Tuesday, October 3, 2023
  • Advertise with us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms & Conditions
Dailynews journal
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bizarre
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • General Knowledge
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science
  • Society
  • Technology
  • Weird Stuffs
  • Home
  • Bizarre
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • General Knowledge
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science
  • Society
  • Technology
  • Weird Stuffs
No Result
View All Result
Dailynews journal
No Result
View All Result

10 Stephen King Short Stories That Tricked Readers

Stephen King is considered one of the most successful and influential writers in history, with more than thirty of his books becoming number one bestsellers. Since the publication of his first book in 1974, King has dominated the fiction market, with many of his stories turned into popular movies and TV shows.

Although his novels might have gained him his first accolades, the author has also published novella and short story collections containing some of his best-known works. Both Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption were based on King novellas, and the Children of the Corn franchise has spawned nine films!

READ ALSO

10 Strange Street Facts You Never Thought Were a Thing

10 Common Activities That Turned into Tragic Freak Accidents

Perhaps due to the shorter format, King’s short stories and novellas have contained some of his most surprising twists. Shocked readers expect one thing only to be caught off guard by something completely unexpected. Here are ten examples of shocking twists in Stephen King’s novellas and short stories.

Related: 10 Unsettling Real-Life Stories That Will Haunt You

10 “Under the Weather”

The Stephen King collection Bazaar of Bad Dreams, a number one New York Times bestseller, contains twenty-one short stories and poems. One of them, “Under the Weather,” starts out simply with a middle-aged man preparing for another day at the office. His wife is still in bed, not feeling well, so the protagonist, Brad Franklin, writes her a note and leaves for work. While at the office, Brad thinks about his wife and her heart condition. His memory of the time she said if she died, he would use his imagination to pretend she was still alive foreshadows what is really going on.

Receiving a call from the building superintendent about a bad smell coming from his apartment, Brad returns home and finds his dog licking her chops and his wife’s hand partially eaten. Although the story starts with the reader believing the wife was merely sick, she was, in fact, dead the entire time. After considering the quiet, normal pace of the opening, the ending comes as a tragic shock.[1]

9 “Blockade Billy”

Also from Bazaar of Bad Dreams, “Blockade Billy” reads like an entertaining baseball tale until it takes a dark turn. It was also released as a stand-alone novella.

An elderly man is reminiscing about baseball player Billy Blakely, who he coached many years before. At first, King presents the story like a folksy reminiscence, but then hints of darkness start popping up. Eventually, the narrator reveals that Billy is an imposter named Eugene Katsanis. Katsanis, a former worker on the Blakely farm, had murdered the entire family and posed as Billy so he could play baseball. [2]

8 “Strawberry Spring”

Night Shift, the first short story collection King published, came out in 1978. The book contains several well-known tales, including one that shows his ability to create excellent unreliable narrators. Unreliable narrators are stories told from the point of view character who is, for varying reasons, not telling the truth. Whether due to intentional deception, mental illness, or something else, the narrator cannot be trusted to reveal the facts.

The unnamed protagonist of “Strawberry Spring” is definitely unreliable. In the story, the narrator talks about a strange time in his life, eight years earlier, when he was a student. In a rare weather phenomenon known as a Strawberry Spring, a serial killer nicknamed Springheel Jack stalked his college campus. As the character relates the crimes, attributing them to someone else, he reminisces about how strange and magical that mysterious, foggy season was. But it is not until he reveals that both the Strawberry Spring and Springheel Jack have returned that the reader realizes the serial killer is the unreliable narrator himself![3]

7 “The Boogeyman”

Night Shift also contains a story called “The Boogeyman,” which was made into a film for Hulu in 2022. In the original work, Lester Billings is talking with a psychiatrist about the tragic deaths of his three children. Doctor Harper, the point-of-view character, listens to Billings describe how his children were killed by a boogeyman. Although the reader suspects Billings murdered his own kids, the conclusion of the story offers another possibility.

At the end of the appointment, Billings leaves but quickly comes back and sees a rotting creature holding a Doctor Harper mask. The reader is left to decide what really happened. Was the doctor, indeed, a boogeyman, or are we being deceived by Billings, who has become the narrator at the end of the tale—possibly an unreliable one?[4]

6 Nightmares and Dreamscapes Duo

Nightmares and Dreamscapes was released in 1993 and contained twenty-four works. The book had such a wealth of stories that the TNT network made a miniseries based on several of them. King has written more than one story featuring people who come to a strange new town and fall into a nightmare, and there are two of them in Nightmares and Dreamscapes. “You Know They’ve Got a Hell of a Band” features a young couple who end up in what is literally a rock-and-roll heaven populated by dead rock stars.

In “Rainy Season,” a young couple moves to a small village in Maine, where they look forward to their new start. On their arrival, some of the townspeople warn them that the rainy season is coming that night and the couple should leave and come back the next day. They scoff at the warnings, believing they are being pranked, and decide to stay. The skies do open up that night, but raindrops are not what fall down. Instead, fat, sharp-toothed, violent frogs drop from the sky. They invade the house and eventually kill the couple. An amphibian invasion from the sky is definitely not what the reader would expect from any author other than Stephen King.[5]

5 “Popsy”

Another story from Nightmares and Dreamscapes, “Popsy,” takes a child kidnapping case and turns it completely upside down to a gruesomely satisfying ending. The narrator, Sheridan, is not unreliable. In fact, he is remarkably frank about the fact that he is looking for a child he can snatch. In severe debt, he pays his bills by kidnapping kids and delivering them into the hands of deviants. After grabbing a young boy, he ignores the child’s warnings that his Popsy will come and rescue him. But when he hears something land on the roof of his vehicle, he realizes he has underestimated Popsy. This grandfather is not the elderly man he had envisioned but is, instead, a creature of the night. Even vampires can love their grandchildren, and Popsy does. After flying to the rescue, he and his grandson enjoy feasting on Sheridan.

Interestingly, the film rights to “Popsy” were purchased by Pale Moon Cinema for $1.00 as part of the Stephen King Dollar Baby Program.[6]

4 “L.T.’s Theory of Pets”

“Popsy” was not the only Stephen King story whose movie rights were sold for $1.00. “L.T.’s Theory of Pets” was licensed in the same way through the Stephen King Dollar Baby Program. The short story first appeared as an audio recording of King reading it before a live audience in London. Later, it appeared in print in the collection Everything’s Eventual.

Like many King stories, this one contains both humor and horror. The narrator talks about his good friend, L.T., and his battles with his wife over their pets, Lucy the cat and Frank the dog. Unlike some that start out light only to lead to a dark twist, this tale reverses that trend. The reader is told right up front that the wife, Lulubelle, is gone, likely murdered by a serial killer. Then the story transitions into a near comedy about the battles the couple had over the dog and cat before Lulu left.

So much time is spent on the humor of their pet battles, colored by L.T.’s laid-back storytelling style, that the reader nearly forgets what actually happened to Lulu and Frank. In the end, the reader gets the hard reminder. Lulu’s abandoned car was found in the desert, her dead dog nearby. Her fate is uncertain, but she is believed to have been the last victim of the serial killer known as the Axe Man.[7]

3 “Autopsy Room Four”

Although the story “Autopsy Room Four” was filmed as part of the Nightmares and Dreamscapes miniseries for TNT, the story was actually printed in the collection Everything’s Eventual.

In this tale, the twist is not that the supposedly dead protagonist Howard Cottrell is actually alive; it is the way in which the medical examiner determines it. From the moment the story starts, we are aware that Howard is completely paralyzed and that he is in a very sticky situation. His inert body was found on a golf course, and an elderly doctor declared him deceased. In truth, he was bitten by a rare snake and is utterly paralyzed. A distracted doctor, a careless intern, some flirtation, and boredom lead to an autopsy that ends with a jolt. Because while Howard is desperately trying to think of a way to prove he is alive, he obtains an unlikely erection that the coroner simply cannot miss.[8]

2 “Gramma”

Unlike the protective vampire grandfather Popsy, the grandmother in “Gramma,” from Skeleton Crew, published in 1985, is anything but loving. After his father dies, eleven-year-old George and his family are forced to live with his grandmother. Huge, sickly, and bedridden, Gramma is a figure of fear and revulsion to the child, and he does his best to avoid her. But one evening, he is left alone with the old woman and must take care of her.

The tension mounts as the stormy evening goes on. As the reader wonders if the elderly woman will get up and attack her grandson, the boy realizes Gramma has died. Or has she? She suddenly starts moving and grabs the child. Gramma was a student of dark, occult magic, and she used her powers to steal her grandson’s body and use it for herself. The story ends with a very different George waiting for his family to get home so he can torment them.[9]

1 “Morning Deliveries”

Another story from Skeleton Crew takes the reader on a wild ride-along with a disturbed, maniacal milkman. “Morning Deliveries” opens with a false sense of security as a typical street begins its day. All seems normal, with animals awakening, the breeze rustling, and dawn on the horizon. Down the road drives a Cramer’s Dairy truck; deliveryman Spike Mulligan is making his morning rounds.

Things start out normally, almost sweetly, until Spike reaches around the deadly nightshade to get to the orange juice. It is a throwaway word, a strange interjection, almost easy to miss. But things become quite clear when Spike leaves a tarantula instead of cream at the next house. He continues on his way, delivering acid, poison, and cyanide gas. Spike is last seen driving away in the bright sunshine as a little boy brings in the milk.[10]

Related Posts

10 Strange Street Facts You Never Thought Were a Thing
General Knowledge

10 Strange Street Facts You Never Thought Were a Thing

10 Common Activities That Turned into Tragic Freak Accidents
General Knowledge

10 Common Activities That Turned into Tragic Freak Accidents

10 Optical Illusions That Will Blow Your Brain
General Knowledge

10 Optical Illusions That Will Blow Your Brain

Ten Things You Know about Cowboys That Are Totally Wrong
General Knowledge

Ten Things You Know about Cowboys That Are Totally Wrong

Ten Tales from the Cuban Missile Crisis
General Knowledge

Ten Tales from the Cuban Missile Crisis

10 Things You Might Not Know about Dante’s Divine Comedy
General Knowledge

10 Things You Might Not Know about Dante’s Divine Comedy

Next Post
Ten Vicious & Violent Political Feuds from American History

Ten Vicious & Violent Political Feuds from American History

Trending

10 Strange Street Facts You Never Thought Were a Thing

10 Strange Street Facts You Never Thought Were a Thing

10 Revealing Backstories of the Creepy Ghosts in the Haunted Mansion

10 Revealing Backstories of the Creepy Ghosts in the Haunted Mansion

10 Common Activities That Turned into Tragic Freak Accidents

10 Common Activities That Turned into Tragic Freak Accidents

Top 10 Controversial Celebrity Interviews of All Time

Top 10 Controversial Celebrity Interviews of All Time

10 Optical Illusions That Will Blow Your Brain

10 Optical Illusions That Will Blow Your Brain

Top 10 Female Characters Who Are Terrible but Hilarious

Top 10 Female Characters Who Are Terrible but Hilarious

Ten Things You Know about Cowboys That Are Totally Wrong

Ten Things You Know about Cowboys That Are Totally Wrong

10 Remarkable Stories of People Who Escaped the Rat Race

10 Remarkable Stories of People Who Escaped the Rat Race

10 Bizarre Research Projects from the 2023 Ig Nobel Prizes

10 Bizarre Research Projects from the 2023 Ig Nobel Prizes

10 Surprising Benefits of Laughter That Are Backed by Science

10 Surprising Benefits of Laughter That Are Backed by Science

  • Advertise with us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms & Conditions

© 2021 Copyrights - All rights reserved.

xoso xoso tin chelsea thông tin chuyển nhượng câu lạc bộ bóng đá arsenal bóng đá atalanta bundesliga cầu thủ haaland UEFA everton xoso futebol ao vivo futemax multicanais onbet bóng đá world cup bóng đá inter milan tin juventus benzema la liga clb leicester city MU man city messi lionel salah napoli neymar psg ronaldo serie a tottenham valencia AS ROMA Leverkusen ac milan mbappe napoli newcastle aston villa liverpool fa cup real madrid premier league Ajax bao bong da247 EPL barcelona bournemouth aff cup asean football bên lề sân cỏ báo bóng đá mới bóng đá cúp thế giới tin bóng đá Việt UEFA báo bóng đá việt nam Huyền thoại bóng đá giải ngoại hạng anh Seagame tap chi bong da the gioi tin bong da lu trận đấu hôm nay việt nam bóng đá tin nong bong da Bóng đá nữ thể thao 7m 24h bóng đá bóng đá hôm nay the thao ngoai hang anh tin nhanh bóng đá phòng thay đồ bóng đá bóng đá phủi kèo nhà cái onbet bóng đá lu 2 thông tin phòng thay đồ the thao vua app đánh lô đề dudoanxoso xổ số giải đặc biệt hôm nay xổ số kèo đẹp hôm nay ketquaxoso kq xs kqxsmn soi cầu ba miền soi cau thong ke sxkt hôm nay thế giới xổ số xổ số 24h xo.so xoso3mien xo so ba mien xoso dac biet xosodientoan xổ số dự đoán vé số chiều xổ xoso ket qua xosokienthiet xoso kq hôm nay xoso kt xổ số mega xổ số mới nhất hôm nay xoso truc tiep xoso Việt SX3MIEN xs dự đoán xs mien bac hom nay xs miên nam xsmientrung xsmn thu 7 con số may mắn hôm nay KQXS 3 miền Bắc Trung Nam Nhanh dự đoán xổ số 3 miền dò vé số du doan xo so hom nay ket qua xo xo ket qua xo so.vn trúng thưởng xo so kq xoso trực tiếp ket qua xs kqxs 247 số miền nam s0x0 mienbac xosobamien hôm nay số đẹp hôm nay số đẹp trực tuyến nuôi số đẹp xo so hom qua xoso ketqua xstruc tiep hom nay xổ số kiến thiết trực tiếp xổ số kq hôm nay so xo kq trực tuyen kết quả xổ số miền bắc trực tiếp xo so miền nam xổ số miền nam trực tiếp trực tiếp xổ số hôm nay ket wa xs KQ XOSO xoso online xo so truc tiep hom nay xstt so mien bac trong ngày KQXS3M số so mien bac du doan xo so online du doan cau lo xổ số keno kqxs vn KQXOSO KQXS hôm nay trực tiếp kết quả xổ số ba miền cap lo dep nhat hom nay soi cầu chuẩn hôm nay so ket qua xo so Xem kết quả xổ số nhanh nhất SX3MIEN XSMB chủ nhật KQXSMN kết quả mở giải trực tuyến Giờ vàng chốt số Online Đánh Đề Con Gì dò số miền nam dò vé số hôm nay so mo so de bach thủ lô đẹp nhất hôm nay cầu đề hôm nay kết quả xổ số kiến thiết toàn quốc cau dep 88 xsmb rong bach kim ket qua xs 2023 dự đoán xổ số hàng ngày Bạch thủ đề miền Bắc Soi Cầu MB thần tài soi cau vip 247 soi cầu tốt soi cầu miễn phí soi cau mb vip xsmb hom nay xs vietlott xsmn hôm nay cầu lô đẹp thống kê lô kép xổ số miền Bắc quay thử xsmn xổ số thần tài Quay thử XSMT xổ số chiều nay xo so mien nam hom nay web đánh lô đề trực tuyến uy tín KQXS hôm nay xsmb ngày hôm nay XSMT chủ nhật xổ số Power 6/55 KQXS A trúng roy cao thủ chốt số bảng xổ số đặc biệt soi cầu 247 vip soi cầu wap 666 Soi cầu miễn phí 888 VIP Soi Cau Chuan MB độc thủ de số miền bắc thần tài cho số Kết quả xổ số thần tài Xem trực tiếp xổ số XIN SỐ THẦN TÀI THỔ ĐỊA Cầu lô số đẹp lô đẹp vip 24h soi cầu miễn phí 888 xổ số kiến thiết chiều nay XSMN thứ 7 hàng tuần Kết quả Xổ số Hồ Chí Minh nhà cái xổ số Việt Nam Xổ Số Đại Phát Xổ số mới nhất Hôm Nay so xo mb hom nay xxmb88 quay thu mb Xo so Minh Chinh XS Minh Ngọc trực tiếp hôm nay XSMN 88 XSTD xs than tai xổ số UY TIN NHẤT xs vietlott 88 SOI CẦU SIÊU CHUẨN SoiCauViet lô đẹp hôm nay vip ket qua so xo hom nay kqxsmb 30 ngày dự đoán xổ số 3 miền Soi cầu 3 càng chuẩn xác bạch thủ lô nuoi lo chuan bắt lô chuẩn theo ngày kq xo-so lô 3 càng nuôi lô đề siêu vip cầu Lô Xiên XSMB đề về bao nhiêu Soi cầu x3 xổ số kiến thiết ngày hôm nay quay thử xsmt truc tiep kết quả sxmn trực tiếp miền bắc kết quả xổ số chấm vn bảng xs đặc biệt năm 2023 soi cau xsmb xổ số hà nội hôm nay sxmt xsmt hôm nay xs truc tiep mb ketqua xo so online kqxs online xo số hôm nay XS3M Tin xs hôm nay xsmn thu2 XSMN hom nay xổ số miền bắc trực tiếp hôm nay SO XO xsmb sxmn hôm nay 188betlink 188 xo so soi cầu vip 88 lô tô việt soi lô việt XS247 xs ba miền chốt lô đẹp nhất hôm nay chốt số xsmb CHƠI LÔ TÔ soi cau mn hom nay chốt lô chuẩn du doan sxmt dự đoán xổ số online rồng bạch kim chốt 3 càng miễn phí hôm nay thống kê lô gan miền bắc dàn đề lô Cầu Kèo Đặc Biệt chốt cầu may mắn kết quả xổ số miền bắc hôm Soi cầu vàng 777 thẻ bài online du doan mn 888 soi cầu miền nam vip soi cầu mt vip dàn de hôm nay 7 cao thủ chốt số soi cau mien phi 777 7 cao thủ chốt số nức tiếng 3 càng miền bắc rồng bạch kim 777 dàn de bất bại on news ddxsmn 188bet w88 w88 789bet tf88 sin88 suvip sunwin tf88 five88 12bet sv88 vn88 Top 10 nhà cái uy tín sky88 iwin lucky88 nhacaisin88 oxbet m88 vn88 w88 789bet iwin f8bet rio66 rio66 lucky88 oxbet vn88 188bet 789bet May-88 five88 one88 sin88 bk8 8xbet oxbet MU88 188BET SV88 RIO66 ONBET88 188bet M88 M88 SV88 Jun-68 Jun-88 one88 iwin v9bet w388 OXBET w388 w388 onbet onbet onbet onbet88 onbet88 onbet88 onbet88 onbet onbet onbet onbet qh88 mu88 Nhà cái uy tín pog79 vp777 vp777 vipbet vipbet uk88 uk88 typhu88 typhu88 tk88 tk88 sm66 sm66 me88 me88 8live 8live 8live sm66 me88 win79 8live sm66 me88 win79 pog79 pog79 vp777 vp777 uk88 uk88 tk88 tk88 luck8 luck8 kingbet86 kingbet86 k188 k188 hr99 hr99 123b 8xbetvn vipbet sv66 zbet taisunwin-vn typhu88 vn138 vwin vwin vi68 ee88 1xbet rio66 zbet vn138 i9betvip fi88club cf68 onbet88 ee88 typhu88 onbet onbetkhuyenmai 12bet-moblie 12betmoblie taimienphi247 vi68clup cf68clup vipbet i9bet qh88 onb123 onbef soi cầu nổ hũ bắn cá đá gà đá gà game bài casino soi cầu xóc đĩa game bài giải mã giấc mơ bầu cua slot game casino nổ hủ dàn đề Bắn cá casino dàn đề nổ hũ tài xỉu slot game casino bắn cá đá gà game bài thể thao game bài soi cầu kqss soi cầu cờ tướng bắn cá game bài xóc đĩa AG百家乐 AG百家乐 AG真人 AG真人 爱游戏 华体会 华体会 im体育 kok体育 开云体育 开云体育 开云体育 乐鱼体育 乐鱼体育 欧宝体育 ob体育 亚博体育 亚博体育 亚博体育 亚博体育 亚博体育 亚博体育 开云体育 开云体育 棋牌 棋牌 沙巴体育 买球平台 新葡京娱乐 开云体育 mu88 qh88
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bizarre
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • General Knowledge
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science
  • Society
  • Technology
  • Weird Stuffs

© 2021 Copyrights - All rights reserved.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT