Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Doubleday (1993), Edition: Reissue, 368 pages
Description
Presents a collection of twenty stories of horror and nightmarish fantasy that transform everyday situations into experiences of compelling terror in the worlds of the living, the dying, and the nonliving.
User reviews
LibraryThing member StefanY
Overall – I really liked the first story, but after that the stories really seemed to taper off quite a bit until I got to Battleground. After that one, my interested was piqued and the book continued at a high level through The Ledge and on to the end with a few exceptions here and there raising
Jerusalem’s Lot – The first story is an “historical” account of the events that take place when a man and his faithful servant take residence in his ancestral home and explore the shunned ghost town of Jerusalem’s Lot. The story is told through a series of letters and journal entries and is very different from King’s normal style. It’s a bit slow, but still creepy.
Graveyard Shift – A group of men who work in a factory are offered the “opportunity” to work over the 4th of July holiday cleaning out the basement of the factory. They discover a rat problem in the depths of the building that turns out to be worse than expected. This one was mildly amusing, not the best of the bunch.
Night Surf – Post apocalyptic preview of The Stand. The super flu has run rampant and wiped out most of the population. For all that this small group of survivors knows, they are the last people on the planet. So-so, maintains interest because of The Stand.
I Am the Doorway – A wheel-chair bound former astronaut with a strange affliction tells his friend about his vision of a crime that he is sure that he committed even though it is a physical impossibility for him to have committed it. This one took me much longer than it should have to finish. It did not keep my attention and frankly I was bored with it.
The Mangler – A police officer investigates an industrial accident at a laundry. What he finds there turns out to be more than just an accident. I liked this story. It was engaging and kept the tension going through the end.
The Boogeyman – A man speaks to a therapist about the deaths of his young children at the hands of the closet monster and the blame that he has taken upon himself for his part in them. Pretty darn good story…until the end. Just my opinion, but I though that the ending really sucked.
Gray Matter – A man gets some kind of illness from drinking a bad beer and it begins to change his physical form. Not bad, this one moved along pretty well and had some decent suspense.
Battleground – Excellent story. A hit man receives a box from his mark’s mother when he returns from a job. The suspense is built up really well and there’s a great ending.
Trucks – This one is pretty good. It centers on a group of people who are trapped in a truck stop by a mob of possessed trucks. The movie Maximum Overdrive is based on this story and uses most of the major parts of the story, but extrapolates upon the story quite a bit. Another one with which I was not too pleased by the ending.
Sometimes They Come Back – Well written story about a man who is having recurring nightmares involving the childhood murder of his brother. When the teenage murderers begin appearing in his class 16 years later, he knows that something unnatural is afoot and takes it upon himself to find out how to stop it.
Strawberry Spring – Best story in the book so far, although a bit predictable. I can’t really say why I enjoyed the story so much, it just seems to flow well. Told in first person, it is an account of a series of murders that take place on campus during the time that the protagonist is in college. I loved the ending of this one.
The Ledge – The Ledge is another solid offering. A tennis pro caught cheating with a millionaire’s wife accepts a wager to walk the 5 inch ledge around the 40th floor. Good build up of tension through-out and another nice ending.
The Lawnmower Man – After a string of excellent stories, this one is pretty weak. A man sells his lawnmower after a cat is accidentally run over by the kid he hires to mow his lawn. The following summer, he procrastinates hiring a service to do the mowing and the lawn grows out of control. When he finally hires a service, he gets a strange and dangerous surprise. Very odd and not really fitting in with most of the book so far, this story seems very random and I just couldn’t get into it.
Quitters, Inc. – Back to another excellent story. A man decides to follow a friend’s advice and quit smoking. The company that he goes to for help uses some rather unorthodox methods. I found this one to be very entertaining. The story moves well and keeps the reader in high gear.
I Know What You Need – This one was a fairly dull stinker. A guy uses his psychic/voodoo powers to charm and win a girl. It just didn’t seem to go anywhere and I was bored.
Children of the Corn – One of the longer stories in the book. A couple traveling through Nebraska has an accident and proceeds to the next town to take care of things. The town is mostly deserted and all that is left is a cult of psychotic children. It’s an excellent story and really creepy. This is another of my favorites in the book.
The Last Rung on the Ladder – This is another good one. This is a touching, sad story about an event that happens to a boy and his sister and where it has left them today.
The Man Who Loved Flowers – This story is not as good as some of the rest, but still enjoyable. This is a story about young love in the spring-time…or is it?
One for the Road – This was a fun one for a Stephen King fan. Winter in Maine and a terrible storm has blown in. Two men at a bar are surprised when a well dressed and frozen man bursts in. It seems that his car has been lodged in a snow drift a few miles down the road at the exit to Jerusalem’s Lot. His wife and daughter are waiting in the car for him to bring help…or are they?? Help or something else may have come for them already.
The Woman in the Room – Boy, what a downer to end the book on. It’s a well written story, but very depressing. The story is about a man whose mother is dying from cancer. It mainly centers around his feelings about whether or not she would be better off dead and whether or not he should help her to end it.
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my overall rating from a 6 to a 7.Jerusalem’s Lot – The first story is an “historical” account of the events that take place when a man and his faithful servant take residence in his ancestral home and explore the shunned ghost town of Jerusalem’s Lot. The story is told through a series of letters and journal entries and is very different from King’s normal style. It’s a bit slow, but still creepy.
Graveyard Shift – A group of men who work in a factory are offered the “opportunity” to work over the 4th of July holiday cleaning out the basement of the factory. They discover a rat problem in the depths of the building that turns out to be worse than expected. This one was mildly amusing, not the best of the bunch.
Night Surf – Post apocalyptic preview of The Stand. The super flu has run rampant and wiped out most of the population. For all that this small group of survivors knows, they are the last people on the planet. So-so, maintains interest because of The Stand.
I Am the Doorway – A wheel-chair bound former astronaut with a strange affliction tells his friend about his vision of a crime that he is sure that he committed even though it is a physical impossibility for him to have committed it. This one took me much longer than it should have to finish. It did not keep my attention and frankly I was bored with it.
The Mangler – A police officer investigates an industrial accident at a laundry. What he finds there turns out to be more than just an accident. I liked this story. It was engaging and kept the tension going through the end.
The Boogeyman – A man speaks to a therapist about the deaths of his young children at the hands of the closet monster and the blame that he has taken upon himself for his part in them. Pretty darn good story…until the end. Just my opinion, but I though that the ending really sucked.
Gray Matter – A man gets some kind of illness from drinking a bad beer and it begins to change his physical form. Not bad, this one moved along pretty well and had some decent suspense.
Battleground – Excellent story. A hit man receives a box from his mark’s mother when he returns from a job. The suspense is built up really well and there’s a great ending.
Trucks – This one is pretty good. It centers on a group of people who are trapped in a truck stop by a mob of possessed trucks. The movie Maximum Overdrive is based on this story and uses most of the major parts of the story, but extrapolates upon the story quite a bit. Another one with which I was not too pleased by the ending.
Sometimes They Come Back – Well written story about a man who is having recurring nightmares involving the childhood murder of his brother. When the teenage murderers begin appearing in his class 16 years later, he knows that something unnatural is afoot and takes it upon himself to find out how to stop it.
Strawberry Spring – Best story in the book so far, although a bit predictable. I can’t really say why I enjoyed the story so much, it just seems to flow well. Told in first person, it is an account of a series of murders that take place on campus during the time that the protagonist is in college. I loved the ending of this one.
The Ledge – The Ledge is another solid offering. A tennis pro caught cheating with a millionaire’s wife accepts a wager to walk the 5 inch ledge around the 40th floor. Good build up of tension through-out and another nice ending.
The Lawnmower Man – After a string of excellent stories, this one is pretty weak. A man sells his lawnmower after a cat is accidentally run over by the kid he hires to mow his lawn. The following summer, he procrastinates hiring a service to do the mowing and the lawn grows out of control. When he finally hires a service, he gets a strange and dangerous surprise. Very odd and not really fitting in with most of the book so far, this story seems very random and I just couldn’t get into it.
Quitters, Inc. – Back to another excellent story. A man decides to follow a friend’s advice and quit smoking. The company that he goes to for help uses some rather unorthodox methods. I found this one to be very entertaining. The story moves well and keeps the reader in high gear.
I Know What You Need – This one was a fairly dull stinker. A guy uses his psychic/voodoo powers to charm and win a girl. It just didn’t seem to go anywhere and I was bored.
Children of the Corn – One of the longer stories in the book. A couple traveling through Nebraska has an accident and proceeds to the next town to take care of things. The town is mostly deserted and all that is left is a cult of psychotic children. It’s an excellent story and really creepy. This is another of my favorites in the book.
The Last Rung on the Ladder – This is another good one. This is a touching, sad story about an event that happens to a boy and his sister and where it has left them today.
The Man Who Loved Flowers – This story is not as good as some of the rest, but still enjoyable. This is a story about young love in the spring-time…or is it?
One for the Road – This was a fun one for a Stephen King fan. Winter in Maine and a terrible storm has blown in. Two men at a bar are surprised when a well dressed and frozen man bursts in. It seems that his car has been lodged in a snow drift a few miles down the road at the exit to Jerusalem’s Lot. His wife and daughter are waiting in the car for him to bring help…or are they?? Help or something else may have come for them already.
The Woman in the Room – Boy, what a downer to end the book on. It’s a well written story, but very depressing. The story is about a man whose mother is dying from cancer. It mainly centers around his feelings about whether or not she would be better off dead and whether or not he should help her to end it.
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LibraryThing member Lukerik
There was one bit in Jerusalem's Lot where it's bad weather outside but nice in the house- exactly the conditions under which I was reading and I have to admit I had to pull my feet back onto the bed so they wouldn't be grabbed by whatever likes underneath.
My favourite though is Quitters, Inc.
My favourite though is Quitters, Inc.
LibraryThing member sf_addict
This is a collection containing 25 of this great horror writer's stories, though not all of them are horror. King has a good line in psychological thriller stories too, and there's plenty of that in here!
Two of the stories feature the world of Salem's Lot, in fact the book opens with Jerusalem's
There's also The Lawnmower Man, a 1975 story that bears no relation to the 90s sci fi flick! It is pretty much Stephen King doing horror, quite creepy and more than a bit weird!
Overall a good collection with a nice long Preface by the author.
Two of the stories feature the world of Salem's Lot, in fact the book opens with Jerusalem's
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Lot, a story set in the 19th century, kind of a "Salem's Lot begins", and is very good, very creepy!There's also The Lawnmower Man, a 1975 story that bears no relation to the 90s sci fi flick! It is pretty much Stephen King doing horror, quite creepy and more than a bit weird!
Overall a good collection with a nice long Preface by the author.
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LibraryThing member courtneygiraldo
Nightshift is a collection of 20 short stories ranging from the bizarre and the thought provoking, to the down right macabre. Featuring such classics as Children of the Corn and Salem's Lot, these stories have been not only read, but turn into movies, become a staple in horror classics for decades,
If you are in the mood for spine tingling horror and creepy crawlies, this is definitely your next read.
Just make sure to read it with the light on.... and don't go accidentally summoning any demons.
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and it's easy to see why. It's no doubt that King is a skilled writer, and I've devoured dozens of his books. I'm not sure why I always shy away from short stories when choosing my next read, but coming across a gem like Nightshift, reminds me all over again why I need to give them a chance. Quick glimpses into horror and dystonia, Kings stories keep my synapses firing long after I finish. I was quickly enraptured, "just one more story", until I found myself curled up under the blanket in an attempt not to wake my husband as I read feverishly into the night. Then subsequently scared to stop reading for fear of every creak of the house settling, or groan of wind at the window. How King can make even a laundry machine press terrifying is beyond me, but he did. Although I enjoyed them all, a few of my favorites include Graveyard Shift (ROUS' anyone?!- and if you don't get that reference we can't be friends), The Boogeyman (thanks for opening up that fear again King), and Quitters Inc. (I will NEVER pick up a cigarette I swear!) If you are in the mood for spine tingling horror and creepy crawlies, this is definitely your next read.
Just make sure to read it with the light on.... and don't go accidentally summoning any demons.
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LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
I've often told people that Stephen King impresses me as a writer not so much for his novels as his less known novellas and short stories. Night Shift, published in 1978, is his first anthology of shorts, comprising 20 works published from 1970 to 1977. Nine of them were adapted into feature or
I found even the introduction by John D. MacDonald and forward by King of interest. King's forward talks of the horror genre and what draws him to it. MacDonald was a fine writer of hard-boiled detective fiction that included the Travis McGee series. In the introduction he talks about the art of fiction and defines a good story as "something happening to someone you have been led to care about...without authorial intrusion" and this, he claims, is what King excels at.
Almost all of the stories were an entertaining read (I felt only "The Man Who Loved Flowers" was really weak), often featuring killer last lines, but some stories stood out to me among the rest. The first story, the longest in the book at around 12,000 words, "Jerusalem's Lot" a tale set in 1850 is unique in the volume for its Lovecraftian tone; told in letters and diary entries, it ends on an ironic half-humorous, half-ominous note in the present bringing it full circle. "The Boogeyman" is remarkable for Billings, the unreliable narrator and the way he unconsciously reveals himself, although I felt the ending weakened it. "Battleground" with its toy army is a gem, and the last line made me grin madly. "Sometimes They Come Back," one of the longer stories, I count the scariest; "The Ledge" I found the most suspenseful. "Quitters, Inc" featured black humor and another of those killer last lines. "I Know What You Need" resonated with me--maybe because it's the one story with a female protagonist. "The Last Rung of the Ladder" is the most moving, the most wrenching. "One for the Road" is a spooky vampire tale, a kind of sequel to Salem's Lot. And the final story, "The Woman in the Room" is also the saddest, one whose horror, like "Ladder" comes from the everyday without a hint of the supernatural; it's the most literary tale in the collection, written in present tense, and a fitting closer.
Even if you don't like short stories, if you like the horror genre at all, this is a must-read.
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television films: "Graveyard Shift," "The Mangler," "Battleground," "Trucks," "Sometimes They Come Back," "The Ledge," "The Lawnmower Man," "Quitters Inc," and "Children of the Corn." I found even the introduction by John D. MacDonald and forward by King of interest. King's forward talks of the horror genre and what draws him to it. MacDonald was a fine writer of hard-boiled detective fiction that included the Travis McGee series. In the introduction he talks about the art of fiction and defines a good story as "something happening to someone you have been led to care about...without authorial intrusion" and this, he claims, is what King excels at.
Almost all of the stories were an entertaining read (I felt only "The Man Who Loved Flowers" was really weak), often featuring killer last lines, but some stories stood out to me among the rest. The first story, the longest in the book at around 12,000 words, "Jerusalem's Lot" a tale set in 1850 is unique in the volume for its Lovecraftian tone; told in letters and diary entries, it ends on an ironic half-humorous, half-ominous note in the present bringing it full circle. "The Boogeyman" is remarkable for Billings, the unreliable narrator and the way he unconsciously reveals himself, although I felt the ending weakened it. "Battleground" with its toy army is a gem, and the last line made me grin madly. "Sometimes They Come Back," one of the longer stories, I count the scariest; "The Ledge" I found the most suspenseful. "Quitters, Inc" featured black humor and another of those killer last lines. "I Know What You Need" resonated with me--maybe because it's the one story with a female protagonist. "The Last Rung of the Ladder" is the most moving, the most wrenching. "One for the Road" is a spooky vampire tale, a kind of sequel to Salem's Lot. And the final story, "The Woman in the Room" is also the saddest, one whose horror, like "Ladder" comes from the everyday without a hint of the supernatural; it's the most literary tale in the collection, written in present tense, and a fitting closer.
Even if you don't like short stories, if you like the horror genre at all, this is a must-read.
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LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco
Creepy and classic and fun to read! Stephen King's world is, well, unique, to say the least. Trucks take over, toy army men can really fight, and never, never, never go in to the corn! Be careful who you call to mow your lawn or who you ask to help you quit smoking! And who every really knows where
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the boogeyman can be? These stories are excellent and I'm glad they are in our world, and not just Uncle Stevie's. My only critique of this collection is why does it begin with a story set in Jerusalem's Lot and doesn't end with the other one set in the same town? (that story is second to last) It seems that would have been the perfect way to bookend this book. But who really cares when the tales are this good! Show Less
LibraryThing member madam_razz
Another great short story collection by Stephen King. I'm definitely digging these. All of them are interesting in their own ways, but I think my favorites in this book are the two about 'Salem's Lot, especially the second one which seems to take place around 2 years after the end of the book
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'Salem's Lot. Well-written, intriguing, and attention-grabbing from the start, each story has its own voice and situations and characters and I found each one absolutely worth the time. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys Stephen King's work, or horror and thrillers in general. Show Less
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
Uneven, but there's some good stuff in here, particularly toward the end of the book - "The Lawnmower Man," "Children of the Corn," "The Woman in the Room" especially. I also liked "The Boogeyman" and "The Ledge," although they were a little too tidy for my tastes.
LibraryThing member nmele
My haphazard exploration of Stephen King's writing continues. This collection of some of King's earliest published work revealed to me a couple of new sides to him, including short story writer, and HP Lovecraft disciple. Yes, several of these stories are homages to Lovecraft. And, although most
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folks think of King as a writer of horror stories, he has two in here that are not genre fiction by any stretch of the definition; both are memorable. Show Less
LibraryThing member eurohackie
Stephen King is one of my writing idols. I stand in awe of his talent, his skill, and most of all, his discipline. Though perhaps better known for his novels, he is an absolute master of the short form, and this collection of his earliest short stories, originally published in a variety of
All of these stories are variations on the theme of fear: things we can see, things we can't see, things we can't even fathom as being real - whether supernatural/paranormal or just the deep dark recesses of the human mind. These stories range from horrific to gory to psychologically thrilling to outright sad.
There are classics - "The Lawnmower Man" and "Children of the Corn" are perhaps the best known, having become pop culture tropes - and there are bookends to some of his longer works (most notably Salem's Lot, for which a prequel and sequel are present). There is a lot of uncanny valley and deja vu. There are psycho stalkers and inanimate objects coming to life, vying for human blood. There are aliens and diseases and unknown entities. There is a theme of Maine - the isolation, the snowstorms, the deep pockets of rural unknown.
I wanted to read this collection much faster than I actually could. It was very easy to fall into each story, the rhythm of the storytelling and pace of the plot, when the horror (or sadness) sneaks up at the last second and grabs you! I had to take frequent breaks to clear the residual negativity from my brain before I could keep going.
Nevertheless, this is an amazing collection of work and a wonderful example of the sheer brilliance of the writer.
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magazines, provides proof of that.All of these stories are variations on the theme of fear: things we can see, things we can't see, things we can't even fathom as being real - whether supernatural/paranormal or just the deep dark recesses of the human mind. These stories range from horrific to gory to psychologically thrilling to outright sad.
There are classics - "The Lawnmower Man" and "Children of the Corn" are perhaps the best known, having become pop culture tropes - and there are bookends to some of his longer works (most notably Salem's Lot, for which a prequel and sequel are present). There is a lot of uncanny valley and deja vu. There are psycho stalkers and inanimate objects coming to life, vying for human blood. There are aliens and diseases and unknown entities. There is a theme of Maine - the isolation, the snowstorms, the deep pockets of rural unknown.
I wanted to read this collection much faster than I actually could. It was very easy to fall into each story, the rhythm of the storytelling and pace of the plot, when the horror (or sadness) sneaks up at the last second and grabs you! I had to take frequent breaks to clear the residual negativity from my brain before I could keep going.
Nevertheless, this is an amazing collection of work and a wonderful example of the sheer brilliance of the writer.
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LibraryThing member Edward.Lorn
First read this collection when I was... twenty, I think. Not sure. Does it matter? Probably not. Three things to mention before hitting you with my one sentence reviews: I forgot how much of King's early work tied into these stories, and how much I enjoyed his non-horror outings. Truth be told, I
On with the single-sentence reviews:
"Jerusalem's Lot" - King's first attempt at Lovecraft fan fiction is a three-star outing for me because of the epistolary style, which I don't like.
"Graveyard Shift" - Four stars worth of nasty fun that shows King's not opposed to the time-tested rule of get in, get dirty, and get out.
"Night Surf" - A four-star jaunt back into a Captain Trips-ravaged world that I dug quite a bit.
"I am the Doorway" - A tasty tidbit of sci fi horror that gets under your skin and explains that the cover you see above is quite literal in this four-star outing.
"The Mangler" - Five demon-possessed pieces of industrial laundry equipment out of five for being the goriest thing I've read all year.
"Grey Matter" - I'm going deeper into this one. I believe this story was the catalyst to great many things in the King-verse. The "Grays" from Tommyknockers and Dreamcatcher make an appearance, as well as a little story about a man going into a Bangor sewer to find a giant spider. The man comes out with his hair white as snow, and dies two years later, crazy as a shithouse rat. Of course these are only my theories, but I'm giving this story five stars based on possible coolness factor alone.
"Battleground" - Ten pages and four star's worth of big fun that any kid who's ever played with little green army men will enjoy.
"Trucks" - Three stars for the story that inspired the movie Maximum Overdrive, that B-movie masterpiece penned by King himself.
"Sometimes They Come Back" - Two stars for this predictable little ditty that never has struck the right chord with me.
"Strawberry Spring" - This five-star number is probably up there in my top ten Stephen King shorts; short stories, not the man's knickers.
"The Ledge" - A different kind of three-star thriller that makes me wonder why King has written two tales (the novel Cujo, and this seventeen-page story) about a woman who has an affair with her tennis instructor.
"The Lawnmower Man" - This two-star pile of offal was turned into a movie so horrible, King himself requested his name be stricken from the credits, but the story was just as bad as the movie, even though neither one had shit to do with the other.
"Quitters, Inc" - I honestly cannot believe that the same man who wrote "The Lawnmower Man" wrote "Quitters, Inc.", because this five-star tale of willpower and familial love is altogether a horse of a different color.
"I Know What You Need" - This three-star read first appeared in Cosmopolitan, and that's all I have to say about that.
"Children of the Corn" - My favorite story in this collection easily gets all the stars, because kids and corn are scary, yo!
"The Last Rung on the Ladder" - Well that one was a mule kick to the feels, so I guess it gets all the stars too.
"The Man Who Loves Flowers" - Gets four stars based on nostalgia factor alone, as I believe it's the first short story of King's that I ever sampled.
"One for the Road" - The second to last story in this collection gets four stars simply for being a companion to 'Salem's Lot.
"The Woman in the Room" - Is an emotionally driven four-star effort that hits a little too close to home for me.
Notable names:
This time around, King references his other books in multiple ways, but mostly by the towns that would come to host some of his most famous works. Below you will find a list of these towns, and any names that struck a chord with me.
Hemingford Home
Derry
Jerusalem's Lot
Gates Falls
Haven
Patrick Hockstetter (this name pops up all throughout the King-verse, but I don't think it's the same person every time, mainly because, when he's just a teen, Hockstetter dies at the hands of Pennywise, yet he goes on to write a book that's referenced in Carrie then becomes a scientist in Firestarter.)
In summation: Probably the most fun you will have with Stephen King. From animated army men to great beasts that tromp behind the rows, this collection is sure to please. Highly ecommended.
(Author's note: I said I wouldn't be doing his collections during my massive reread of King's catalog, but I'm well ahead of schedule, so here you go. I plan on doing a decade of Kingly works every three months. I started in October, and have read everything he published between 1974 and 1984. Aside from Different Seasons, I'm all caught up with that time period. I think I'll do the audio books of those next...)
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probably didn't like the more literary stories that I read once upon a when because I was a tried and true idiot in those days (I'm still an idiot, but my wife turned me into a functioning idiot, and I say thankee sai). Finally, this is probably the most fun anyone will ever have with a King collection. There are stories in here that are simply fucking cool. The concepts are fun, even if they are a tad bit violent, but there's a heaping helping of humor to go along with the sadness and the terror. I don't think any other collection, novella, or novel of his can match the sheer entertainment factor of this, his first published collection. You might disagree; and if you do, give some examples in the comment section. Once again, I know there's scarier and more moving stories of his out there, but do you think any of them are thing much fun? On with the single-sentence reviews:
"Jerusalem's Lot" - King's first attempt at Lovecraft fan fiction is a three-star outing for me because of the epistolary style, which I don't like.
"Graveyard Shift" - Four stars worth of nasty fun that shows King's not opposed to the time-tested rule of get in, get dirty, and get out.
"Night Surf" - A four-star jaunt back into a Captain Trips-ravaged world that I dug quite a bit.
"I am the Doorway" - A tasty tidbit of sci fi horror that gets under your skin and explains that the cover you see above is quite literal in this four-star outing.
"The Mangler" - Five demon-possessed pieces of industrial laundry equipment out of five for being the goriest thing I've read all year.
"Grey Matter" - I'm going deeper into this one. I believe this story was the catalyst to great many things in the King-verse. The "Grays" from Tommyknockers and Dreamcatcher make an appearance, as well as a little story about a man going into a Bangor sewer to find a giant spider. The man comes out with his hair white as snow, and dies two years later, crazy as a shithouse rat. Of course these are only my theories, but I'm giving this story five stars based on possible coolness factor alone.
"Battleground" - Ten pages and four star's worth of big fun that any kid who's ever played with little green army men will enjoy.
"Trucks" - Three stars for the story that inspired the movie Maximum Overdrive, that B-movie masterpiece penned by King himself.
"Sometimes They Come Back" - Two stars for this predictable little ditty that never has struck the right chord with me.
"Strawberry Spring" - This five-star number is probably up there in my top ten Stephen King shorts; short stories, not the man's knickers.
"The Ledge" - A different kind of three-star thriller that makes me wonder why King has written two tales (the novel Cujo, and this seventeen-page story) about a woman who has an affair with her tennis instructor.
"The Lawnmower Man" - This two-star pile of offal was turned into a movie so horrible, King himself requested his name be stricken from the credits, but the story was just as bad as the movie, even though neither one had shit to do with the other.
"Quitters, Inc" - I honestly cannot believe that the same man who wrote "The Lawnmower Man" wrote "Quitters, Inc.", because this five-star tale of willpower and familial love is altogether a horse of a different color.
"I Know What You Need" - This three-star read first appeared in Cosmopolitan, and that's all I have to say about that.
"Children of the Corn" - My favorite story in this collection easily gets all the stars, because kids and corn are scary, yo!
"The Last Rung on the Ladder" - Well that one was a mule kick to the feels, so I guess it gets all the stars too.
"The Man Who Loves Flowers" - Gets four stars based on nostalgia factor alone, as I believe it's the first short story of King's that I ever sampled.
"One for the Road" - The second to last story in this collection gets four stars simply for being a companion to 'Salem's Lot.
"The Woman in the Room" - Is an emotionally driven four-star effort that hits a little too close to home for me.
Notable names:
This time around, King references his other books in multiple ways, but mostly by the towns that would come to host some of his most famous works. Below you will find a list of these towns, and any names that struck a chord with me.
Hemingford Home
Derry
Jerusalem's Lot
Gates Falls
Haven
Patrick Hockstetter (this name pops up all throughout the King-verse, but I don't think it's the same person every time, mainly because, when he's just a teen, Hockstetter dies at the hands of Pennywise, yet he goes on to write a book that's referenced in Carrie then becomes a scientist in Firestarter.)
In summation: Probably the most fun you will have with Stephen King. From animated army men to great beasts that tromp behind the rows, this collection is sure to please. Highly ecommended.
(Author's note: I said I wouldn't be doing his collections during my massive reread of King's catalog, but I'm well ahead of schedule, so here you go. I plan on doing a decade of Kingly works every three months. I started in October, and have read everything he published between 1974 and 1984. Aside from Different Seasons, I'm all caught up with that time period. I think I'll do the audio books of those next...)
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LibraryThing member Nandakishore_Varma
Usually short-story collections, especially by the same author, always tend to garner a three from me: because they are almost always a mix of the good, the bad and the indifferent, and follows the bell-shaped curve of the normal distribution. But not this one. These collection of early stories
It's been a long time, but many of the stories linger: the seminal one, in my opinion, is The Boogeyman. This points to the basic concerns behind King's writing, and any horror story in general. The author does a fine job of walking the tightrope between psychological horror and pure, gut-wrenching terror, without let-up in the suspense towards the very end.
Another story which still haunts me is The Children of the Corn. The feral children of the cornfield and their twisted religion is one of the finest examples of creeping horror in the traditional sense.
I am the Doorway and Sometimes They Come Back are two other stories which really creeped me out. The remaining ones, even though not as frightening, gave me pleasant shivers and "delicious nightmare" (to borrow a phrase from Alfred Hitchcock). I return to this collection again and again, whenever I feel that life has become too safe and dull... just to remind myself that the boogeyman is always an arm's length away, behind the closet door.
(P.S. BTW, if you ask me to pick one story from this collection as my favourite, I'd choose the only one which is not a horror story - The Last Rung on the Ladder. The reason is personal. I too have a kid sister like the protagonist of that story, who knows that the hay will always be there.)
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from King is filled with the excellent, the very good, the good... and a few mildly good. The distribution skewed heavily in the direction of the terrific.It's been a long time, but many of the stories linger: the seminal one, in my opinion, is The Boogeyman. This points to the basic concerns behind King's writing, and any horror story in general. The author does a fine job of walking the tightrope between psychological horror and pure, gut-wrenching terror, without let-up in the suspense towards the very end.
Another story which still haunts me is The Children of the Corn. The feral children of the cornfield and their twisted religion is one of the finest examples of creeping horror in the traditional sense.
I am the Doorway and Sometimes They Come Back are two other stories which really creeped me out. The remaining ones, even though not as frightening, gave me pleasant shivers and "delicious nightmare" (to borrow a phrase from Alfred Hitchcock). I return to this collection again and again, whenever I feel that life has become too safe and dull... just to remind myself that the boogeyman is always an arm's length away, behind the closet door.
(P.S. BTW, if you ask me to pick one story from this collection as my favourite, I'd choose the only one which is not a horror story - The Last Rung on the Ladder. The reason is personal. I too have a kid sister like the protagonist of that story, who knows that the hay will always be there.)
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LibraryThing member ribson
One of the best books I have ever read.
LibraryThing member jseger9000
Stephen King's first short story collection Night Shift is pretty solid. Overall, it's not as good a collection as Skeleton Crew, but there are some real classics here.
For my money Graveyard Shift, I Am the Doorway, Gray Matter, Children of the Corn, The Last Rung on the Ladder and One for the Road
The rest of the stories don't quite approach that level, but all have something interesting about them. There are some that I wish were better, but I didn't think there was a clinker in the bunch.
In a couple of stories, you can see King working out some early ideas for what would become classic novels. The first is Jerusalem's Lot a fun Lovecraftian tale about a family curse, a deserted village and the old gods. King is a monumentally better writer than Lovecraft ever was. Even his purposely-purple-prose seems less of an affectation than Lovecraft's usually is.
The other, Night Surf is a sort of alternate take on Captain Trips and The Stand. A neat idea, but I wasn't wild about the story itself.
There were a couple of horror/comedy stories (The Lawnmower Man and Quitters, Inc.) that were handled very well. They reminded me of the sort of stuff that Bentley Little does so well.
Worth a read, definitely. For any other writer, this would be a top tier collection, but King is King for a reason and has done better collections since this one.
For my money Graveyard Shift, I Am the Doorway, Gray Matter, Children of the Corn, The Last Rung on the Ladder and One for the Road
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(a cool, spooky sort of an epilogue to 'Salem's Lot) are King at the top of his game.The rest of the stories don't quite approach that level, but all have something interesting about them. There are some that I wish were better, but I didn't think there was a clinker in the bunch.
In a couple of stories, you can see King working out some early ideas for what would become classic novels. The first is Jerusalem's Lot a fun Lovecraftian tale about a family curse, a deserted village and the old gods. King is a monumentally better writer than Lovecraft ever was. Even his purposely-purple-prose seems less of an affectation than Lovecraft's usually is.
The other, Night Surf is a sort of alternate take on Captain Trips and The Stand. A neat idea, but I wasn't wild about the story itself.
There were a couple of horror/comedy stories (The Lawnmower Man and Quitters, Inc.) that were handled very well. They reminded me of the sort of stuff that Bentley Little does so well.
Worth a read, definitely. For any other writer, this would be a top tier collection, but King is King for a reason and has done better collections since this one.
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LibraryThing member TheLiveSoundGuy
This is a great collection of short stories and includes some of King's scariest tales. Many will be familiar with places and characters that popped up in many popular King movies notably One for the Road which is a sequel of sorts to Salem's Lot and is as scary as that tale. Jerusalem's Lot which
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is a sort of prequel to Salem's Lot. Children of the Corn and Sometimes They Come Back, just to name a few. Not a spectacular work by Mr. King, but still a very enjoyably book. Fans of King will be interested to read his different works. Movie fans will note that many of these stories were the basis of films Show Less
LibraryThing member andersonden
I think this is some of the best of King - old classic stories. Someone should really tell the film makers that stories like "The Lawnmower Man" are best left in print form, however. Most of them are a little too short to transfer well into a feature film (the possible exception being "Children of
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the Corn" which had a lot of possibilities left open). Sixteen out of the 20 here are very memorable. A good proportion for a short story collection. Show Less
LibraryThing member MitraLibrary
Great collection of stories by the master of horror
LibraryThing member phaga
This was my first foray into King's short stories and I must say I'm now hooked. His short stories are just as awesome as his 1000 page epic novels. Even with such a little space to work with he's still able to create characters that you care about and situations that you can't walk away from. My
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favorite in the book was probably The Ledge due to it's simple yet horrific plot. Read this and you'll want to pick up his other short story collections. Show Less
LibraryThing member JechtShot
Night Shift is a collection of short stories by Stephen King first published in 1978. I will be the first to admit that I am a bigger fan of the King tomes and normally do not love his short fiction. Night Shift, however, is the exception. A few standouts that I would recommend: The Ledge, Quitter
Night Shift is a great collection to pick up if you are in the mood to be scared, just a bit, one story at a time.
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Inc., Children of the Corn and I Know What You Need. The rest of the stories are pretty good and vary in levels of believability from "very real" to "complete absurdity". If you are going to pass by any of the stops along the Night Shift train I would personally skip The Man Who Loved Flowers. Other than that, this is Stephen King gold.Night Shift is a great collection to pick up if you are in the mood to be scared, just a bit, one story at a time.
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LibraryThing member cassie.peters1
I enjoyed Children of the Corn the best of all.
LibraryThing member princess-starr
While I don’t count this as his strongest collection, there are some standout short pieces in Night Shift that I do like. I’ve always thought that King’s horror is more effective when it’s shorter and some of the stories are standouts—“Strawberry Spring,” “Sometimes They Come
It’s also worth noting that there’s some great suspense and literary tales in here. “The Last Rung on the Ladder” is one of the most heartbreaking pieces King’s ever written, and “The Ledge” is a great little suspense tale. There are some clunkers in here (I’ve never been fond of “Night Surf” or “Battleground”), but overall, there’s a lot of good stories to pick up and read at your leisure.
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Back” and “Graveyard Shift” are definitely some of the scariest short pieces I’ve read. It’s also worth noting that there’s some great suspense and literary tales in here. “The Last Rung on the Ladder” is one of the most heartbreaking pieces King’s ever written, and “The Ledge” is a great little suspense tale. There are some clunkers in here (I’ve never been fond of “Night Surf” or “Battleground”), but overall, there’s a lot of good stories to pick up and read at your leisure.
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LibraryThing member edgeworth
Stephen King, back in the day, could spin a damn good yarn. It’s a shame that in the last decade or so he went a little odd – as I lamented many times while slogging through the end of the Dark Tower series – but he really had the spark in his youth. Night Shift, first published in 1978, is a
By and large I enjoyed most of the stories in here – particularly “Grey Matter,” “Trucks,” “Children of the Corn” and “One for the Road” – and found that quite a few of them hit that sweet spot of intriguing paranormal mystery. I like King not so much because he’s a horror writer – I’m never scared by what he writes, more “creeped out” – but because I find an engaging mystery to be an excellent form of fiction. I don’t mean a whodunnit mystery, with a group of diverse and enigmatic characters discovering a murder on a train in the 1920s and trying to figure out which of them did it. Those kinds of mysteries are boring. (Spoiler – it turns out one of the characters did it!) What I love is a good speculative fiction mystery, where something bizarre and inexplicable is happening – like the TV series Lost, the Priest’s Tale in Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, or the novel Inverted World.
Where King falters in Night Shift is when he tries to explain the mystery, and usually does so with the Bible/witchcraft/demons. One particularly egregious example is “The Mangler,” an otherwise excellent story about a piece of industrial laundry equipment which keeps injuring and killing people, and which an investigating police detective feels has some kind of malevolent presence inside it. It should have been left at that – an inexplicable bloodlust in an inanimate object. That, for my money, is a lot more frightening (and, in terms of suspension of disbelief, plausible) than King’s explanation, which involves a witchcraft ritual and a possessive demon and a crazy set of coincidences. Once that sort of thing starts trickling in I find myself rolling my eyes, and unfortunately a fair few of the stories in this volume could have been a lot better than they are precisely because of this over-exposition. There are also two ordinary “literary” stories towards the end of the book, and if I want to read something with no horror, sci-fi or fantasy elements, there’s a fairly long list of authors I’ll turn to before Stephen King.
Nonetheless, Night Shift is still a pretty good collection of short stories. A lot better than most anthologies I read, and a hell of a lot better than most stuff he’s written since the 1990s – although, with a lot of positive reviews for The Wind Through The Keyhole and 11/22/63, I may have to look him up again. I definitely want to read some more of his early works, and I have The Long Walk and The Running Man on my TBR pile.
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collection of various short stories King had published throught the late 60s and the 1970s, at the very beginning of his long writing career.By and large I enjoyed most of the stories in here – particularly “Grey Matter,” “Trucks,” “Children of the Corn” and “One for the Road” – and found that quite a few of them hit that sweet spot of intriguing paranormal mystery. I like King not so much because he’s a horror writer – I’m never scared by what he writes, more “creeped out” – but because I find an engaging mystery to be an excellent form of fiction. I don’t mean a whodunnit mystery, with a group of diverse and enigmatic characters discovering a murder on a train in the 1920s and trying to figure out which of them did it. Those kinds of mysteries are boring. (Spoiler – it turns out one of the characters did it!) What I love is a good speculative fiction mystery, where something bizarre and inexplicable is happening – like the TV series Lost, the Priest’s Tale in Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, or the novel Inverted World.
Where King falters in Night Shift is when he tries to explain the mystery, and usually does so with the Bible/witchcraft/demons. One particularly egregious example is “The Mangler,” an otherwise excellent story about a piece of industrial laundry equipment which keeps injuring and killing people, and which an investigating police detective feels has some kind of malevolent presence inside it. It should have been left at that – an inexplicable bloodlust in an inanimate object. That, for my money, is a lot more frightening (and, in terms of suspension of disbelief, plausible) than King’s explanation, which involves a witchcraft ritual and a possessive demon and a crazy set of coincidences. Once that sort of thing starts trickling in I find myself rolling my eyes, and unfortunately a fair few of the stories in this volume could have been a lot better than they are precisely because of this over-exposition. There are also two ordinary “literary” stories towards the end of the book, and if I want to read something with no horror, sci-fi or fantasy elements, there’s a fairly long list of authors I’ll turn to before Stephen King.
Nonetheless, Night Shift is still a pretty good collection of short stories. A lot better than most anthologies I read, and a hell of a lot better than most stuff he’s written since the 1990s – although, with a lot of positive reviews for The Wind Through The Keyhole and 11/22/63, I may have to look him up again. I definitely want to read some more of his early works, and I have The Long Walk and The Running Man on my TBR pile.
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LibraryThing member josh314
I'll update this review as I read the stories.
Jerusalem's Lot - A great tale, clearly inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, but still wholly King. King manages to avoid overwrought prose and his tendency toward unecessary gruesomeness. This story is apprently a prequel for the novel 'Salem's
Sometimes They Come Back - Engrossing, although some cheesy elements in the ending.
Jerusalem's Lot - A great tale, clearly inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, but still wholly King. King manages to avoid overwrought prose and his tendency toward unecessary gruesomeness. This story is apprently a prequel for the novel 'Salem's
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Lot. I'm definitely encourage to check out that novel, now, especially since King says it's one of his favorites.Sometimes They Come Back - Engrossing, although some cheesy elements in the ending.
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LibraryThing member DDannoll
An excellent introduction to Stephen King literature with tales focusing on the paranormal, human persona and even the mortality of man. Genuinely adored some of the stories contained, though a few weaker entries kept it from hitting 5 stars in my opinion.
LibraryThing member srboone
I liked this collection better than his later one. He seems to be simply trying to scare the hell out of you rather than get caught up in tyhe artistic trappings of his mature writings. These tale are raw and passionate. My favorites of King's short stories come from here.
Awards
Locus Award (Nominee — 1979)
World Fantasy Award (Nominee — Collection / Anthology — 1979)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 1978)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1978-02
Physical description
368 p.; 6.36 inches
ISBN
0385129912 / 9780385129916
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