Editorials
Thirteen Stephen King Short Stories Every King Fan Should Read
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.
Crouch End
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.
N.
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, The 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.
The Dune
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!
After fifty years of continuous writing, Stephen King has become a genre unto himself.
The unrivaled Master of Horror made a splash in 1974 with his debut novel Carrie and has been terrifying readers ever since. Two years later, Brian De Palma brought this shocking story to the screen with an equally electrifying horror film that remains a genre classic and a prototypical example of “Good For Her” horror. This dual debut seemed to open the floodgates, unleashing endless waves of Stephen King films.
From the highs of Misery, Cujo, and The Shawshank Redemption to the schlocky fun of Cat’s Eye, Creepshow, and Children of the Corn, the last five decades have seen just about every notable horror creator take a stab at the author’s massive collection.
In recent years, this singular subgenre has begun to burst at the seams, expanding to include Stephen King-esque fare. In 2016, brothers Matt and Ross Duffer debuted Stranger Things, a sci-fi series heavily inspired by two of King’s most famous books. The Netflix series remixes Firestarter and It by following a little girl with psychic powers and an intrepid group of kids on bikes who must battle an otherworldly foe and a sinister government agency. With its clever blend of modern effects and comforting nostalgia, this gateway horror series paved the way for Andy Muschietti’s It adaptation which remains the highest grossing horror film of all time.
Four years later, Mike Flanagan would create Midnight Mass, a spiritual adaptation of King’s second novel Salem’s Lot. Published in 1975, the book sees a tiny New England town torn apart by a centuries-old vampire. Though Flanagan’s story is perhaps more tender, both iterations of the classic horror tale follow close-knit communities shaken to their core by the presence of an ancient evil.
In addition to these recent hits, 2025 was a banner year for the Master of Horror. Audiences delighted in six mainstream adaptations, including the massively popular It: Welcome to Derry which chronicles earlier cycles of the titular clown’s reign. With this boost to King’s cultural cache, it’s no surprise that we’ve begun to see more unofficial adaptations of the author’s work and horror creators who build their own unique castles in King’s creative sandbox.
So what defines a Stephen King-esque story?
For the past fifty years, the prolific author has dipped his toes in nearly every subgenre from supernatural stories and grisly gore to western fantasy and science fiction. Including his vast catalogue of short fiction, King has tackled ghosts, demons, werewolves, zombies, aliens, mutants, and self-driving cars, not to mention bizarre monsters of his own creation. But what truly unites this vast array of horror is King’s focus on relatable characters. In his 2000 memoir/instructional text On Writing, the prolific author describes the amusement he finds in writing disparate characters, placing them in horrific scenarios, then exploring the ways they try to survive.
An unofficial Stephen King adaptation may take place in the author’s native New England — bonus points if it’s set in Maine — and reference his well-known heroes and villains. But what makes the King connection unbreakable is a character-driven story about average people who band together in the face of abject terror.
Weapons Captures Small Town Stephen King
Following his 2022 shocker Barbarian, Zach Cregger returned with Weapons, a sprawling story that begins in a doomed elementary school. On an otherwise ordinary day, Justine (Julia Garner) arrives at her desk to find that all but one of her students have disappeared. As the mystery grows increasingly violent, Justine and Archer (Josh Brolin), the father of a missing boy, find their way to the home of Alex (Cary Christopher), the class’ only surviving student. In some ways reminiscent of Salem’s Lot, Weapons swings wildly through the unfortunate town, introducing us to its flawed inhabitants as we watch their lives fall apart.
Cregger’s setup nods to a pair of King short stories. Both “Suffer the Little Children” and “Here There Be Tygers” tackle monstrous presences in elementary schools, but as Weapons reaches its final act, Constant Readers may remember another Stephen King tale. Featured in his 1985 collection Skeleton Crew, “Gramma” introduces us to George, a little boy tormented by an aging witch. On an afternoon alone with his sickly grandmother, the frightened child gradually realizes that the imposing old woman has been waiting for an opportunity to cast a spell that will extend her own life by possessing his body.
Alex finds himself similarly tortured by his aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan), a garish witch who orchestrates a desperate plot to sustain her own strength. Transforming humans into mindless weapons, Gladys has taken over Alex’s family home and lured his classmates to the basement. Holding them in a comatose state, she syphons off their energy to extend her own supernatural life.
Vastly different in many ways, both “Gramma” and Weapons hinge on a sinister witch who uses horrific magical spells to sacrifice the bodies of her vulnerable prey.
Hokum Echoes The Shining and 1408
It’s nearly impossible to watch a film about a haunted hotel without thinking of King’s third novel, The Shining. This icy story follows Jack Torrance, an angry writer struggling with his sobriety and a shameful incident haunting his past. Accompanied by his wife and young son, Jack has taken a job as the winter caretaker for the Overlook, a haunted hotel situated high in the Rocky Mountains. Snowed in, Jack finds himself tormented by dangerous ghosts who amplify his greatest fears.
Damian McCarthy’s Hokum follows a similarly troubled figure. Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is a surly writer who travels to the Bilberry Woods Hotel in rural Ireland to spread his parents’ ashes. Haunted by his own tragic past, Ohm finds himself trapped in the honeymoon suite, a decaying room that’s been permanently closed to protect visitors from a dangerous witch trapped within its walls. Visual nods to King’s text abound with woodcut figurines and an animated clock, mirroring ominous descriptions found in King’s text.
Another terrifying sequence sees Ohm staring with horror at a closed door, the only thing separating him from the approaching witch. As the door knob slowly turns, Constant Readers remember Jack’s narrow escape from the ghostly woman in room 217. And Ohm’s popular Conquistador books directly reference King’s long-running fantasy series The Dark Tower which follows a gunslinger named Roland Deschain tasked with protecting the nexus of the universe.
In addition to these thematic comparisons, Hokum bears striking resemblance to King’s terrifying short story “1408.” Collected in 2002’s Everything’s Eventual, the terrifying story follows Mike Enslin, a dejected writer who’s risen to fame penning essays about his adventures in haunted locations. Mike arrives at the Hotel Dolphin and bullies his way into the titular room, despite the manager’s dire warnings. McCarthy nods to this story with an ominously misplaced hotel room door, reminiscent of King’s entry to 1408, an unsuspecting portal that appears to move each time Mike looks away.
However, McCarthy’s most direct reference lies in a minicorder Ohm uses to capture notes. Trapped inside the dreaded honeymoon suite, this device offers well-timed messages while sitting next to a decomposing corpse. Mike records his time in 1408 with his own trusty minicorder. Described for the reader, his tape has captured the man’s slow descent into madness as the room prepares to swallow him whole. With conclusions that differ wildly in tone, both Ohm and Mike find their lives irrevocably changed by encounters with the supernatural realm.
Widow’s Bay Builds Its Own Version of Castle Rock
Katie Dippold’s Widow’s Bay has taken the idea of an unofficial King adaptation and turned it into an art form. The Apple TV series sees the residents of the titular island plagued by a curse that dates back centuries. Not only does the picturesque hamlet not accommodate wifi connections, those born on the island face certain death should they ever try to leave. Desperate to modernize the tiny town, Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) draws in waves of tourists just as a new cycle of terror begins.
Blending horror with deft comedy, Dippold makes cheeky references to King’s body of work. Tom warns that, “there’s something in the fog,” reminding readers of King’s 1980 novella The Mist. And Loftis’ own stay in the town’s haunted hotel sees him tormented by the ghost of a murderous clown. We even spy a vintage King hardback peeking out of a local book trade box.
In many ways Widow’s Bay feels like a new iteration of the author’s Little Tall Island, a tiny village off the coast of Maine. In addition to the 1992 novel Dolores Claiborne and a handful of harrowing short stories, this quaint fishing village is also the setting for King’s 1999 teleplay Storm of the Century. Premiering on ABC primetime, this tragic tale follows a terrified group of islanders who batten down the hatches for a dangerous Nor’easter only to find a more sinister threat lurking within.
Constant Readers may also be reminded of Castle Rock, the author’s favorite fictional town.
First introduced in the 1981 novel Cujo, the charming village becomes the star of Needful Things, King’s satire about consumerism. After several Castle Rock stories, we’re reintroduced to its residents as they gossip about the arrival of Leland Gaunt and the grand opening of his curio shop. Anything their hearts desire can be found in his varied inventory, so long as they’re willing to pay the price. Pitting cantankerous neighbors against each other, Gaunt ignites a wave of grisly violence by exploiting long-held resentments and feuds.
The town’s only defense against this supernatural threat is beleaguered sheriff Alan Pangborn. Still grieving the deaths of his wife and younger son, Alan struggles to connect with his older child and pick up the pieces of his shattered life. Also a widower, Loftis struggles to raise his own restless son and explain the strange details of his wife’s tragic death. Attempting to unravel the island’s dark secrets, Tom is aided by quirky residents including a surly fisherman named Wyck (Stephen Root) and Patricia (Kate O’Flynn), an earnest Town Hall employee. King’s own novels feature many of these proactive alliances with disparate characters combining their strengths to overcome insurmountable odds.
With Widow’s Bay renewed for a second season and Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series on the horizon, the future seems bright for new King adaptations, both spiritual and directly pulled from his catalogue. The prolific author also shows no signs of slowing down with two publications nearing release. His upcoming novel, Other Worlds Than These, is the long-awaited third Talisman book which teases direct ties to his Dark Tower world. Holly Forever will be a new installment of his crime series, offering a different kind of genre fare.
This embarrassment of riches spawning multiple worlds seems ripe for spiritual adaptation and will likely inspire horror creators for decades to come.
Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root and Matthew Rhys in “Widow’s Bay,” now streaming on Apple TV.
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