Me too - I always though Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut was a fantastic story. The Mist was a great novellete and The Jaunt was memorable and well written. Honorable mention to Gramma for being so freaking scary,
The Jaunt is tops by a mile. And there were quite a few excellent stories, all mentioned above. But for sheer weirdness, I really liked the Milkman #1 (gotta give it some props, it has no votes). It was rather pointless, but interesting from that perspective. No real plot at all, just a little side exploration of creepy.
I voted for The Mist. The Jaunt and The Raft were seriously in the running. The Jaunt has got to be the second most disturbing science fiction story I’ve ever read. Very well done, and plugged in to a deep fear of the concept of eternity I had around the time I read it.
The Mist is the total package though. From the great description of the stormy summer day and the mist starting to roll in, to the characters in the store, to the open, but hopeful ending. (Yes, I hated the movie.)
I think The Jaunt is the only truly creepy thing King has ever written.
One story I voted for hasn’t been mentioned - Word Processor of the Gods. I loved this story! I read it when it first came out, and PC’s weren’t ubiquitous like they are today.
To be able to rewrite your life is a fabulous concept.
The others I voted for are - The Mist, The Jaunt, Survivor Type, and Gramma.
I was so lucky to have picked up this collection to be my first Stephen King experience. I read The Mist first, and have been hooked ever since.
Although The Stand is my all-time favorite SK work, I still think most of his very best stuff is done in short form. I voted for nine of these bad boys, because they are all stories I read again and again, and I get different stuff from all of them.
The Mist was a serious “Man screws with nature, bad shit ensues” story, with a very believable protagonist (and his son), and lots of richly-drawn characters. While it’s true that some of the characters turn out to be caricatures, I think this is often necessary in short fiction, and it doesn’t bother me a bit. I also prefer the ambivalent ending of King’s original story to Darabont’s darker one. But I did like the movie.
The Jaunt was just haunting. That last line (“Longer than you think, Dad! Longer than you think!”), ::shudder::
Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut was just good, fluffy fun. But I love it, again and again, for the ‘voice’ I hear it told in; that old, New England guy, he talks in my head. The story is neat, but Homer’s voice is really what does it for me.
Word Processor of the Gods was pretty light-hearted (well, in the King universe, anyway), too. I mean, it was deep enough, I guess, if you take it as a lesson in thinking about the choices we make in life. But I choose to read it as one man who kind of won the “Change your life forever!” lottery. You know?
The Raft was a nifty little story, with more great, believable characters. I also love the ‘story behind the story’ that he tells in Author’s Notes at the front of the book, about how the check from publishing it gave him a ‘get out of jail free’ card!
Survivor Type was interesting for its diary format; it was also really, really good at portraying just what a douchebag ‘Dr Pine’ was, which made me feel a whole hell of a lot less sorry for his plight in life. Again, like Word Processor, it was a story about how our choices in life affect us. But this one was much more gruesome, and in its own way, more fun. Also, I always love the way King follows a character’s descent into madness. As an added bonus, it features another one of those classic ‘final Stephen King lines’; “Lady fingers; they taste just like lady fingers”.
Survivor Type is perfect. The Mist and The Raft are great, too.
No, you are definitely not the only one. It’s a wonderful romance (Mrs. Todd is based on Mrs. King), and, in classic King style, while initially everything seems fine, it just gets weirder and weirder. Great ending, too.
I forgot to tag The Reach when I was voting. Another great story, with only a hint of the supernatural. While I live in an inland state, I have met elderly people from small towns who have literally never been anywhere else. Some of these towns are declining, with young people moving away and businesses shutting down. Very familiar when reading the story. Plus a seriously gutsy old lady, who finally takes her life and death into her own hands.
Oh, yeah, I may have forgotten to vote for it, but I also loved The Reach.
ladyfingers they taste just like ladyfingers
I washed it thoroughly before I ate it.
[hijack]I haven’t read Skeleton Crew (I really ought to, at some point, but I haven’t, yet), but since there’s a collection of those who have here…
I watched the movie of The Mist a while back, and one thing that really stood out to me was the religious whackjob (Mrs Carmody?) chanting ‘my life for you!’ at one point. Was that from the story, or added for the movie. Given the other times it comes up in King’s work, it gives a different spin on her devotion, and I’m wondering if it applies only to the movie, or the story, as well. (I’d give more weight to it being meaningful, rather than simply an in-joke, if it came from the book.)[/hijack]
IIRC, in the book, her standard line was “It’s death to go out there!” Believe it or not, she was nuttier in the book than in the movie!
My favorite line from Survivor Type is:
“If you are what you eat then I haven’t changed a bit!”
The Mist is the only SK story/novel to scare the bejeebus outta me. The image of him driving off leaving his wife, her face shadowed with the mist rolling in… my worst nightmare.
Darn- you could vote for more than one??? darn darn.
The Mist, definitely. Some of the others were pretty good though. Skeleton Crew and Night Shift were what made me start reading SK in the first place (and the Dark Half was what made me stop :rolleyes:).
I have to represent the other side - I HATED “Survivor Type” - I’ve read a lot of Stephen King, so I have a pretty good tolerance for nasty, but that was too nasty for me.
I loved “The Word Processor of the Gods.” It’s just such a neat idea, to get a re-do on righting some egregious wrongs.
“The Jaunt” is simply impressive. I feel that King has showcased his contemporary horror skills through this one. Rather it can be said ‘futuristic’ horror.
Horror in 21st century is not about ruptured coffins, haunted villas, draculas and living deads. Its more of on the high tech self destruction path we are on. As metallica says famously “You have reached the end of the line…”. Rock and King make a heady cocktail for sure.
As zombie thread resurrections go, I heartily agree with this. I’m going to download this tonight on Kindle, as I don’t seem to have a copy anymore.
By the way, I reread Skeleton Crew since I voted, and I agree that the last line of The Jaunt is the best ending Stephen King ever wrote (which is probably damning with faint praise). Before that, it never really grabbed me for whatever reason. Maybe because it’s 95% exposition and 5% payoff (but what a payoff!).