My Long Walk Through Stephen King's Lot

I am finding that Skeleton Crew contains some very good stories.  I just read two stand-outs, "The Monkey" and "The Raft."  The original cover image for this collection features an image of "The Monkey," so how could I not read that one?  And "The Raft" is apparently a fan favorite, because I hear it mentioned a bit more often than a lot of King's other short fiction.   I found both of these stories to be entertaining, creepy, well-written works.  One thing that stands out about them is that both stories center on premises that, in the hands of a lesser writer, would likely come off as absurd.  But in King's hands?  They are effectively unnerving. One of the reasons they work is that King elects to regard the evil entities as mysterious and unexplained.  (The black, oily monstrosity in "The Raft" is described at one point as an "unknowable thing.") The less-is-more approach is generally an effective one whe