THE KING OF SHORTS

by John M. Floyd

Several of my colleagues and our readers have had much to say recently about the short stories of Stephen King. Sure, he’s best known for his novels, and I love ’em, but let it never be said that this emperor has no shorts. All of them are entertaining, and some are wonderful. And even though they can rarely be called mystery stories, they’re often crime-related and always suspenseful.

I believe I own a copy of just about everything SK’s ever written, fiction and non-, so it’s pretty easy to put together a list of what I feel are some of the best short stories in his collections.

First off, the King collections themselves (I’m not including collections of his novellas or the single-themed collection of shorts and novellas Hearts in Atlantis) are: Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Everything’s Eventual, and Just Past Sunset.

Here are my picks of the best short stories in each:

Night Shift:

“The Last Rung on the Ladder” — A very unKinglike tale, and one that will bring a tear to your eye. Probably my favorite of all his short stories.

“Quitters, Inc.” — Need an incentive to quit smoking? Or to quit anything? This is the ideal program.

“Strawberry Spring” — A story of a serial killer on a college campus in the late sixties (the same time I was in college).

Skeleton Crew:

“The Raft” — A great example of King doing what he does best.

“Mrs. Dolan’s Shortcut” — One of my three favorite King shorts. This woman and her car are forever imprinted in my mind.

“The Reach” — A dark, thoughtful tale with a setting that’s as spooky as the story.

Nightmares & Dreamscapes:

“The Night Flier” — A vampire with a private pilot’s license? Crazy, but it works.

“Dolan’s Cadillac” — A Poe-like tale of revenge, and the extent to which someone will go to achieve it.

“Crouch End” — Not a story you want to read before sightseeing abroad. Lovecraftian and truly frightening.

Everything’s Eventual:

“The Man in the Black Suit” — A meaningful story, one that made it into The New Yorker and pleased King’s literary critics.

“Autopsy Room Four” — This one reminded me of the long-ago “Breakdown” episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, with Joseph Cotten as a paralyzed accident victim.

“The Road Virus Heads North” — After reading this story, you’ll think twice before a piece of art at a yard sale.

Just Past Sunset:

“Harvey’s Dream” — One of the only “dream” stories I’ve ever liked.

“Stationary Bike” — Even weirder than most of the Kingster’s tales, but a lot of fun.

“Mute” — The third of my three alltime King favorites. I liked everything about this one.

I know we’re talking about short fiction here, but you know I’m always thinking about movies as well, and I believe some of the best film adaptations of King’s work came from his novellas. For what it’s worth, my favorite SK novellas are:

• Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption — from Different Seasons

• Cycle of the Werewolf — standalone

• Low Men in Yellow Coats — from the Hearts in Atlantis collection

• The Mist — from Skeleton Crew

• The Body — from Different Seasons

• Riding the Bullet — from Everything’s Eventual

• The Langoliers — from Four Past Midnight

While we’re at it, here are my favorite King novels:

• The Stand

• The Dead Zone

• Misery

• The Green Mile

• It

• The Dark Tower series

• Salem’s Lot

And my favorite movies:

• The Shawshank Redemption (1994) — adapted from the novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

• Misery (1990)

• The Green Mile (1999)

• Silver Bullet (1985) — adapted from the novella Cycle of the Werewolf

• Stand By Me (1986) — adapted from the novella The Body

• The Dead Zone (1983)

• Hearts in Atlantis (2001) — adapted from the novella Low Men in Yellow Coats

(NOTE: My pick for best title for a King short story is “Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling.” I love that.)

I know plenty of folks who say they just can’t read Stephen King because of some of his subject matter, but I always urge them to read him anyway. I honestly believe he’s one of the our greatest living storytellers, and I think he could have and would have been successful writing in any genre he chose. Besides, some of what I consider to be his best work (Misery, “Mute,” “Dolan’s Cadillac,” Shawshank, “The Last Rung on the Ladder,” The Body, etc.) isn’t horror fiction at all, and doesn’t even deal with the supernatural.

In the words of Annie Wilkes, I’m his Number One Fan.