery at the start – questioning how a child killer could leave excessive amounts of DNA at a crime scene while also having an airtight alibi – but it turns into an intense nail-biter when the protagonists start to realize that what they are dealing with comes from the realm of the supernatural.

<p>                     Created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, Hulu’s <em>Castle Rock</em> is a love letter to the works of Stephen King, but that’s not why it’s ranked in this feature. It’s because it’s a love letter that very much understands the vibe and purpose of King’s work, and it uses that understanding to create two thrilling and exciting seasons of television.                   </p>                                      <p>                     If you’re a Stephen King fan, watching <em>Castle Rock</em> is a delightful Easter egg hunt that will see fans smile at references to Jack Torrance and scenes set in the bar known as The Mellow Tiger, but there is also a pair of compelling narratives that play out in each season that most definitely encourage binge watching. The cast is full of Stephen King adaptation veterans who deliver standout performances, including Sissy Spacek, Tim Robbins, and Bill Skarsgård, and by the time you get to the end of Season 2 there is most definitely an intense regret that Season 3 never got made.                   </p>

7. Castle Rock (2018-2019)

Created by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, Hulu’s Castle Rock is a love letter to the works of Stephen King, but that’s not why it’s ranked in this feature. It’s because it’s a love letter that very much understands the vibe and purpose of King’s work, and it uses that understanding to create two thrilling and exciting seasons of television.

If you’re a Stephen King fan, watching Castle Rock is a delightful Easter egg hunt that will see fans smile at references to Jack Torrance and scenes set in the bar known as The Mellow Tiger, but there is also a pair of compelling narratives that play out in each season that most definitely encourage binge watching. The cast is full of Stephen King adaptation veterans who deliver standout performances, including Sissy Spacek, Tim Robbins, and Bill Skarsgård, and by the time you get to the end of Season 2 there is most definitely an intense regret that Season 3 never got made.

<p>                     Given the fact that Stephen King has called <em>Lisey’s Story</em> his favorite novel that he has written, it’s far from surprising that the author took it upon himself to adapt it – and in doing so, he created the best miniseries that he himself has made in his long career. Teaming up with director Pablo Larraín and working with a brilliant cast including Julianne Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joan Allen, Clive Owen, and Dane DeHaan, the eight episode streaming series for Apple TV+ is a haunting, shocking, and emotional examination of death, mourning, and memory.                   </p>                                      <p>                     While capturing what’s tremendous about the book, Stephen King builds on the text in impressive ways – most notably with enhancements to antagonist Jim Dooley (DeHaan) that make him an even greater terror than he is in the novel. Thanks to Larraín’s work, his collaboration with cinematographer Darius Khondji, and contributions from all departments, <em>Lisey’s Story</em> also has the distinction of being one of the most beautiful King adaptations.                   </p>

6. Lisey's Story (2021)

Given the fact that Stephen King has called Lisey’s Story his favorite novel that he has written, it’s far from surprising that the author took it upon himself to adapt it – and in doing so, he created the best miniseries that he himself has made in his long career. Teaming up with director Pablo Larraín and working with a brilliant cast including Julianne Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Joan Allen, Clive Owen, and Dane DeHaan, the eight episode streaming series for Apple TV+ is a haunting, shocking, and emotional examination of death, mourning, and memory.

While capturing what’s tremendous about the book, Stephen King builds on the text in impressive ways – most notably with enhancements to antagonist Jim Dooley (DeHaan) that make him an even greater terror than he is in the novel. Thanks to Larraín’s work, his collaboration with cinematographer Darius Khondji, and contributions from all departments, Lisey’s Story also has the distinction of being one of the most beautiful King adaptations.

<p>                     If there’s any Stephen King show that I wish could have gone on indefinitely, it’s <em>Nightmares & Dreamscapes</em> – but alas, the series only lasted for one eight-episode season. It’s sad, because the series demonstrated the remarkable potential in an anthology series solely based on King’s short stories, and produced a number of terrific adaptations.                   </p>                                      <p>                     I think it’s fitting that <em>Nightmares & Dreamscapes</em> occupies the middle spot of this list given that there is definitely a wide range when it comes to quality overall, but when it’s good, it’s great. The episodes based on “Battleground,” “Umney’s Last Case” “Autopsy Room Four” and “The End Of The Whole Mess” are all superlative interpretations of their respective source materials, and are as good or better than what’s in classic feature anthologies including <em>Creepshow</em> and <em>Cat’s Eye</em>.                   </p>

5. Nightmares & Dreamscapes (2006)

If there’s any Stephen King show that I wish could have gone on indefinitely, it’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes – but alas, the series only lasted for one eight-episode season. It’s sad, because the series demonstrated the remarkable potential in an anthology series solely based on King’s short stories, and produced a number of terrific adaptations.

I think it’s fitting that Nightmares & Dreamscapes occupies the middle spot of this list given that there is definitely a wide range when it comes to quality overall, but when it’s good, it’s great. The episodes based on “Battleground,” “Umney’s Last Case” “Autopsy Room Four” and “The End Of The Whole Mess” are all superlative interpretations of their respective source materials, and are as good or better than what’s in classic feature anthologies including Creepshow and Cat’s Eye .

<p>                     As noted earlier, Tobe Hooper’s two-episode miniseries <em>Salem’s Lot</em> was the first Stephen King adaptation made directly for television, but that legacy has less to do with its ranking here than the fact that it holds up surprisingly well. The Nosferatu-take on ancient vampire Kurt Barlow may not be book-accurate, but it is iconic – and that’s in spite of the fact that he only shows up in a few scenes. And the terror hardly stops there, with the visage of Ronnie Scribner’s Ralphie Glick floating in a bedroom window tattooed on the minds of many Constant Readers.                   </p>                                      <p>                     A superb acting ensemble including Bonnie Bedelia, David Soul, James Mason, Kenneth McMillan, and the late Lance Kerwin bring to life Stephen King’s memorable cast of characters from the novel, and despite the limitations of television as a medium in the 1970s, it’s still able to remain faithful to the terror of the book.                   </p>

4. Salem's Lot (1979)

As noted earlier, Tobe Hooper’s two-episode miniseries Salem’s Lot was the first Stephen King adaptation made directly for television, but that legacy has less to do with its ranking here than the fact that it holds up surprisingly well. The Nosferatu-take on ancient vampire Kurt Barlow may not be book-accurate, but it is iconic – and that’s in spite of the fact that he only shows up in a few scenes. And the terror hardly stops there, with the visage of Ronnie Scribner’s Ralphie Glick floating in a bedroom window tattooed on the minds of many Constant Readers.

A superb acting ensemble including Bonnie Bedelia, David Soul, James Mason, Kenneth McMillan, and the late Lance Kerwin bring to life Stephen King’s memorable cast of characters from the novel, and despite the limitations of television as a medium in the 1970s, it’s still able to remain faithful to the terror of the book.

<p>                     As indicated by sections above, the streaming era has been great for Stephen King adaptations – both for streaming and features. On the movie side, the best to be made to date by a subscription service is Mike Flanagan’s <em>Gerald’s Game</em>, and when it comes to episodic content, the crown goes to Bridget Carpenter’s <em>11.22.63</em> on Hulu.                   </p>                                      <p>                     Those who have read the book will miss the wonderful qualities of the story that make it a tribute to the teaching profession, but the miniseries certainly keeps to the core of the book – which is a gripping tale about time travel and trying to change history by stopping the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It creates marvelous moments of fear and sweetness in its eight episode run covering the full breadth of the novel, and what the show does as far as expanding the role of Bill Turcotte (as portrayed by George MacKay) is one of the best major changes we’ve seen in any modern Stephen King adaptation.                   </p>

3. 11.22.63 (2016)

As indicated by sections above, the streaming era has been great for Stephen King adaptations – both for streaming and features. On the movie side, the best to be made to date by a subscription service is Mike Flanagan’s Gerald’s Game , and when it comes to episodic content, the crown goes to Bridget Carpenter’s 11.22.63 on Hulu.

Those who have read the book will miss the wonderful qualities of the story that make it a tribute to the teaching profession, but the miniseries certainly keeps to the core of the book – which is a gripping tale about time travel and trying to change history by stopping the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It creates marvelous moments of fear and sweetness in its eight episode run covering the full breadth of the novel, and what the show does as far as expanding the role of Bill Turcotte (as portrayed by George MacKay) is one of the best major changes we’ve seen in any modern Stephen King adaptation.

<p>                     Between 2014 and 2016, Stephen King did a head-first dive into the world of detective fiction with the Bill Hodges trilogy: the tale of a retired cop on the hunt for a psychotic mass murderer. One year after it ended, the series got the best possible adaptation that it could have gotten. Developed by David E. Kelley, <em>Mr. Mercedes</em> covered each of the three novels in its three seasons airing on Audience, and while it does end up getting pretty far away from the source material by the end, its fundamental excellence is in its ensemble of characters.                   </p>                                      <p>                     Brendan Gleeson was an inspired and perfect choice for the role of Bill Hodges, and Harry Treadaway is a truly scary sonofabitch as homicidal maniac Brady Hartsfield, but it’s Justine Lupe’s Holly Gibney that makes <em>Mr. Mercedes</em> special. Amazing as Cynthia Erivo is in <em>The Outsider</em>, Lupe’s version is the far more book-accurate interpretation of the character, and it’s simply impossible not to fall for the sweet and strange detective over the course of the show.                   </p>

2. Mr. Mercedes (2017-2019)

Between 2014 and 2016, Stephen King did a head-first dive into the world of detective fiction with the Bill Hodges trilogy: the tale of a retired cop on the hunt for a psychotic mass murderer. One year after it ended, the series got the best possible adaptation that it could have gotten. Developed by David E. Kelley, Mr. Mercedes covered each of the three novels in its three seasons airing on Audience, and while it does end up getting pretty far away from the source material by the end, its fundamental excellence is in its ensemble of characters.

Brendan Gleeson was an inspired and perfect choice for the role of Bill Hodges, and Harry Treadaway is truly scary as homicidal maniac Brady Hartsfield, but it’s Justine Lupe’s Holly Gibney that makes Mr. Mercedes special. Amazing as Cynthia Erivo is in The Outsider , Lupe’s version is the far more book-accurate interpretation of the character, and it’s simply impossible not to fall for the sweet and strange detective over the course of the show.

<p>                     The best Stephen King TV project isn’t an adaptation; it’s an original creation. In 1999, the author collaborated with director Craig R. Baxley on <em>Storm Of The Century</em> – a three-episode miniseries written directly for television that aired on ABC – and it is nothing short of phenomenal. As the villainous/demonic André Linoge, Colm Feore plays one of the scariest antagonists that King has ever imagined, and the escalation in the story is genius.                   </p>                                      <p>                     It feels like things are horrible enough when the fictional Little Tall Island gets hit by a dangerous blizzard and Linoge is discovered at the scene of a vicious murder, but things only get worse after the locals take shelter in the town hall and the villain is incarcerated. The magic that Linoge weaves from his jail cell is gruesome and shocking… but that’s nothing compared to the offer he makes to everyone to make him go away. All of it leads to one of the best endings that Stephen King has ever written – which is a big reason why <em>Storm Of The Century</em> sits at #1 in this ranking.                   </p>

1. Storm Of The Century (1999)

The best Stephen King TV project isn’t an adaptation; it’s an original creation. In 1999, the author collaborated with director Craig R. Baxley on Storm Of The Century – a three-episode miniseries written directly for television that aired on ABC – and it is nothing short of phenomenal. As the villainous/demonic André Linoge, Colm Feore plays one of the scariest antagonists that King has ever imagined, and the escalation in the story is genius.

It feels like things are horrible enough when the fictional Little Tall Island gets hit by a dangerous blizzard and Linoge is discovered at the scene of a vicious murder, but things only get worse after the locals take shelter in the town hall and the villain is incarcerated. The magic that Linoge weaves from his jail cell is gruesome and shocking… but that’s nothing compared to the offer he makes to everyone to make him go away. All of it leads to one of the best endings that Stephen King has ever written – which is a big reason why Storm Of The Century sits at #1 in this ranking.

More for You

Donald Trump

Donald Trump GoFundMe Rapidly Approaching Major Milestone

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft discusses an audit of his office that accuses him of not cooperating and violating state law in his elections division.

Democrats and Republicans unite to condemn Jay Ashcroft's comments on veterans benefits

Gary Ross - Courtesy Gary Ross

Opinion: The biggest potential danger from the Hur report is one no one’s talking about

022024-wc-council

Man goes on antisemitic rant during Walnut Creek City Council meeting

‘Forever chemicals’ contaminate America’s freshwater fish

Florida surgeon general defies science amid measles outbreak

andrei morozov milblogger.jpg

Russian war blogger dies in apparent suicide after revealing Moscow’s losses

Alina Habba

Alina Habba Fires Back After Being Told Trump Appeal Won't Succeed

Farewell, Jack McCoy

Farewell, Jack McCoy

Gallego leads Lake, Sinema in Arizona Senate race: Poll

Gallego leads Lake, Sinema in Arizona Senate race: Poll

R. Donahue Peebles, chairman and chief executive officer of Peebles Corp., speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Monday, May 1, 2017. The conference is a unique setting that convenes individuals with the capital, power and influence to move the world forward meet face-to-face with those whose expertise and creativity are reinventing industry, philanthropy and media. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Former Obama fundraiser tells Dems to 'turn the page' on Biden, says law was 'weaponized' against Trump

Darryl George has been punished by the Barbers Hill school district for his hair. A trial over whether the district's policy violates a new state law begins Thursday.

Judge rules Texas school can punish Black student over hairstyle

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2022.

Mexican president lashes out after reports of drug cartel investigations

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago co-defendant seeks dismissal of charges in documents case

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago co-defendant seeks dismissal of charges in documents case

VITT victims

COVID Vaccine Maker Sued Over Deaths

FILE - Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach answers questions from reporters during a news conference outside his office, May 1, 2023, in Topeka, Kan. In a statement Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, Johnson County, the most populous county in Kansas, rejected demands from the local sheriff and the state's attorney general to preserve old ballots and records longer than legally allowed, shredding materials sought for an election fraud investigation that has yet to result in any criminal charges. (AP Photo/John Hanna, File)

A Kansas county shredded old ballots as the law required, but the sheriff wanted to save them

Opinion: CBS faces uproar after seizing investigative journalist’s files

Opinion: CBS faces uproar after seizing investigative journalist’s files

WASHINGTON - JANUARY 10: Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., speaks during a news conference on border security and funding on Wednesday, January 10, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

GOP rep doubles down on message to Hamas: 'Kill them all'

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Europe clearly now wants Vladimir Putin to win

Trump International Hotel In Washington, DC To Become Waldorf Astoria After Sale

Former Trump Hotel in Washington Gets $75 Million in Capital

The Case for Nikki Haley

The Strongest Case Against Donald Trump

COMMENTS

  1. 15 Greatest Stephen King Short Stories Of All Time

    15 Greatest Stephen King Short Stories Of All Time The greatest tales from the master storyteller. by Aidan Whatman October 25th, 2020 © Jon Ragel/Corbis Stephen King is not just one of the...

  2. 130 Stephen King Short Stories

    There's no doubt that the man's publishing career is impressive, but King was perhaps most prolific with his short stories: starting with "The Glass Floor" in 1967, he continued to write many short stories thereafter to pay the bills.

  3. 13 of the best Stephen King short stories you've never read

    1. Graveyard Shift What's it about? While helping clear out the cluttered basement of a large textile mill, a group of men discover a nest of rats. Big rats. Why should you read it? This may be one...

  4. Stephen King's Short Story Collections Ranked From Worst To Best

    Home Horror Stephen King's Short Story Collections Ranked From Worst To Best By Debopriyaa Dutta Published Nov 29, 2020 Stephen King is a master of horror, having written countless novels and 200+ short stories. Here's every Stephen King short story collection, ranked. How do Stephen King 's short story collections rank from worst to best?

  5. Thirteen Stephen King Short Stories Every King Fan Should Read

    2 years ago on June 8, 2022 By Jenn Adams Stephen King may be the master of horror, but he's also mastered the art of short fiction. With six collections of short stories and five...

  6. 120+ Stephen King Short Stories and Where to Find Them

    One. Two. Zero. Stephen King, who is as well known for his prodigiously prolific output of fiction as he is for his finely crafted horror, has written over 120 short stories in his career (so far). Many of which have been captured in 11 anthologies of short fiction spanning 1978 to 2015.

  7. Best Stephen King Short Stories

    A prequel to the famous novel "Salem's Lot", the epistolary short story takes place in a Lovecraftian world where satanic cults and worm-like creatures lurk in the darkness. If you're a fan of cosmic horror, Jerusalem's Lot will become one of your favorite Stephen King short stories. The eerie atmosphere, the dangerous secret that ...

  8. Delectable Doses of Dread: The Best of Stephen King's Chilling Short

    Nightmares & Dreamscapes: 13 Best Stephen King Short Stories That Will Chill You to the Bone. Best Stories from Different Seasons by Stephen King. Different Seasons. By Stephen King "The Breathing Method": In a secretive club, a tale unfolds of a woman's unusual childbirth method during 1930s New York. King delves into the realm of the uncanny ...

  9. Stephen King

    35 Scary Years with Stephen King Interview March 2009 A Conversation with Stephen King Interview December 2003 A Death Short Story Uncollected A Face in the Crowd Short Story Uncollected A Good Marriage Short Story November 2010 A New Introduction to John Fowles's The Collector Essay December 1999

  10. Best Stephen King Short Stories

    Horror Best Stephen King Short Stories By Mara Bachman Published Jun 1, 2020 Stephen King is known as a master of the horror genre with over 200 short stories and novellas on the subject; here are his best to date.

  11. 13 Best Stephen King Short Stories Of All Time

    13 Best Stephen King Short Stories Of All Time WhatCulture 2.22M subscribers Subscribe Subscribed 4.1K Share Save 195K views 3 years ago For more awesome content, check out:...

  12. Stephen King Short Story Collections In Order (New 2024 Book)

    Night Shift Order on Amazon | Order on Bookshop.com Stephen King's first short story collection is also one of his most beloved, with many stories being adapted into movies. Two of the stories, Quitters, Inc. and The Ledge, were adapted into a 1985 movie called Cat's Eye starring Drew Barrymore (as a child actress). It's definitely worth watching!

  13. Stephen King Short Stories (11 books)

    4 friends Vasudha 4 books 0 friends Matt 1165 books 56 friends More voters… 11 books based on 22 votes: Night Shift by Stephen King, Different Seasons by Stephen King, Everything's Eventual by Stephen King, Skeleton Crew by Steph...

  14. The Lawnmower Man

    "The Lawnmower Man" is a short story by American writer Stephen King, first published in the May 1975 issue of Cavalier and later included in King's 1978 collection Night Shift. Plot summary. Harold Parkette is in need of a new lawn mowing service. The summer before, a neighbor's cat was accidentally killed when another neighbor's dog chased it ...

  15. Best Stephen King single short story or novella

    Best of Stephen King Stephen King Short Stories Best Books in the Dark Tower Universe. flag. All Votes Add Books To This List. 1: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by. Stephen King (Goodreads Author) 4.51 avg rating — 42,229 ratings. score: 399, and 4 people voted ...

  16. 10 Stephen King Short Fiction Stories that Need a Feature ...

    Enter George Elvid, a strange man that has a roadside shop by an airport. Dave has a chance encounter with Elvid and he makes him an offer he can't refuse. Elvid can increase Dave's life expectancy...

  17. Stephen King short fiction bibliography

    Most of these pieces have been collected in King's seven short story collections: Night Shift (1978), Skeleton Crew (1985), Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993), Everything's Eventual (2002), Just After Sunset (2008), The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015), and You Like It Darker (2024); in King's five novella collections: Different Seasons (1982), Four Pas...

  18. The Best American Short Stories 2007 by Stephen King

    The Best American Short Stories 2007 Stephen King (Editor), Heidi Pitlor 3.77 2,284 ratings282 reviews In his introduction to this volume, Stephen King writes, "Talent does more than come out; it bursts out, again and again, doing exuberant cartwheels while the band plays 'Stars and Stripes Forever' . . .

  19. 11 Stephen King Short Stories That Are Begging For An Adaptation

    Autopsy Room Four: A delirious survival horror story that deserves a full-length movie adaptation. Uncle Otto's Truck: A grim and surreal chiller that could make a great psychological thriller. The Man in the Black Suit: A period horror tale that serves as a throwback to Mark Twain's writing. There are a plethora of great Stephen King short ...

  20. 20 Best Stephen King Books of All Time

    18. Cujo. It's hard to picture man's best friend turning viciously evil. But if there's one thing Stephen King can do, it's take the unimaginable and bring it to life in terrifying fashion ...

  21. 10 Stephen King Short Stories That Tricked Readers

    10 "Under the Weather". Stephen King Offers Glimpse Into New Terrors In 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams'. The Stephen King collection Bazaar of Bad Dreams, a number one New York Times bestseller, contains twenty-one short stories and poems. One of them, "Under the Weather," starts out simply with a middle-aged man preparing for another ...

  22. Stephen King: 16 Best Scary Stories to Read

    Night Shift, King's first short story collection, is really the crux of this article, as it features several of his best scary tales to date. They have a B-movie sensibility right at home...

  23. The Best Short Story Collections That Keep You Reading

    From the King of Horror himself, Skeleton Crew is a 1985 collection comprised of two novellas, 18 short stories and two poems. A mix of works both previously published and unpublished, Skeleton ...

  24. 10 Best Film Adaptations Of Stephen King's Short Stories, According To IMDb

    Home Movies Movie Lists 10 Best Film Adaptations Of Stephen King's Short Stories, According To IMDb By Shannon Brady Published May 30, 2022 Although maybe not quite as famous as some of Stephen King's other works, these adaptations are no less scary. Famously, Stephen King has had mixed feelings about the screen adaptations of his works.

  25. The Best Stephen King TV Shows And Miniseries, Ranked

    Stephen King and George A. Romero spent years unsuccessfully trying to figure out a way to turn the apocalyptic epic The Stand into a movie, but everything changed in the 1990s. King couldn't ...