stephen king may be the master of horror, but he also masters the art of short fiction. With six collections of short stories and five quartets of novellas, Stephen King has published nearly 400 works of short fiction in his decade-spanning career. served as editor of the 2006 volume of Best American Short Stories and described how the task rekindled his love of the format in the introduction to his own collection just after sunset. Never one to rest on his laurels, King also loves to take risks and frequently publishes stories in new formats.
In 2000, “riding the bullet” became the world’s first mass-market e-book and “blockade billy” was published along with a baseball card in a limited hardcover edition to coincide with the start of the 2010 major league baseball season. Stephen King also lends short stories to anthology collections with other authors, most recently contributing a story to Breakthroughs: Horror Writers for Climate Action . with no shortage of ideas, it’s an art form he returns to frequently and this May 2022 saw the publication of a new story.
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finn follows a young Irish man prone to bad luck who ends up in a very scary place. In just under 30 digital pages, the black humor story flies by, but fear not…
Here are 13 more Stephen King short stories to read when you’ve reached the final pages of Finn.
one for the road
stephen king’s first collection of short stories, night shift, contains the bookends of one of his most popular early novels, ‘salem’s lot. The collection opens with “The Jerusalem Lot,” an epistolary tale from the 1850s that serves as the origin story for the vampires who eventually take over the small community. The penultimate story in the collection, “One for the Road,” closes the chapter on the king’s doomed city. The story follows Booth and Herb “Tookey” Takelander, two veterans waiting out a blizzard at their general store in Falmouth, Maine, adjacent to the deserted town of ‘Salem’s Lot. When a stranded motorist, Gerard Lumley, bursts in for help, the two old men venture into the snowy night to save his wife and young daughter. unfortunately, the undead residents now living on the lot found them first. The story is a haunting coda to King’s second novel and a perfect conclusion to his vampire saga.
I am the door
Best known as a horror writer, King has also written quite a bit of science fiction with many stories in his canon that straddle the line between genres. one of the first examples is “i am the doorway”, a disturbing combination of alien invasion and body horror. Artie is a retired astronaut who is left paralyzed after a failed return trip on a mission to Venus. but his body endured more than just physical injuries from the accident. After being exposed to a mysterious alien life force, Artie returns to Earth with a set of eyes growing on his hands. his body becomes the door through which the aliens observe our world. They eventually grow stronger, possessing Artie’s body and making him commit terrible crimes. Artie’s attempts to contain this growing infection are terrifying and relatable, made even worse by his growing assertion that once the door has been opened, it cannot be closed.
I know what you need
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This haunting college love story may be set in the 1970s, but today it feels terrifyingly familiar. Elizabeth Rogan is a college student who is a new friend of Ed Hamner Jr. she has an uncanny ability to anticipate his every need. Although she initially resists the charms of this peculiar young man, she finds herself increasingly disillusioned with her current boyfriend and more dependent on Ed’s constant support. A shocking tragedy brings them together and Elizabeth begins to fall for Ed, who seems to be the perfect boyfriend for her. But Elizabeth’s roommate worries that there may be something sinister lurking beneath her devotion. Originally published in a 1976 issue of Cosmopolitan, this haunting tale of obsessive love is perfect for long days on the beach or time spent waiting for an exciting date.
mrs. todd’s shortcut
the second collection of short stories by stephen king may not have as many film adaptations as its predecessor, but skeleton of the team contains some of the author’s best short stories To date, such as “The Raft,” “Gramma,” and “The Field Trip.” Also lurking within the terrifying collection are gems such as “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut,” an early foray into the author’s connected universe. The story follows Ophelia Todd, a wealthy housewife who spends her time as a volunteer in the town of Castle Rock, Maine. When she’s not spending her time helping others, she becomes obsessed with finding the shortest possible route between any two points. of a map, traversing unpaved roads and hidden paths in his mercedes go devil. he keeps his travels recorded in a notebook and enjoys sharing stories of his adventures with homer’s handyman and caretaker. but some of his roads lead to worlds of mystery and mrs to dd finds herself getting younger and stronger with every mile she passes. Although not particularly scary, this fantasy story is full of emotion and empowerment, a beautiful story about testing the limits of life and daring to discover what lies beyond.
the image of the reaper
Just eight pages long, this haunting story proves that less is more and packs a punch with the story it leaves untold. James Spangler is an antique collector obsessed with seeing and obtaining the rare Delver glass, a mirror with a disturbing habit of consuming those who look at it. the glass is currently in storage after a series of notable disappearances, which built the piece’s deadly reputation. while most people looking in the mirror will see nothing more than a slightly distorted version of themselves, the casual viewer will notice a blurred figure in black standing behind them in the distance. those who see the reaper turn away from the mirror and into the unknown, never to be seen again. Perfect for fans of ghost tours and haunted attractions, the story begins with a riveting account of the mirror’s tragic history. but the final pages are a masterclass in tension and dread, steadily building to a conclusion that will leave constant readers wary of looking in their own mirrors.
crouch end
King’s third collection, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, is divisive among repeat readers, earning its contradictory title with fan favorites like “popsy” and “night flyer” along with less tasty. entries such as “dedication”. The collection also features some genuine rarities including a screenplay, a Sherlock Holmes story, and a non-horror essay called “Head Down” chronicling Owen King’s 1989 minor league baseball season. King steps into the Lovecraftian tradition with “Crouch End,” a deeply disturbing tale of an American couple on a doomed trip to London. having lost their way, they wander down the wrong street and possibly into another dimension filled with hideous monsters and sinister takeovers of city life. Set in a royal district of London, the story was inspired by the King’s trip to the UK to visit collaborator and friend Peter Straub. King resists the urge to fully reveal the mysteries of crouch end, creating yet another disturbing example of less is more horror.
home delivery
“Home Delivery” is one of king’s few zombie stories and finds the master of American popular horror putting his unique stamp on the genre. Maddie Pace is a young mother-to-be who suffers from crippling indecision and struggles to get by after her fisherman husband is lost at sea. The oblique title comes into sharp focus as Maddie realizes that she will have to give birth to her child at home due to the zombie outbreak currently ravaging the world. Ella’s small island community must fend off hordes of the reanimated dead, including Maddie’s husband, who returns to her from her watery grave. First published in the 1989 zombie anthology Book of the Dead, “Home Delivery” is quintessential king, a massive tragedy filtered through a lens intimate.
the highway virus heads north
king’s fourth collection, “everything’s eventual” sees king returning to the fast and furious horror of previous collections. while “1408” is arguably a crowd-pleaser, another story is just as terrifying and perhaps even scarier. “The Highway Virus Heads North” follows Richard Kinnell, a horror writer from Derry, Maine, who makes a deadly purchase at a garage sale on his way back from Boston. he is fascinated by a painting called The Highway Virus, a haunting portrait of a young greaser and his titular race car. Every time Kinnell looks at the painting, the boy’s sinister gaze and sharp-toothed smile grow steadily in his direction as the highway virus heads north in search of Kinnell. Another entry in King’s unofficial Derry saga, the short but terrifying story is a fast-paced horror with a grim finale.
the man in the black suit
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this award-winning story is the king’s tribute to nathaniel hawthorn and recalls his famous “young good brown man”. Gary is a nine-year-old boy in a rural town who spends a beautiful day going fishing. Having recently lost his brother to an allergic reaction to a bee sting, Gary is now terrified of the tiny creatures and wakes up from a riverside nap to find a perch on his nose. he then meets a man in the titular outfit with a brimstone aura and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Laughing, the man tells Gary of the terrible tragedy currently occurring at home before describing his plans to devour the child. Though he escapes with his life, Gary’s encounter with a man he believes the devil will haunt him for the rest of his life. First printed in The New Yorker, “The Man in the Black Suit” is a perfect example of daylight horror and a riveting character study from a time long gone.
the gingerbread girl
one of the longest stories in king’s fifth collection, “the gingerbread girl” is a spiritual sister to the novel duma key. Emily has retired to a small Florida Key to recover from the devastating loss of her young daughter. she handles her pain with long runs on deserted beaches, perhaps hoping to put her pain behind her. in one of her sprints, she catches a glimpse of an ominous lock of hair sticking out of her neighbor’s open trunk. Investigating further, she stumbles upon the lair of a serial killer who decides to become her next victim. Emily must use all the strength she gained from recovering her to escape her terrible plans. Though it takes her a little while to get to the hook, “The Gingerbread Girl” is a heartwarming and relatable story about a woman trying to stay together that takes a creepy twist on horror.
n.
One of King’s most unique stories is also one of his best. told through the notes and letters of a therapist, “n”. narrates the tragic life of an anonymous man who comes across a gateway to another world. As he photographs the sunset in a remote field, he finds a formation of seven stones. or is it eight? north. he becomes obsessed with stones and is consumed with the responsibility of keeping the door closed against a hideous monster lurking on the other side. The story, filled with creeping dread, is also a harrowing depiction of obsessive-compulsive disorder and the horror of believing the weight of the world rests on your shoulders.
the little green god of agony
stephen king’s newest collection of short stories, tthe bazaar of bad dreams is filled with characters struggling after a trauma. one of his scariest entries is “the little green god of agony,” a story that may open a window into the king’s response to his own brush with death. Andrew Newsome is one of the richest men in the world who was crippled in an accident on his private jet years ago. Sparing no expense, he has been searching the world over for relief from the constant pain that plagues him. he finds it in the reverend rideout, a mysterious medicine man who believes his pain is exacerbated by a god of agony attached to his shattered body. Newsome’s private nurse, Katherine Macdonald, believes her patient simply isn’t willing to do the hard work of recovery until she experiences Newsome’s suffering firsthand. The Exorcism is terrifying, but the true power of the story lies in King’s depiction of Newsom’s unrelenting pain juxtaposed with Katherine’s skepticism, perhaps inspired by his own recovery from a near-fatal accident in 1999.
the dune
This short and unpleasant entry is a chilling tale of premonitions and obsessions. Retired Florida Supreme Court Justice Harvey Beecher found the titular dune when he was a boy and has been paddling to it ever since, reading the names he finds written on its sandy surface. each name given by the deserted beach turns out to be a kind of obituary in advance, predicting who will die in the coming days and weeks. Judge Beecher becomes addicted to this terrible knowledge that makes him cold and disaffected from the world around him. now an old man, he tells his story to a young lawyer charged with preparing his last will and testament. the story itself is creepy, but the jaw-dropping ending is guaranteed to send shivers down the spine of the most hardened of constant readers.
do you have any other favorite stephen king stories? comment and tell us!
