In The Stand, the plague that wipes out most of the human race is sometimes referred to colloquially as “Captain Trips.”
King also wrote a short story, “Night Surf,” about a similar plague which is, again, referred to as “Captain Trips.” IIRC, the term pops up in a number of his works, always referring to an influenza-type plague.
What the heck does “Captain Trips” mean, anyway? Why does King use this term to describe his apocalyptic superflu?
Howyadoin,
IIRC, in The Stand, the “Captain Trips” name was mentioned as having come from the West Coast. I believe this is a RL pet name among Deadheads for Jerry Garcia. The connection? Maybe to the delirious state people went into before they died?
Yep, it’s a WAG, but hopefully this will jog someone’s memory to provide more info.
-Rav
I believe The Stand developed from the short story. So the name carried over.
Raven- I also think it was a Jerry Garcia reference. I have the book right here, and I can look through it to see if there’s anything about that there…
Captain Trips is not Jerry Garcia.
Perhaps if you had consulted a search engine, you might have found the answer.
So you’re claiming Garcia was not known as Captain Trips? I’m afraid you’re wrong.
IIRC, **The_Raven[/b[ is correct: King’s characters called the virus “Captain Trips” because it sent you on, like, the ultimate trip, man.
Oh, yes, one of Jerry Garcia’s nicknames is “Captain Trips,” but my intention was to state that he was not the Captain Trips.
Well, actually, this link doesn’t provide any answer at all, does it? I specifically asked what the reference meansd with respect to The Stand and why King uses it. That isn’t mentioned in the link.
I also sincerely doubt that the guy described in the link was actually the first person to earn the nickname “Captain Trips,” as it would seem our High Society reporter just granted him the nickname because the title sounded good. Afred M. Hubbard was not known as “Captain Trips.”