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Stephen King is hailed as one of the most accomplished and impactful authors in literary history, boasting over thirty of his works reaching the pinnacle of bestseller lists. Since his debut in 1974, King has reigned supreme in the fiction realm, with numerous adaptations of his stories captivating audiences on both the big and small screens.
While his novels initially brought him fame, King has also crafted novellas and short story collections featuring some of his most iconic creations. Both Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption originated from King’s novellas, and the Children of the Corn series has inspired a staggering nine films!
The brevity of short stories and novellas allows King to deliver some of his most jaw-dropping twists. Readers are lured into a false sense of expectation, only to be blindsided by an unforeseen turn of events. Below are ten instances of such shocking twists in Stephen King’s shorter works.
10. “Under the Weather”
The Stephen King anthology Bazaar of Bad Dreams, a top-selling New York Times bestseller, features twenty-one short stories and poems. Among them is “Under the Weather,” which begins with a middle-aged man getting ready for a routine day at work. His wife, unwell, remains in bed, prompting the protagonist, Brad Franklin, to leave her a note before heading out. At the office, Brad reflects on his wife’s heart condition and recalls her remark that if she passed away, he might imagine her still alive—a detail that subtly hints at the story’s grim reality.
When Brad receives a call from his building superintendent about a foul odor emanating from his apartment, he rushes home to discover his dog licking its chops and his wife’s hand partially consumed. While the story initially leads readers to believe the wife is simply ill, the shocking truth is that she had been dead all along. The calm, ordinary beginning makes the tragic ending all the more jarring.
9. “Blockade Billy”
Also featured in Bazaar of Bad Dreams, “Blockade Billy” starts as a charming baseball story before taking a sinister twist. It was later published as a standalone novella.
An old man recalls his time coaching baseball player Billy Blakely years ago. Initially, King paints the tale as a nostalgic recollection, but unsettling details gradually emerge. The narrator eventually discloses that Billy was an imposter named Eugene Katsanis, who had slaughtered the Blakely family and assumed Billy’s identity to pursue a baseball career.
8. “Strawberry Spring”
Released in 1978, Night Shift was Stephen King’s debut short story collection, featuring several iconic tales. Among them is a story that showcases King’s mastery of crafting unreliable narrators. These narrators, whether due to deceit, mental instability, or other reasons, cannot be trusted to present the truth accurately.
The unnamed narrator of “Strawberry Spring” is a prime example of unreliability. He recounts a peculiar period from his college years, eight years prior, during a rare weather event called a Strawberry Spring. Amidst the eerie fog, a serial killer known as Springheel Jack terrorized the campus. As the narrator describes the crimes, he pins them on someone else, reminiscing about the surreal and enchanting atmosphere of that time. However, the shocking twist comes when he reveals the return of both the Strawberry Spring and Springheel Jack, exposing himself as the true killer.
7. “The Boogeyman”
Also featured in Night Shift, “The Boogeyman” was adapted into a Hulu film in 2022. The story follows Lester Billings as he recounts the tragic deaths of his three children to a psychiatrist, Doctor Harper. Billings insists that a boogeyman was responsible, but the reader suspects he may be the culprit. The ending, however, leaves room for a chilling alternative explanation.
As the session concludes, Billings exits but swiftly returns to find a decaying entity clutching a Doctor Harper mask. The reader is left to ponder the truth: Was the doctor truly a boogeyman, or is Billings, who takes over as the narrator at the story’s end, deceiving us with his unreliable account?
6. Nightmares and Dreamscapes Duo
Published in 1993, Nightmares and Dreamscapes includes twenty-four diverse works. The collection was so rich in content that TNT adapted several stories into a miniseries. King often explores themes of individuals stumbling into eerie towns and descending into chaos, and this anthology features two such tales. “You Know They’ve Got a Hell of a Band” follows a couple who find themselves in a rock-and-roll paradise inhabited by deceased music legends.
In “Rainy Season,” a couple relocates to a quaint Maine village, eager for a fresh start. Upon arrival, locals warn them about the impending rainy season and advise them to leave until the next day. Dismissing the warnings as a joke, they stay. That night, the skies unleash not rain but ferocious, sharp-toothed frogs. The amphibians invade their home, ultimately leading to the couple’s demise. Such a bizarre amphibious onslaught is a twist only Stephen King could deliver.
5. “Popsy”
Another tale from Nightmares and Dreamscapes, “Popsy,” takes a chilling twist on a child abduction story, culminating in a gruesomely satisfying conclusion. The narrator, Sheridan, is brutally honest about his intentions to kidnap a child. Deep in debt, he funds his lifestyle by abducting children for deviants. After seizing a young boy, he dismisses the child’s warnings about his Popsy coming to save him. However, when something lands on his car roof, Sheridan realizes Popsy is no ordinary grandfather but a night-dwelling creature. Even vampires cherish their grandchildren, and Popsy proves it by rescuing his grandson and feasting on Sheridan.
Notably, the film rights to “Popsy” were acquired by Pale Moon Cinema for $1.00 as part of the Stephen King Dollar Baby Program.
4. “L.T.’s Theory of Pets”
“Popsy” isn’t the only Stephen King story with film rights sold for $1.00. “L.T.’s Theory of Pets” was also licensed through the Stephen King Dollar Baby Program. Originally, King performed the story live in London, and it was later published in the collection Everything’s Eventual.
This story, like many of King’s works, blends humor and horror. The narrator recounts his friend L.T.’s marital struggles over their pets, Lucy the cat and Frank the dog. Unlike stories that start light and turn dark, this one begins with the grim revelation that L.T.’s wife, Lulubelle, is missing, likely killed by a serial killer. The narrative then shifts to a comedic account of the couple’s pet-related disputes before her disappearance.
The humor of L.T.’s pet-related anecdotes, delivered in his relaxed storytelling manner, almost overshadows the grim reality of Lulu’s fate. By the end, the reader is starkly reminded of the tragedy. Lulu’s car was discovered abandoned in the desert, with her deceased dog nearby. While her ultimate fate remains unclear, she is presumed to be the final victim of the notorious Axe Man serial killer.
3. “Morning Deliveries”
Another tale from Skeleton Crew plunges readers into the chaotic world of a deranged milkman. “Morning Deliveries” begins with a deceptively calm scene of a neighborhood waking up. Animals stir, a gentle breeze blows, and dawn breaks. Amid this tranquility, a Cramer’s Dairy truck rolls down the street, driven by Spike Mulligan, who is on his usual morning route.
The story starts innocently enough, but the tone shifts when Spike reaches for the orange juice, casually mentioning deadly nightshade. The sinister nature of his deliveries becomes evident as he leaves a tarantula instead of cream at one house, followed by acid, poison, and cyanide gas at others. The tale concludes with Spike driving off into the sunny morning as a young boy innocently retrieves the milk.
2. “Gramma”
Unlike the caring vampire grandfather Popsy, the grandmother in “Gramma,” from the 1985 collection Skeleton Crew, is far from affectionate. After his father’s death, eleven-year-old George and his family must move in with his grandmother. Enormous, ill, and confined to her bed, Gramma terrifies the boy, who avoids her at all costs. However, one stormy evening, George is left alone with her and must tend to her needs.
The tension builds as the storm rages outside. Just as the reader fears the elderly woman might rise and harm her grandson, George realizes Gramma has passed away—or so he thinks. Suddenly, she stirs and grabs him. Gramma, a practitioner of dark occult magic, uses her powers to seize her grandson’s body for her own. The story concludes with a transformed George awaiting his family’s return, ready to inflict torment.
1. “Autopsy Room Four”
Although “Autopsy Room Four” was adapted for the Nightmares and Dreamscapes miniseries on TNT, the story originally appeared in the collection Everything’s Eventual.
In this tale, the twist isn’t that the presumed-dead protagonist Howard Cottrell is alive, but how the medical examiner discovers this fact. From the outset, readers know Howard is fully paralyzed and in a dire predicament. Found unconscious on a golf course, he is declared dead by an elderly doctor. In reality, a rare snakebite has left him immobile. A distracted doctor, a careless intern, some flirtation, and boredom lead to an autopsy that takes an unexpected turn. As Howard desperately tries to signal he’s alive, an involuntary erection provides undeniable proof to the coroner.
