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...

   Every year, close to Halloween, I like to revisit a few of Stephen King's scariest short stories.  I'm not much of a horror movie fan, but I am never more impressed than when a written work is able to terrify me.  As I've mentioned previously, I do not regard King primarily as a horror writer, and usually his scariest works are not among those that I esteem most highly.  But there is no doubt that he is a master of terror, and when the mood strikes, there are a good number of his works that will get the job done. While there are frightening passages in most of King’s books, I find his short stories especially unnerving, since (being so concise and direct) they very often pack a strong, shocking punch.   The stories I usually like to crack open around Halloween are: ·         "N." ·         The Road Virus Heads North ·    ...