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Skeleton Crew: featuring The Mist
Librarian's note: There is an Alternate Cover Edition for this edition of this book here.
Hold tight. We are going into a number of dark places, but I think I know the way. Just don’t let go of my arm…
Unrivalled master of suspense Stephen King takes the unsuspecting reader on a fantastic journey through the dark shadows of our innermost fears.
Do the dead sing?
In this bumper collection of chilling tales, which includes the brilliant story adapted into the acclaimed movie The Mist, we meet: a woman who has never crossed The Reach, the water dividing her from the mainland; a gramma who only wants to hug little George, even after she is dead; an innocent looking toy with sinister powers; and a primeval sea creature with an insatiable appetite.
788 pages, ebook
First published June 21, 1985
6421 people are currently reading
83262 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,419 books887k followersStephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,237 reviews
June 28, 2020
I love his short stories, although the quality and style are varying, best to see when comparing publication date with probable intoxication.
The strange thing is, that there isn´t always the correlation of drug induced boo or jay and therefore the quality of the work, it´s more a result of King´s working method of letting the characters and his subconsciousness tell the story. This can go luckily well, average, or, rare exception and seen with pink fanboy goggles, average average, because there exists no bad in King´s work, ok?. Possibly, some really aren´t that great, maybe the ones the wrote in ultra stoned blackouts and can´t remember like the whole novel Cujo.
I have to sometimes also think about the family guy episode and the potentially true grain of überproductivity in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMZON...
This could play in here too a little.
But seriously (of course not), I want to reread it and check the publication date before because there is this timeless debate about stoned inspiration, ingenuity, and creativity, and some of King's books were made when he was a multi drug using alcoholic, so… if you want to be successful. No, really, I am so looking towards reading all of his works and compare the pre drug era, the drug era, and the later periods and dissect what makes the difference.
I´ve read most of King´s short story collections and wouldn´t suggest beginning with this one, better take one of the later works where he was a sober, super professional, and talented writing prodigy.
If you are a picky reader, I would suggest checking the single ratings of the reviewers who are so ambitious to rate every single short story and thereby extract the best of the best, I honestly can´t remember which one´s were the most disturbing and mind penetrating, because I read it a while ago. Except „Survivor type“, because are an always perfect match made in hell. Yum, now I want to have a special snack and some mind altering substances.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
The strange thing is, that there isn´t always the correlation of drug induced boo or jay and therefore the quality of the work, it´s more a result of King´s working method of letting the characters and his subconsciousness tell the story. This can go luckily well, average, or, rare exception and seen with pink fanboy goggles, average average, because there exists no bad in King´s work, ok?. Possibly, some really aren´t that great, maybe the ones the wrote in ultra stoned blackouts and can´t remember like the whole novel Cujo.
I have to sometimes also think about the family guy episode and the potentially true grain of überproductivity in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMZON...
This could play in here too a little.
But seriously (of course not), I want to reread it and check the publication date before because there is this timeless debate about stoned inspiration, ingenuity, and creativity, and some of King's books were made when he was a multi drug using alcoholic, so… if you want to be successful. No, really, I am so looking towards reading all of his works and compare the pre drug era, the drug era, and the later periods and dissect what makes the difference.
I´ve read most of King´s short story collections and wouldn´t suggest beginning with this one, better take one of the later works where he was a sober, super professional, and talented writing prodigy.
If you are a picky reader, I would suggest checking the single ratings of the reviewers who are so ambitious to rate every single short story and thereby extract the best of the best, I honestly can´t remember which one´s were the most disturbing and mind penetrating, because I read it a while ago. Except „Survivor type“, because are an always perfect match made in hell. Yum, now I want to have a special snack and some mind altering substances.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
April 24, 2025
Coming in with high expectations! Stephen King short story collections are always exceptional and I'm sure Skeleton Crew will be no different. A few stories I've read before (like The Mist) but it's been long enough I don't mind revisiting. Might read out-of-order to prioritize "The Monkey" before the movie comes out. So I don't forget my reactions along the way, I'll update this review as I finish each story.
1. The Mist (1980) - 1000/10
Expiation! Skeleton Crew is filled with killer stories, but The Mist is an immortal classic all by itself. Most writers wouldn't set their creepy fog and beast story in a grocery store. King understands people, though. By giving them food and safety, the conflict focuses on interpersonal drama, which is far scarier than anything supernatural.
We're soon introduced to Mrs. Carmody, who I would argue is one of King's finest creations. Her ability to develop a cult following and convince skeptics of her fanaticism overnight becomes the real horror of the novel—even if it is a relatively small side plot overall. King's ability to handle a large list of characters, each with their own world of trouble, is truly remarkable. Somehow each character has their moment in the spotlight and broadens the fictional world around them.
I am convinced that, when Yellowstone erupts, the nukes drop, asteroids, or whatever real horror will one day happen, if there are people trapped in a grocery store at the time, life will play out exactly as Stephen King wrote it in this novel. It's perfectly attuned to human nature, and the uniquely human habit of making a bad situation worse.
My only critical comment is that I believe the 2007 Frank Darabont film adaptation has a better ending. Darabont's ending is devastating and shocking, but it feels more in tune with the themes of the novel: we're all one giant spider away from doing unimaginable things. Or, as the movie tagline says, "Fear changes everything." The monsters are little more than setting. Humanity under duress is the real creepy crawly.
Despite the novel's room-for-improvement ending, there's no question it's a masterpiece. Maybe in some ways it's just a reimagining of the old Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" (okay maybe in a lot of ways) but King certainly puts his signature stamp on it. I might daringly say The Mist belongs in King's Top 10 novels of all time, even without the aid of numerous other standouts collected in Skeleton Crew.
2. Here There Be Tygers (1968) - 4/5
Curious! This seems to be Stephen King's way of addressing anxiety young boys have around gender. Wrought with the need to pee, a third grader (already burning with shame after his teacher embarrassed him) must choose between relieving his bursting bladder in the boys room, where there is a hungry tiger waiting to eat him, or the girls room. The girls room is nearby, empty, and tiger-free. Nevertheless, he would rather die (and he might) than risk being caught in there. Just a vignette but intriguing subject matter. Love it!
3. The Monkey (1980) - 4.5/5
Falls somewhere on the line of horror lineage that includes "The Monkey's Paw" and Richard Matheson's "Button, Button." Only both of those stories give evil power to the owner of a cursed artifact. Here, the curse befalls anyone within general proximity of a toy monkey and there's no wish fulfillment. Only death. Seems likely R.L. Stine borrowed much from this story with his Night of the Living Dummy franchise.
It's full stars for premise, for sure. Only slightly disappointing that King didn't give us characters who jump off the page. Usually he would do a full psychological dive, and the monkey would exploit those mental weaknesses for its evil amusement. Instead, the monkey simply enjoys killing and the characters are irrelevant and interchangeable.
I just watched the trailer for the upcoming movie. Looks like they are amping up the body count, giving it a Final Destination makeover, and going for full comedy. Purists may be disappointed, but I actually think that's a smart choice of interpretation. King takes his premise seriously and goes for genuine chills, but when you step back and think about it, the whole thing is pretty silly. Switching out a cymbal-crashing monkey for a drumming monkey is disappointing, but I can imagine how a snare drum would be more visually appealing, eerie, and less annoying to the ear. I'm definitely down to give it a watch.
*Update: watched the movie and it was exactly as advertised. I thought it was hilarious while managing to even be poignant on occasion. For laughs over scares, but really well done.
4. Cain Rose Up (1968) - 3/5
Originally published when Stephen was just twenty. There's not much to this story beyond the dark image of a college student, depressed and under strain from a difficult exam, turning to mass homicide to deal with his feelings. Given the mental state of America then and now, the horror factor is largely due to its prophetic nature. Also feels like a companion to Rage, which was originally written around the same time. Very ballsy of the University of Maine to publish such a tale in their literary magazine Ubris.
5. Mrs. Todd's Shortcut (1984) - 4.5/5
Folksy King strikes again. This story is told through an exchange between two old men at a gas station. Plenty of "Ayuh" to go around with many more Maine-isms peppered throughout. The story takes time to heat up before it gets juicy. But once it does, there's no turning away. Old man Homer shares his extraordinary experience with Mrs. Ophelia Todd shortly before she vanished many years ago. Mrs. Todd had been obsessed with back roads and finding shortcuts not always printed on maps. But some of her shortcuts are so good they're otherworldly...
On its own, the story is an impressive use of ultra-realism mixed with mystical intrigue. Not everyone will love the technique. Many readers might actually give up before getting to the good part. The narrative technique is chillingly effective, however, and worth the effort.
More broadly, the story has a lot of connection to other works in the Stephen King universe. There's the Castle Rock setting and Cujo references, possibly a Chrstine-like car, but mostly I wondered if the world uncovered in Fairy Tale (2022) is the same one along Mrs. Todd's shortcuts. I think it is!
6. The Jaunt (1981) - 5/5
I see why this is a fan favorite. King imagines the invention and eventual consumerism of a teleportation-like device. Many deaths arise during the testing period, but the potential for unspeakable horror remains even after kinks are worked out. Wonderful pacing and sense of impending doom. Would be an excellent Black Mirror episode. There's already been talk of a feature film or television series. Considerable plot would need to be added for that to work, I think, but the world-building is strong enough for the premise to be easily expanded into a bigger storyline.
I would have liked the ending of King's Revival more had I read The Jaunt first. They are very different stories but play in the same sandbox.
7. The Wedding Gig (1980) - 3/5
Set during prohibition, a jazz band leader receives an odd invitation to play at a racketeer's sister's wedding. The pay is excessive, suggesting something amiss may happen. And it does. The story was originally published in the December, 1980, issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, which makes sense. There's a noir atmosphere appropriate for that magazine, but perhaps out of place in this collection.
The ending includes a brief rhapsody on the cruelty of fat-shaming and racism during the era, but only after the protagonist has filled pages with fat jokes and a regretful use of the N-word in front of his Black friend. This makes the concluding take-away message feel a bit out of left field for me. Still, cohesive or not, it's a can't-look-away story that grabs and doesn't let go. Next!
8. Paranoid: A Chant (1985) - 5/5
This poem offers the musings of a paranoid person. Maybe it's the FBI out to get them, maybe it's the CIA, but whoever they are, they're always watching, always waiting for their opportunity. The speaker is particularly disturbed by the presence of a man in a raincoat outside, smoking a cigarette. Just imagine how they'd feel if Alexa was around back then!
It's a fine poem offering disturbing imagery, noir vibes to compliment "The Wedding Gig" and a great unanswered question. Is the narrator crazy or is someone really out to get them? Feels very much like King channeling his inner Edgar Allan Poe. Dark Tower fans will also notice parallels in structure and description to the sweeping epic. Love it.
9. The Raft (1982) - 10/5
Ooh! I forget how nasty old-school King can get. What a glorious episode of gore and terror, with a very unique monster to combat. Characters are perhaps more generic than usual, but the misogyny and angst of kids in their late teens offer interpersonal conflict well-paired with the beasty.
For some reason, King (already famous by 1982) originally published the story as a bonus booklet in the nudie magazine Gallery. Of course, back then Playboy and its many impersonators were willing to spend big bucks on high profile contributors. Perhaps the venue added just the right amount of sleazy influence to make this story so deliciously wild. It might also explain the random, but highly memorable, sex scene.
Another aside to Stine fans, it's likely the inspiration for Monster Blood came from this story.
10. Word Processor of the Gods (1983) - 5/5
Only old-school King could take us on this dark journey. We dive into the mind of a father/husband/brother after a supernatural word processor gives him supreme power. What he wishes for is quite the opposite of what we see in "The Monkey's Paw" but no doubt startingly relevant to a lot of people journeying along the human experience. A slow first few pages, and it seems like there's a lot of names to memorize, but soon it becomes impossible to turn away. A standout.
For those keeping track of which Skeleton Crew stories clearly influenced R.L. Stine, I would identify The Blob That Ate Everyone and The Cuckoo Clock of Doom as titles borrowing heavily from this one.
11. The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands (1981) - 5/5
A chilling supernatural story told through the recollections of an elderly man sitting by a fire. The tone is very M.R. James and I have no doubt this story began with King challenging himself to write a story in the vein of James and other classic ghost story authors. He absolutely pulls it off. Riveting from beginning to end.
12. Beachworld (1984) - 4/5
Probably the scariest story about sand since Michael McDowell's The Elementals (1981). There's some nice Star Wars type influence here that is uncommon for King but once again proves he can write anything. Perhaps leaves the reader with too many questions and yearning for more.
13. The Reaper's Image (1969) - 4/5
Another story from King's younger, pre-Carrie days. Unsettling throughout and something to recall when shopping for antiques. The ending isn't great, but it's fine. Likely Stine lifted elements from this story as well for his popular Goosebumps title Let's Get Invisible.
14. Nona (1978) - 5/5
I fucking love this story. Takes "love will make you crazy" to a whole new level. The visuals, the characterization, the premise of a prospective lover infiltrating your brain to make you do unspeakable things... it's all superb. The body count is wild. I can't get enough. A stand-out for sure.
15. For Owen (1985) - 4/5
Aw, a cute poem about Stephen walking his son, Owen, to school. Owen ponders what type of students attend school on Fruit Street. Perhaps tardy watermelons, slowed down by their weight, and little blueberry-people who get picked on for their small size? There's a tinge of darkness where King metaphorically suggests he plagiarizes his son's youthful imagination for his own purposes ("I steal your face...and wear it for my own") but it never quite works because "it wears out fast on my face." I suspect the aging message ("dying's an art and I am learning fast") is an overdramatic rumination of someone on the cusp of turning 40. Don't worry, young King, you've got lots of life left!
16. Survivor Type (1982) - 10/5
Oh! Now this is nasty. I love it! A guy stranded on a tiny island with nothing to eat but heroin is willing to do anything to survive. And I do mean anything. Like the "The Yellow Wallpaper" in terms of descent into madness and imagery, but also not and very male and very gory. A major highlight.
17. Uncle Otto's Truck (1983) - 4.5/5
Like Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" but the dismembered corpse under the floorboards rises up and fulfills his vulture-eyed revenge. Only it's a haunted truck in rural Maine. Great stuff.
18. Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1) (1985) - 4/5
A milkman drives into a nice neighborhood. The scene couldn't be more quaint. But soon it becomes clear this is a disturbed and dangerous individual. What happens next? Consider me intrigued!
19. Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2) (1980) - 3/5
Hmmm... not sure about this one. It was adapted from an unfinished novel titled, aptly, The Milkman. The premise of a milkman serial killer is fun. This particular sequence feels out-of-place without more context, though, and the prior preamble does little to reduce confusion. Oh well, not all of them can be winners. Next!
20. Gramma (1984) - 10/5
So freaky, so fun! As you might guess by the title, this is a grandma horror story. The pacing toward impending doom is glorious and the imagery will haunt you for life. Not saying any more than that because you'll want to be surprised.
Another note for Goosebumps fans: R.L. Stine clearly borrowed elements from this tale when writing his Invasion of the Body Squeezers.
21. The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet (1984) - 4/5
"Where do you get your ideas?" Perhaps annoyed, and mystified, by this question every author is asked most, King offers a chilling explanation. Chilling and funny, I should clarify, because we are dealing with elves and feeding food to typewriters.
King's portrayal of madness, however, is fully frightening. The concept of madness spreading like a disease actually freaked me out. Especially in today's times, when so much of the population seems to live in a headspace devoid of reality. The story kept me rattled with anxiety and furiously reading to the end, despite being one of the longer entries in the collection. Not a favorite, but also not one I'll soon forget.
22. The Reach (1981) - 4/5
King has long been a ponderer of death and what happens after. This is one of his more uplifting visions of the afterlife that comes across as pretty nice, I must say. The premise involves a 95-year-old woman who lives on an island off the coast of Maine. She has never traveled to the mainland, feeling satisfied with her community and all that she has on the island. As her cancer progresses, however, she feels a calling to walk across frozen ice to reach the mainland. Chilling images appear along the way. It's a lovely story and good final close to the collection.
Overall......
Even with my high expectations, King delivered! These are largely all excellent stories with intriguing premises and unique adventures. It doesn't feel as "cohesive" as maybe other King collections, but a potpourri of spooky always works for me. I would recommend starting with Night Shift if you want to try King short stories for the first time, but Skeleton Crew is right behind. I'm also a huge fan of his newest story collection, You Like It Darker.
1. The Mist (1980) - 1000/10
Expiation! Skeleton Crew is filled with killer stories, but The Mist is an immortal classic all by itself. Most writers wouldn't set their creepy fog and beast story in a grocery store. King understands people, though. By giving them food and safety, the conflict focuses on interpersonal drama, which is far scarier than anything supernatural.
We're soon introduced to Mrs. Carmody, who I would argue is one of King's finest creations. Her ability to develop a cult following and convince skeptics of her fanaticism overnight becomes the real horror of the novel—even if it is a relatively small side plot overall. King's ability to handle a large list of characters, each with their own world of trouble, is truly remarkable. Somehow each character has their moment in the spotlight and broadens the fictional world around them.
I am convinced that, when Yellowstone erupts, the nukes drop, asteroids, or whatever real horror will one day happen, if there are people trapped in a grocery store at the time, life will play out exactly as Stephen King wrote it in this novel. It's perfectly attuned to human nature, and the uniquely human habit of making a bad situation worse.
My only critical comment is that I believe the 2007 Frank Darabont film adaptation has a better ending. Darabont's ending is devastating and shocking, but it feels more in tune with the themes of the novel: we're all one giant spider away from doing unimaginable things. Or, as the movie tagline says, "Fear changes everything." The monsters are little more than setting. Humanity under duress is the real creepy crawly.
Despite the novel's room-for-improvement ending, there's no question it's a masterpiece. Maybe in some ways it's just a reimagining of the old Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" (okay maybe in a lot of ways) but King certainly puts his signature stamp on it. I might daringly say The Mist belongs in King's Top 10 novels of all time, even without the aid of numerous other standouts collected in Skeleton Crew.
2. Here There Be Tygers (1968) - 4/5
Curious! This seems to be Stephen King's way of addressing anxiety young boys have around gender. Wrought with the need to pee, a third grader (already burning with shame after his teacher embarrassed him) must choose between relieving his bursting bladder in the boys room, where there is a hungry tiger waiting to eat him, or the girls room. The girls room is nearby, empty, and tiger-free. Nevertheless, he would rather die (and he might) than risk being caught in there. Just a vignette but intriguing subject matter. Love it!
3. The Monkey (1980) - 4.5/5
Falls somewhere on the line of horror lineage that includes "The Monkey's Paw" and Richard Matheson's "Button, Button." Only both of those stories give evil power to the owner of a cursed artifact. Here, the curse befalls anyone within general proximity of a toy monkey and there's no wish fulfillment. Only death. Seems likely R.L. Stine borrowed much from this story with his Night of the Living Dummy franchise.
It's full stars for premise, for sure. Only slightly disappointing that King didn't give us characters who jump off the page. Usually he would do a full psychological dive, and the monkey would exploit those mental weaknesses for its evil amusement. Instead, the monkey simply enjoys killing and the characters are irrelevant and interchangeable.
I just watched the trailer for the upcoming movie. Looks like they are amping up the body count, giving it a Final Destination makeover, and going for full comedy. Purists may be disappointed, but I actually think that's a smart choice of interpretation. King takes his premise seriously and goes for genuine chills, but when you step back and think about it, the whole thing is pretty silly. Switching out a cymbal-crashing monkey for a drumming monkey is disappointing, but I can imagine how a snare drum would be more visually appealing, eerie, and less annoying to the ear. I'm definitely down to give it a watch.
*Update: watched the movie and it was exactly as advertised. I thought it was hilarious while managing to even be poignant on occasion. For laughs over scares, but really well done.
4. Cain Rose Up (1968) - 3/5
Originally published when Stephen was just twenty. There's not much to this story beyond the dark image of a college student, depressed and under strain from a difficult exam, turning to mass homicide to deal with his feelings. Given the mental state of America then and now, the horror factor is largely due to its prophetic nature. Also feels like a companion to Rage, which was originally written around the same time. Very ballsy of the University of Maine to publish such a tale in their literary magazine Ubris.
5. Mrs. Todd's Shortcut (1984) - 4.5/5
Folksy King strikes again. This story is told through an exchange between two old men at a gas station. Plenty of "Ayuh" to go around with many more Maine-isms peppered throughout. The story takes time to heat up before it gets juicy. But once it does, there's no turning away. Old man Homer shares his extraordinary experience with Mrs. Ophelia Todd shortly before she vanished many years ago. Mrs. Todd had been obsessed with back roads and finding shortcuts not always printed on maps. But some of her shortcuts are so good they're otherworldly...
On its own, the story is an impressive use of ultra-realism mixed with mystical intrigue. Not everyone will love the technique. Many readers might actually give up before getting to the good part. The narrative technique is chillingly effective, however, and worth the effort.
More broadly, the story has a lot of connection to other works in the Stephen King universe. There's the Castle Rock setting and Cujo references, possibly a Chrstine-like car, but mostly I wondered if the world uncovered in Fairy Tale (2022) is the same one along Mrs. Todd's shortcuts. I think it is!
6. The Jaunt (1981) - 5/5
I see why this is a fan favorite. King imagines the invention and eventual consumerism of a teleportation-like device. Many deaths arise during the testing period, but the potential for unspeakable horror remains even after kinks are worked out. Wonderful pacing and sense of impending doom. Would be an excellent Black Mirror episode. There's already been talk of a feature film or television series. Considerable plot would need to be added for that to work, I think, but the world-building is strong enough for the premise to be easily expanded into a bigger storyline.
I would have liked the ending of King's Revival more had I read The Jaunt first. They are very different stories but play in the same sandbox.
7. The Wedding Gig (1980) - 3/5
Set during prohibition, a jazz band leader receives an odd invitation to play at a racketeer's sister's wedding. The pay is excessive, suggesting something amiss may happen. And it does. The story was originally published in the December, 1980, issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, which makes sense. There's a noir atmosphere appropriate for that magazine, but perhaps out of place in this collection.
The ending includes a brief rhapsody on the cruelty of fat-shaming and racism during the era, but only after the protagonist has filled pages with fat jokes and a regretful use of the N-word in front of his Black friend. This makes the concluding take-away message feel a bit out of left field for me. Still, cohesive or not, it's a can't-look-away story that grabs and doesn't let go. Next!
8. Paranoid: A Chant (1985) - 5/5
This poem offers the musings of a paranoid person. Maybe it's the FBI out to get them, maybe it's the CIA, but whoever they are, they're always watching, always waiting for their opportunity. The speaker is particularly disturbed by the presence of a man in a raincoat outside, smoking a cigarette. Just imagine how they'd feel if Alexa was around back then!
It's a fine poem offering disturbing imagery, noir vibes to compliment "The Wedding Gig" and a great unanswered question. Is the narrator crazy or is someone really out to get them? Feels very much like King channeling his inner Edgar Allan Poe. Dark Tower fans will also notice parallels in structure and description to the sweeping epic. Love it.
9. The Raft (1982) - 10/5
Ooh! I forget how nasty old-school King can get. What a glorious episode of gore and terror, with a very unique monster to combat. Characters are perhaps more generic than usual, but the misogyny and angst of kids in their late teens offer interpersonal conflict well-paired with the beasty.
For some reason, King (already famous by 1982) originally published the story as a bonus booklet in the nudie magazine Gallery. Of course, back then Playboy and its many impersonators were willing to spend big bucks on high profile contributors. Perhaps the venue added just the right amount of sleazy influence to make this story so deliciously wild. It might also explain the random, but highly memorable, sex scene.
Another aside to Stine fans, it's likely the inspiration for Monster Blood came from this story.
10. Word Processor of the Gods (1983) - 5/5
Only old-school King could take us on this dark journey. We dive into the mind of a father/husband/brother after a supernatural word processor gives him supreme power. What he wishes for is quite the opposite of what we see in "The Monkey's Paw" but no doubt startingly relevant to a lot of people journeying along the human experience. A slow first few pages, and it seems like there's a lot of names to memorize, but soon it becomes impossible to turn away. A standout.
For those keeping track of which Skeleton Crew stories clearly influenced R.L. Stine, I would identify The Blob That Ate Everyone and The Cuckoo Clock of Doom as titles borrowing heavily from this one.
11. The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands (1981) - 5/5
A chilling supernatural story told through the recollections of an elderly man sitting by a fire. The tone is very M.R. James and I have no doubt this story began with King challenging himself to write a story in the vein of James and other classic ghost story authors. He absolutely pulls it off. Riveting from beginning to end.
12. Beachworld (1984) - 4/5
Probably the scariest story about sand since Michael McDowell's The Elementals (1981). There's some nice Star Wars type influence here that is uncommon for King but once again proves he can write anything. Perhaps leaves the reader with too many questions and yearning for more.
13. The Reaper's Image (1969) - 4/5
Another story from King's younger, pre-Carrie days. Unsettling throughout and something to recall when shopping for antiques. The ending isn't great, but it's fine. Likely Stine lifted elements from this story as well for his popular Goosebumps title Let's Get Invisible.
14. Nona (1978) - 5/5
I fucking love this story. Takes "love will make you crazy" to a whole new level. The visuals, the characterization, the premise of a prospective lover infiltrating your brain to make you do unspeakable things... it's all superb. The body count is wild. I can't get enough. A stand-out for sure.
15. For Owen (1985) - 4/5
Aw, a cute poem about Stephen walking his son, Owen, to school. Owen ponders what type of students attend school on Fruit Street. Perhaps tardy watermelons, slowed down by their weight, and little blueberry-people who get picked on for their small size? There's a tinge of darkness where King metaphorically suggests he plagiarizes his son's youthful imagination for his own purposes ("I steal your face...and wear it for my own") but it never quite works because "it wears out fast on my face." I suspect the aging message ("dying's an art and I am learning fast") is an overdramatic rumination of someone on the cusp of turning 40. Don't worry, young King, you've got lots of life left!
16. Survivor Type (1982) - 10/5
Oh! Now this is nasty. I love it! A guy stranded on a tiny island with nothing to eat but heroin is willing to do anything to survive. And I do mean anything. Like the "The Yellow Wallpaper" in terms of descent into madness and imagery, but also not and very male and very gory. A major highlight.
17. Uncle Otto's Truck (1983) - 4.5/5
Like Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" but the dismembered corpse under the floorboards rises up and fulfills his vulture-eyed revenge. Only it's a haunted truck in rural Maine. Great stuff.
18. Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1) (1985) - 4/5
A milkman drives into a nice neighborhood. The scene couldn't be more quaint. But soon it becomes clear this is a disturbed and dangerous individual. What happens next? Consider me intrigued!
19. Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2) (1980) - 3/5
Hmmm... not sure about this one. It was adapted from an unfinished novel titled, aptly, The Milkman. The premise of a milkman serial killer is fun. This particular sequence feels out-of-place without more context, though, and the prior preamble does little to reduce confusion. Oh well, not all of them can be winners. Next!
20. Gramma (1984) - 10/5
So freaky, so fun! As you might guess by the title, this is a grandma horror story. The pacing toward impending doom is glorious and the imagery will haunt you for life. Not saying any more than that because you'll want to be surprised.
Another note for Goosebumps fans: R.L. Stine clearly borrowed elements from this tale when writing his Invasion of the Body Squeezers.
21. The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet (1984) - 4/5
"Where do you get your ideas?" Perhaps annoyed, and mystified, by this question every author is asked most, King offers a chilling explanation. Chilling and funny, I should clarify, because we are dealing with elves and feeding food to typewriters.
King's portrayal of madness, however, is fully frightening. The concept of madness spreading like a disease actually freaked me out. Especially in today's times, when so much of the population seems to live in a headspace devoid of reality. The story kept me rattled with anxiety and furiously reading to the end, despite being one of the longer entries in the collection. Not a favorite, but also not one I'll soon forget.
22. The Reach (1981) - 4/5
King has long been a ponderer of death and what happens after. This is one of his more uplifting visions of the afterlife that comes across as pretty nice, I must say. The premise involves a 95-year-old woman who lives on an island off the coast of Maine. She has never traveled to the mainland, feeling satisfied with her community and all that she has on the island. As her cancer progresses, however, she feels a calling to walk across frozen ice to reach the mainland. Chilling images appear along the way. It's a lovely story and good final close to the collection.
Overall......
Even with my high expectations, King delivered! These are largely all excellent stories with intriguing premises and unique adventures. It doesn't feel as "cohesive" as maybe other King collections, but a potpourri of spooky always works for me. I would recommend starting with Night Shift if you want to try King short stories for the first time, but Skeleton Crew is right behind. I'm also a huge fan of his newest story collection, You Like It Darker.
June 26, 2021
Lots of King shorts, best of bunch being The Mist, which, by the way, is a lot better than the movie in my opinion. 8 out of 12.
Mrs. Todd's Shortcut, from Skeleton Crew is one of my favourite short stories - it is as this simple story that I found so compelling and delightfully dark, with Mrs Todd's obsession in finding the quickest route between two pints with something a but off-kilter about the journey. 10 out of 12!
The Jaunt - a story that I consider simply King's best ever sci-fi / horror short - a perfectly set-up, chilling 10 minute read! 10 out of 12!
Other highlights include The Wedding Gig, Skeleton Crew: The Raft, Uncle Otto's Truck and The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet. Overall, because of the weaker stories it's a 6 out of 12 from me.
Mrs. Todd's Shortcut, from Skeleton Crew is one of my favourite short stories - it is as this simple story that I found so compelling and delightfully dark, with Mrs Todd's obsession in finding the quickest route between two pints with something a but off-kilter about the journey. 10 out of 12!
The Jaunt - a story that I consider simply King's best ever sci-fi / horror short - a perfectly set-up, chilling 10 minute read! 10 out of 12!
Other highlights include The Wedding Gig, Skeleton Crew: The Raft, Uncle Otto's Truck and The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet. Overall, because of the weaker stories it's a 6 out of 12 from me.
October 4, 2020
“I stood there for a moment, first surveying the damage, then glancing out at the mist again. It seemed closer, but it was very hard to tell for sure. If it was closer, it was defying all the laws of nature, because the wind – a very gentle breeze – was against it. That, of course, was patently impossible. It was very, very white. The only thing I can compare it to would be fresh-fallen snow lying in dazzling contrast to the deep-blue brilliance of the winter sky. But snow reflects hundreds and hundreds of diamond points in the sun, and this peculiar fogbank, although bright and clean-looking, did not sparkle…[M]ist isn’t uncommon on clear days, but when there’s a lot of it, the suspended moisture almost always causes a rainbow. But there was no rainbow here…”
- Stephen King, The Mist, featured in Skeleton Crew
When I imagine a Stephen King book in my mind, I am picturing a novel that can range in size from a brick (the mass market edition of The Stand) to a puppy (the hardcover edition of Under the Dome). I conjure memories of swollen word counts, massive backstories, and side-plot detours that can wander hundreds of pages away from the main storyline. More than anything, when I think of King’s vast body of work, I think of excess, in terms of gore, in terms of violence, in terms of sheer number of pages. And frankly, for as much as I sometimes grouse about King’s meandering tomes, that’s really what I love about him. There is something absolutely marvelous about getting entirely lost in a work such as It, where a simple good-evil concept is spun to lengths of which Tolstoy or Proust would have approved.
Yet for all that, King – according to his own recollections, found in the introduction to Carrie – started his career writing short stories and selling them to various print magazines for a few hundred bucks a pop. He’d get an idea – invariably weird – and then bang out a draft in a few days before sending it off to publications that no longer exist.
Normally, I don’t care much for short stories. It’s a personal taste, one that I can’t explain, except for the unsatisfied sensation of having something ending just at the point where I start becoming invested. Nevertheless, having made a small dent in King’s voluminous bibliography, I decided to check out some of his shorter works.
Skeleton Crew is a collection of twenty-two short stories originally published between 1980 and 1985. Even though many of the individual selections are pretty quick, the whole shebang – cover to cover – is over five-hundred pages long.
The headline selection in Skeleton Crew – and the reason I chose it in the first place – is The Mist. More of a novella than a short story, The Mist follows a group of people trapped in a supermarket after being surrounded by a fog hiding a deadly threat. It is quite good, with several top notch sequences. Still, I suggest that the movie version is vastly better, with its brutally unflinching, unforgettable ending. I suppose I couldn’t get over the fact that The Mist was both too long and too short. As part of a short story assemblage, it overstayed its welcome. At the same time, the concept is crackerjack, and with the potential inherent in a large cast of characters, I would have appreciated getting the full, big-novel treatment.
Even though I was interested mainly in The Mist, I decided – out of compulsion, really – to read the rest of the stories straight through. As I suppose is true of any such collection, no matter how skillfully curated – and Skeleton Crew feels pretty random at times – it is a mixed bag.
Surprisingly, my favorites tended to be more science-fiction than horror based. In Beachworld, two astronauts end up stranded on a desert planet that seems to be alive. Immediately, one of the astronauts starts going mad. Utilizing only a handful of pages, King is able to hint at a much larger – and potentially extremely interesting – universe surrounding his compact tale. In The Jaunt, King toys with the concepts of time, space, and teleportation, while providing a gruesome kicker of a denouement. It feels very much of a piece with The Twilight Zone, with the addition of King’s omnipresent willingness to take things too far.
King has always had a warped sense of humor, and that is certainly on display in many of Skeleton Crew’s stories. For instance, in Survivor Type, a drug-running doctor ends up on a deserted island. In a series of journal entries, he narrates his increasingly extreme efforts to fend off starvation.
Unfortunately, King also has certain unfortunate literary tricks and tics that appear and reappear so often they start to feel pathological. His handling of female characters, for instance, is extremely shaky, and often revolves around disapproving descriptions of a woman’s weight. When he’s not fat-shaming his women, King is positioning them as slutty temptresses or incessant henpeckers. A story like Word Processor of the Gods, about a struggling writer who has to put up with an overweight, nagging wife, simply doesn’t work anymore, if it ever worked at all. It is borderline cruel and feels like the wish fulfillment of an eternally self-centered misogynist.
This leads to another repeated theme, that of toxic masculinity. That particular term entered the lexicon around the time that King wrote these stories, but there is no indication that he was responding to concerns about the troubling actions of certain young men. To the contrary, in Skeleton Crew, there are several stories in which the protagonist is an entitled male filled with murderous impulses that we are implicitly nudged to cheer. One unredeemable selection features a college student shooting people from his dorm room. (Though this was published long before Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Las Vegas, King was clearly inspired by Charles Whitman’s 1966 slaughter from atop the tower at the University of Texas-Austin). There is no point, except that it gives King the opportunity to vividly describe headshots and spattered brains. Another equally useless wallow in depravity follows an ex-college student’s vicious rampage, every murder painted with loving, leering care.
In my experience with King, the good and bad have always gone hand-in-hand. Even his best novels have problematic parts, or sections that have aged poorly. Usually, the good outweighs the bad, often by a wide margin. Skeleton Crew has a closer balance. Every story is readable, and even the worst-conceived of the lot are written with King’s underrated skills. Even when the underlying framework is deplorable, most of the stories are effortlessly entertaining. They are also a bit insidious. On nights that I had read Skeleton Crew, I noticed that my sleep was often disrupted by vivid and unsettling dreams. That Skeleton Crew managed to disrupt my dream life is a compliment of sorts.
With that said, the best stories in this assortment are not quite good enough to make you forget the rot seeping from the worst.
- Stephen King, The Mist, featured in Skeleton Crew
When I imagine a Stephen King book in my mind, I am picturing a novel that can range in size from a brick (the mass market edition of The Stand) to a puppy (the hardcover edition of Under the Dome). I conjure memories of swollen word counts, massive backstories, and side-plot detours that can wander hundreds of pages away from the main storyline. More than anything, when I think of King’s vast body of work, I think of excess, in terms of gore, in terms of violence, in terms of sheer number of pages. And frankly, for as much as I sometimes grouse about King’s meandering tomes, that’s really what I love about him. There is something absolutely marvelous about getting entirely lost in a work such as It, where a simple good-evil concept is spun to lengths of which Tolstoy or Proust would have approved.
Yet for all that, King – according to his own recollections, found in the introduction to Carrie – started his career writing short stories and selling them to various print magazines for a few hundred bucks a pop. He’d get an idea – invariably weird – and then bang out a draft in a few days before sending it off to publications that no longer exist.
Normally, I don’t care much for short stories. It’s a personal taste, one that I can’t explain, except for the unsatisfied sensation of having something ending just at the point where I start becoming invested. Nevertheless, having made a small dent in King’s voluminous bibliography, I decided to check out some of his shorter works.
Skeleton Crew is a collection of twenty-two short stories originally published between 1980 and 1985. Even though many of the individual selections are pretty quick, the whole shebang – cover to cover – is over five-hundred pages long.
The headline selection in Skeleton Crew – and the reason I chose it in the first place – is The Mist. More of a novella than a short story, The Mist follows a group of people trapped in a supermarket after being surrounded by a fog hiding a deadly threat. It is quite good, with several top notch sequences. Still, I suggest that the movie version is vastly better, with its brutally unflinching, unforgettable ending. I suppose I couldn’t get over the fact that The Mist was both too long and too short. As part of a short story assemblage, it overstayed its welcome. At the same time, the concept is crackerjack, and with the potential inherent in a large cast of characters, I would have appreciated getting the full, big-novel treatment.
Even though I was interested mainly in The Mist, I decided – out of compulsion, really – to read the rest of the stories straight through. As I suppose is true of any such collection, no matter how skillfully curated – and Skeleton Crew feels pretty random at times – it is a mixed bag.
Surprisingly, my favorites tended to be more science-fiction than horror based. In Beachworld, two astronauts end up stranded on a desert planet that seems to be alive. Immediately, one of the astronauts starts going mad. Utilizing only a handful of pages, King is able to hint at a much larger – and potentially extremely interesting – universe surrounding his compact tale. In The Jaunt, King toys with the concepts of time, space, and teleportation, while providing a gruesome kicker of a denouement. It feels very much of a piece with The Twilight Zone, with the addition of King’s omnipresent willingness to take things too far.
King has always had a warped sense of humor, and that is certainly on display in many of Skeleton Crew’s stories. For instance, in Survivor Type, a drug-running doctor ends up on a deserted island. In a series of journal entries, he narrates his increasingly extreme efforts to fend off starvation.
Unfortunately, King also has certain unfortunate literary tricks and tics that appear and reappear so often they start to feel pathological. His handling of female characters, for instance, is extremely shaky, and often revolves around disapproving descriptions of a woman’s weight. When he’s not fat-shaming his women, King is positioning them as slutty temptresses or incessant henpeckers. A story like Word Processor of the Gods, about a struggling writer who has to put up with an overweight, nagging wife, simply doesn’t work anymore, if it ever worked at all. It is borderline cruel and feels like the wish fulfillment of an eternally self-centered misogynist.
This leads to another repeated theme, that of toxic masculinity. That particular term entered the lexicon around the time that King wrote these stories, but there is no indication that he was responding to concerns about the troubling actions of certain young men. To the contrary, in Skeleton Crew, there are several stories in which the protagonist is an entitled male filled with murderous impulses that we are implicitly nudged to cheer. One unredeemable selection features a college student shooting people from his dorm room. (Though this was published long before Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Las Vegas, King was clearly inspired by Charles Whitman’s 1966 slaughter from atop the tower at the University of Texas-Austin). There is no point, except that it gives King the opportunity to vividly describe headshots and spattered brains. Another equally useless wallow in depravity follows an ex-college student’s vicious rampage, every murder painted with loving, leering care.
In my experience with King, the good and bad have always gone hand-in-hand. Even his best novels have problematic parts, or sections that have aged poorly. Usually, the good outweighs the bad, often by a wide margin. Skeleton Crew has a closer balance. Every story is readable, and even the worst-conceived of the lot are written with King’s underrated skills. Even when the underlying framework is deplorable, most of the stories are effortlessly entertaining. They are also a bit insidious. On nights that I had read Skeleton Crew, I noticed that my sleep was often disrupted by vivid and unsettling dreams. That Skeleton Crew managed to disrupt my dream life is a compliment of sorts.
With that said, the best stories in this assortment are not quite good enough to make you forget the rot seeping from the worst.
September 29, 2019
You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.
Stephen King is such a master storyteller. I’ve come to love him over the past few years, and I now count him among my favorite authors. I have to agree with the masses, however; King tends to fall flat when it comes to endings. Thankfully, that’s not really an issue when it comes to short stories. They’re not supposed to really end, which I think is a huge boon in King’s favor. As with Night Shift, the first of King’s short story collections I read, Skeleton Crew was chockfull of the interesting, terrifying, and uncomfortable. While not every story was a resounding success, there were far more hits among these twenty two installments than there were misses, and a handful of these stories will be staying with me for a good long while.
The first selection in this collection is one of King’s novellas, The Mist, my review of which you can read here. Beyond that, the stories that resonated the most with me were The Monkey, The Jaunt, Word Processor of the Gods, Nona, Survivor Type, The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet, Gramma, and The Reach. All of these stories I would have rated anywhere from 4 to 5 stars, which I think is a pretty high percentage for a short story collection. Some of these story were scary, while others were merely uncomfortable. Only one story actually gave me nightmares, and that was a tale of self-cannibalism that included not a single supernatural element. It was absolutely horrifying. Then there’s The Reach, which was a poignant way to close out the collection. Also, there were a handful of Castle Rock stories, which is always fun to come across if you’re one of King’s Constant Readers, which I’m beginning to consider myself. One thing that I think King should steer clear of though is poetry. There were two poems in this collection and they just didn’t land.
If you’ve never read Stephen King and would like to give his work a try, I cannot suggest highly enough picking up one of his short story collections. You’ll get a taste for his style, and there’s something about King’s storytelling in short form that I find a good deal scarier than some of his novels. Whether he’s spinning a tale that spans a dozen pages or more than a thousand, King is undoubtably the master of the horror genre, at least in my eyes. Long live the King!
Stephen King is such a master storyteller. I’ve come to love him over the past few years, and I now count him among my favorite authors. I have to agree with the masses, however; King tends to fall flat when it comes to endings. Thankfully, that’s not really an issue when it comes to short stories. They’re not supposed to really end, which I think is a huge boon in King’s favor. As with Night Shift, the first of King’s short story collections I read, Skeleton Crew was chockfull of the interesting, terrifying, and uncomfortable. While not every story was a resounding success, there were far more hits among these twenty two installments than there were misses, and a handful of these stories will be staying with me for a good long while.
The first selection in this collection is one of King’s novellas, The Mist, my review of which you can read here. Beyond that, the stories that resonated the most with me were The Monkey, The Jaunt, Word Processor of the Gods, Nona, Survivor Type, The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet, Gramma, and The Reach. All of these stories I would have rated anywhere from 4 to 5 stars, which I think is a pretty high percentage for a short story collection. Some of these story were scary, while others were merely uncomfortable. Only one story actually gave me nightmares, and that was a tale of self-cannibalism that included not a single supernatural element. It was absolutely horrifying. Then there’s The Reach, which was a poignant way to close out the collection. Also, there were a handful of Castle Rock stories, which is always fun to come across if you’re one of King’s Constant Readers, which I’m beginning to consider myself. One thing that I think King should steer clear of though is poetry. There were two poems in this collection and they just didn’t land.
If you’ve never read Stephen King and would like to give his work a try, I cannot suggest highly enough picking up one of his short story collections. You’ll get a taste for his style, and there’s something about King’s storytelling in short form that I find a good deal scarier than some of his novels. Whether he’s spinning a tale that spans a dozen pages or more than a thousand, King is undoubtably the master of the horror genre, at least in my eyes. Long live the King!
July 24, 2024
Continuing my journey reading all Stephen King's books in publication order, a short story collection The Skeleton Crew was next. This is a re-read for me and one that didn't disappoint.
The Mist – 5 Stars
The Mist is one of my favourite short stories of all time, it's a real masterpiece. This story is fast paced, it pack a huge punch and every sentence is beautifully written. I think what is truly scary about this book other than the man crushing creatures is the way humanity falls apart and turn on each other in such a short space of time. It only takes on person to feed on trauma and distress and you have yourself a mini cult. Our characters are all so well done, love them or hate them you don't want to stop reading about them. It is one of the longer books in the collection but it's so easy to read.
The Monkey – 5 Stars
The Monkey is such a great little story it is very creepy, a creepy little monkey doll reeking havoc, no thank you. It is the sort of book that would have given me nightmares as a child, it's like Toy Story gone bad and I don't know if there is anything scarier than that. I also think the dad in this story had good character growth, we get a duel timeline so we see how he deals with the Monkey as a child and as an adult, and how the Monkey is still the monster in his nightmares. He tries to protect his own child from repeating the past too and it's a really good dynamic.
The Raft – 4.5 stars.
I HATE LaVerne in this book so much, you know she will get what's coming for her and I couldn't wait. This has that element of gore that I really enjoy from King, it isn't perfect for me because it isn't quite my type of horror. This book will definitely put you off swimming for a while if nothing else. The ending was ok with this one but it didn't blow me away.
Word Processor of the Gods – 4.5 stars
A Word Processor that changes reality – a little odd. When I first read this short story I remember thinking that it wouldn't be very scary. Having said that I ended up really loving it. It is one of those Stephen King books for me that as I am reading it I am thinking what the hell am I reading but as always I just can't put it down. I think this one also has a nice message and the character growth is nice too, it is about appreciating what you have in life and not knowing what you have until it's gone.
Survivor Type – 5 Stars
This one isn’t for the faint hearted and has some really nasty scenes where that will leave you recoiling and wincing. I recommend this one if you like a little more gore in your books as this has plenty. I think our main character is awesome too, awful but awesome. It isn't a character that grows on you and he doesn't have any development or growth but I loved hating him.
Gramma – 5 Stars
For me this is the scariest book in the collection. It's about the fear of death essentially, the fear of old people, being alone and not being 'a man' or a grown up. Gramma, is one of those books were if you get it you get and if you don't you don't, for some people/children seeing a grandparent ill or old is nightmarishly scary and I sympathized with the main character so much. I felt an instant fear of Gramma, and as the story progresses it only gets scarier. This one is beautifully written and has the most amazing descriptions. Spine chilling.
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet – 3 stars
This is interesting because I gave this 4.5 stars when I first read it but this time around I didn't feel a connection too it. I found it too long and too unbelievable to be scary, this story dragged for me and it didn't give me any fear. It's weird. At it's core it is about insanity and how/why someone might so insane and though I usually enjoy books about the mind, this one just didn't do it for me. It is still ok though, but it doesn't stand up to the rest of the collection.
Here There Be Tygers - 3 stars
Too short to make me feel/think anything really.
The Jaunt - 4 stars
This is a little Sc-Fi, it's odd but really interesting it is scary too. There is little elements of gore which were really nicely done. Although a really good read in this collection it doesn't do all that much to stand out.
The Wedding Gigg - 3 stars
This is pretty good, has some nice messages and it's got quite a lot of action. It didn't manage to scare me or invoke any strong emotions from me which is why I have given it such a average rating. This has a heavy element of crime too which is enjoyable.
The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands - 4 stars
Somehow I don't remember reading this one....but it is really good. It's very intriguing and it keeps you guessing about what's going to happen until the last, there isn't lots of gore or frights in particular but its is weird and creepy in it's own way.
Nona - 3 stars
Nona is ok but it just wasn't my cup of tea, because this was a short story and not a full book we didn't get enough character development and I think for the plot line we really needed that development for this to be something special.
The Reach - 5 stars
This short story is just beautiful and that's the only way I can describe it. It isn't conventionally scary but it's haunting.
I could write full reviews about each short story in here....and there are a few I have missed out. The one's I have missed out with be the one's I don't have much to say about.
Overall this short story has some of the best short stories ever (in my opinion), there are some that don't quite hit the spot but as a whole this collection is incredible!
The Mist – 5 Stars
The Mist is one of my favourite short stories of all time, it's a real masterpiece. This story is fast paced, it pack a huge punch and every sentence is beautifully written. I think what is truly scary about this book other than the man crushing creatures is the way humanity falls apart and turn on each other in such a short space of time. It only takes on person to feed on trauma and distress and you have yourself a mini cult. Our characters are all so well done, love them or hate them you don't want to stop reading about them. It is one of the longer books in the collection but it's so easy to read.
The Monkey – 5 Stars
The Monkey is such a great little story it is very creepy, a creepy little monkey doll reeking havoc, no thank you. It is the sort of book that would have given me nightmares as a child, it's like Toy Story gone bad and I don't know if there is anything scarier than that. I also think the dad in this story had good character growth, we get a duel timeline so we see how he deals with the Monkey as a child and as an adult, and how the Monkey is still the monster in his nightmares. He tries to protect his own child from repeating the past too and it's a really good dynamic.
The Raft – 4.5 stars.
I HATE LaVerne in this book so much, you know she will get what's coming for her and I couldn't wait. This has that element of gore that I really enjoy from King, it isn't perfect for me because it isn't quite my type of horror. This book will definitely put you off swimming for a while if nothing else. The ending was ok with this one but it didn't blow me away.
Word Processor of the Gods – 4.5 stars
A Word Processor that changes reality – a little odd. When I first read this short story I remember thinking that it wouldn't be very scary. Having said that I ended up really loving it. It is one of those Stephen King books for me that as I am reading it I am thinking what the hell am I reading but as always I just can't put it down. I think this one also has a nice message and the character growth is nice too, it is about appreciating what you have in life and not knowing what you have until it's gone.
Survivor Type – 5 Stars
This one isn’t for the faint hearted and has some really nasty scenes where that will leave you recoiling and wincing. I recommend this one if you like a little more gore in your books as this has plenty. I think our main character is awesome too, awful but awesome. It isn't a character that grows on you and he doesn't have any development or growth but I loved hating him.
Gramma – 5 Stars
For me this is the scariest book in the collection. It's about the fear of death essentially, the fear of old people, being alone and not being 'a man' or a grown up. Gramma, is one of those books were if you get it you get and if you don't you don't, for some people/children seeing a grandparent ill or old is nightmarishly scary and I sympathized with the main character so much. I felt an instant fear of Gramma, and as the story progresses it only gets scarier. This one is beautifully written and has the most amazing descriptions. Spine chilling.
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet – 3 stars
This is interesting because I gave this 4.5 stars when I first read it but this time around I didn't feel a connection too it. I found it too long and too unbelievable to be scary, this story dragged for me and it didn't give me any fear. It's weird. At it's core it is about insanity and how/why someone might so insane and though I usually enjoy books about the mind, this one just didn't do it for me. It is still ok though, but it doesn't stand up to the rest of the collection.
Here There Be Tygers - 3 stars
Too short to make me feel/think anything really.
The Jaunt - 4 stars
This is a little Sc-Fi, it's odd but really interesting it is scary too. There is little elements of gore which were really nicely done. Although a really good read in this collection it doesn't do all that much to stand out.
The Wedding Gigg - 3 stars
This is pretty good, has some nice messages and it's got quite a lot of action. It didn't manage to scare me or invoke any strong emotions from me which is why I have given it such a average rating. This has a heavy element of crime too which is enjoyable.
The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands - 4 stars
Somehow I don't remember reading this one....but it is really good. It's very intriguing and it keeps you guessing about what's going to happen until the last, there isn't lots of gore or frights in particular but its is weird and creepy in it's own way.
Nona - 3 stars
Nona is ok but it just wasn't my cup of tea, because this was a short story and not a full book we didn't get enough character development and I think for the plot line we really needed that development for this to be something special.
The Reach - 5 stars
This short story is just beautiful and that's the only way I can describe it. It isn't conventionally scary but it's haunting.
I could write full reviews about each short story in here....and there are a few I have missed out. The one's I have missed out with be the one's I don't have much to say about.
Overall this short story has some of the best short stories ever (in my opinion), there are some that don't quite hit the spot but as a whole this collection is incredible!
August 2, 2008
There are two short stories that I read over and over. The Mist has always been a favorite, and I can't believe how many people haven't read Survivor Type! It's awesome!
I've lost three copies of this from lending it out. Don't ask--you can't borrow it! ;o)
I've lost three copies of this from lending it out. Don't ask--you can't borrow it! ;o)
December 27, 2020
“Life goes on - that's what I should have said. That's what you say to people when a loved one dies. But, thinking it over, I was glad I didn't. Because maybe that's what she was afraid of.”
How to describe the experience that is reading Skeleton Crew... The highs are high, and the lows... my god, are they low. A crazy collection where you get to see the best - and worst - of King’s work.
Let’s start with the positives. There are some FANTASTIC stories in here, such as The Jaunt, The Raft, Survivor Type, Gramma, Mrs Todd’s Shortcut, Word Processor of the Gods, The Monkey and so forth. These were all a joy to read (yes, even Survivor Type. I felt joy whilst simultaneously wanting to throw up) I also noticed that quite a few of the stories are set in the fall, with some beautiful atmospheric descriptions... bonus points for that!
Now the bad. Let’s forget about the stories themselves and talk about the depiction of women in some of these stories. They were either fat and disgusting or overly sexualised with detailed descriptions of breasts and legs. Now this does crop up every now and again in his older books, and it does irritate me - I think he has gotten better with time, thankfully - but it felt incredibly prominent in this collection. And that was off-putting. The story The Wedding Gig in particular just had me seething with rage.
Other stories that I simply hated or just found to be very lack-lustre, include the following: Beachworld, The Reaper’s Image, Cain Rose Up, Here There Be Tygers... and the poetry. I do not like King’s poetry. To borrow a term from Holly Gibney, it’s poopy.
Incase it isn’t evident from this review, Skeleton Crew was all over the place in terms of quality and storytelling. I just didn’t know what I was going to get next. But on the whole the INCREDIBLE outweighs the very bad... it’s worth it for those gems. 3 stars.
How to describe the experience that is reading Skeleton Crew... The highs are high, and the lows... my god, are they low. A crazy collection where you get to see the best - and worst - of King’s work.
Let’s start with the positives. There are some FANTASTIC stories in here, such as The Jaunt, The Raft, Survivor Type, Gramma, Mrs Todd’s Shortcut, Word Processor of the Gods, The Monkey and so forth. These were all a joy to read (yes, even Survivor Type. I felt joy whilst simultaneously wanting to throw up) I also noticed that quite a few of the stories are set in the fall, with some beautiful atmospheric descriptions... bonus points for that!
Now the bad. Let’s forget about the stories themselves and talk about the depiction of women in some of these stories. They were either fat and disgusting or overly sexualised with detailed descriptions of breasts and legs. Now this does crop up every now and again in his older books, and it does irritate me - I think he has gotten better with time, thankfully - but it felt incredibly prominent in this collection. And that was off-putting. The story The Wedding Gig in particular just had me seething with rage.
Other stories that I simply hated or just found to be very lack-lustre, include the following: Beachworld, The Reaper’s Image, Cain Rose Up, Here There Be Tygers... and the poetry. I do not like King’s poetry. To borrow a term from Holly Gibney, it’s poopy.
Incase it isn’t evident from this review, Skeleton Crew was all over the place in terms of quality and storytelling. I just didn’t know what I was going to get next. But on the whole the INCREDIBLE outweighs the very bad... it’s worth it for those gems. 3 stars.
September 13, 2022
I’ve had this battered copy of
Skeleton Crew
on my bookcase for a REALLY long time. I vaguely remember getting this tattered paperback at a used bookstore decades ago, now. From a place in my hometown. The ink stamp inside has the address and phone number with a 206 area code – so from before the time they separated all the western Washington area codes from the communities around the Seattle area code and putting them into 253, 360, and 425. It’s been on a myriad of bookshelves since. It’s held together with packing tape and my affection for Stephen King’s writing. I’m overdue on reading it, but, oh well. Here it goes with my rating for each story. I’ve skipped over the poems since I just sort of skimmed those and candidly didn’t pay much attention to them.
The Mist: This is the first story of this collection. Probably a good choice to get us warmed up. This is a novella about a bunch of people trapped by fog and what hides it. At first I was not sure how I feel about the starting offering. It’s good. But dang, Uncle Stevie and his endings... (4/5)
Here There Be Tygers: A kid goes into a bathroom and there’s a tiger. Didn't quite appeal to me and I candidly found it confusing. (2/5)
And this year’s award (well, I suppose 1985’s) for really creepy damn toy goes to … The Monkey. The toy that keeps going and going and going… is and featured as this edition's cover icon. Classic King. Loved it. (5/5)
Cain Rose Up: Oof. A story about a guy shooting people. Didn’t really care for it. It was just sort of there. Hard to get into now, but even in 1985 when this was published in this anthology kind of lacked depth or meaning. (1.5/5)
Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut: For a tale about a shortcut, this one slowly meandered a bit. It got intriguing toward the end. Then it ended. And not a particularly satisfying one at that. So, 3/5 for this one.
The Jaunt: Science fiction and horror with technology gone wrong. This one kept me thinking and guessing and it was a complete story. That's all I can legitimately ask for in a short story. So, yay! An upturn! (5/5)
The Wedding Gig: This one had an interesting twist near the end but it wasn't really scary or disturbing or anything. (3/5)
The Raft: All righty then! Back to floating on top with this one. The Raft is classic Uncle Stevie! A welcome story. Especially after trying to decipher a poem immediately before that. What the what is the dude doing writing a poem anyway? Anyway … a raft in a lake, four college kids, a weird black oily slick on the lake. Lots of distance between the anchored raft and the shore where their car and safety is. What could possibly go wrong with that. Well, turns out quite a bit. This one was awesome. Ending left a bit to be desired, but that's cool. (5/5)
Word Processor of the Gods: This was another really good one. Who wouldn't change a few things around their life with a few keystrokes? (5/5)
The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands: A creative curse forces a major character in this one make some difficult decisions in this interesting story. (4/5)
Beachworld: Here, we have a sci-fi tale of a ship stranded on a different planet, where the sand isn't everything one would expect. It’s got madness, creatures, people acting dumb. All good stuff. (4/5)
The Reaper’s Image: I’m not really sure what The Reaper's Image was about but it didn't really work for me or move me. (2/5)
But Nona " offered a weird tale of a different kind of Bonnie and Clyde with rats. Interesting. (4/5)
Survivor Type: This one was worth the price of admission all by itself. Drugs, isolation, the will to live, and making "sacrifices." The best story of the bunch by a very wide margin. Now THIS ONE is classic King. (5+/5)
Uncle Otto’s Truck: again some pretty classic Uncle Stevie. They were pretty good but nothing like "Survivor Type." (3.75/5)
Morning Deliveries: (Milkman #1): Same feelings as Uncle Otto’s Truck. (3.75/5)
Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2): Same as above, but upon reflection this one wasn’t as moving as the prior two. (3.5/5)
Gramma: What to say? Hmmm… A kid is freaked out over his dying grandmother. He slowly comes to realize her power, not only over him, but others. It meander a LOT for a while but then got interesting. Problem was I sort of saw some of it coming. Oh well. (3.5/5)
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet: Okay, well, I take some of that back. NOW what to say? Good grief, I personally found this one really quite awful. It meandered and could not for the life of me hold my attention. If this had been at the start of the compilation it might have colored my entire perception of this anthology. I still can’t quite work out the point. A writer and an editor are talking. And then talking more. And the writer’s spouse is there and kind of neglected from the narrative. They’re talking about some dude going crazy or researching insanity. Or something. I don’t know. (1/5)
The Reach: This poor story suffered having bringing up the rear of such a bad story right before it. I redoubled my concentration and got through it. It was pretty touching and dealt with loss and community, which I can relate to. (4/5)
Collectively, then I am putting this as a 4 for rounding up on the scores. This anthology was a damn site better than Nightmares and Dreamscapes. That one felt like a chore. This one felt like a collection. Not all good. Some pretty good. Some that’re gonna stick with me. That’s what an anthology should do.
The Mist: This is the first story of this collection. Probably a good choice to get us warmed up. This is a novella about a bunch of people trapped by fog and what hides it. At first I was not sure how I feel about the starting offering. It’s good. But dang, Uncle Stevie and his endings... (4/5)
Here There Be Tygers: A kid goes into a bathroom and there’s a tiger. Didn't quite appeal to me and I candidly found it confusing. (2/5)
And this year’s award (well, I suppose 1985’s) for really creepy damn toy goes to … The Monkey. The toy that keeps going and going and going… is and featured as this edition's cover icon. Classic King. Loved it. (5/5)
Cain Rose Up: Oof. A story about a guy shooting people. Didn’t really care for it. It was just sort of there. Hard to get into now, but even in 1985 when this was published in this anthology kind of lacked depth or meaning. (1.5/5)
Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut: For a tale about a shortcut, this one slowly meandered a bit. It got intriguing toward the end. Then it ended. And not a particularly satisfying one at that. So, 3/5 for this one.
The Jaunt: Science fiction and horror with technology gone wrong. This one kept me thinking and guessing and it was a complete story. That's all I can legitimately ask for in a short story. So, yay! An upturn! (5/5)
The Wedding Gig: This one had an interesting twist near the end but it wasn't really scary or disturbing or anything. (3/5)
The Raft: All righty then! Back to floating on top with this one. The Raft is classic Uncle Stevie! A welcome story. Especially after trying to decipher a poem immediately before that. What the what is the dude doing writing a poem anyway? Anyway … a raft in a lake, four college kids, a weird black oily slick on the lake. Lots of distance between the anchored raft and the shore where their car and safety is. What could possibly go wrong with that. Well, turns out quite a bit. This one was awesome. Ending left a bit to be desired, but that's cool. (5/5)
Word Processor of the Gods: This was another really good one. Who wouldn't change a few things around their life with a few keystrokes? (5/5)
The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands: A creative curse forces a major character in this one make some difficult decisions in this interesting story. (4/5)
Beachworld: Here, we have a sci-fi tale of a ship stranded on a different planet, where the sand isn't everything one would expect. It’s got madness, creatures, people acting dumb. All good stuff. (4/5)
The Reaper’s Image: I’m not really sure what The Reaper's Image was about but it didn't really work for me or move me. (2/5)
But Nona " offered a weird tale of a different kind of Bonnie and Clyde with rats. Interesting. (4/5)
Survivor Type: This one was worth the price of admission all by itself. Drugs, isolation, the will to live, and making "sacrifices." The best story of the bunch by a very wide margin. Now THIS ONE is classic King. (5+/5)
Uncle Otto’s Truck: again some pretty classic Uncle Stevie. They were pretty good but nothing like "Survivor Type." (3.75/5)
Morning Deliveries: (Milkman #1): Same feelings as Uncle Otto’s Truck. (3.75/5)
Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2): Same as above, but upon reflection this one wasn’t as moving as the prior two. (3.5/5)
Gramma: What to say? Hmmm… A kid is freaked out over his dying grandmother. He slowly comes to realize her power, not only over him, but others. It meander a LOT for a while but then got interesting. Problem was I sort of saw some of it coming. Oh well. (3.5/5)
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet: Okay, well, I take some of that back. NOW what to say? Good grief, I personally found this one really quite awful. It meandered and could not for the life of me hold my attention. If this had been at the start of the compilation it might have colored my entire perception of this anthology. I still can’t quite work out the point. A writer and an editor are talking. And then talking more. And the writer’s spouse is there and kind of neglected from the narrative. They’re talking about some dude going crazy or researching insanity. Or something. I don’t know. (1/5)
The Reach: This poor story suffered having bringing up the rear of such a bad story right before it. I redoubled my concentration and got through it. It was pretty touching and dealt with loss and community, which I can relate to. (4/5)
Collectively, then I am putting this as a 4 for rounding up on the scores. This anthology was a damn site better than Nightmares and Dreamscapes. That one felt like a chore. This one felt like a collection. Not all good. Some pretty good. Some that’re gonna stick with me. That’s what an anthology should do.
September 9, 2018
Skeleton Crew is my least favorite Stephen King story collection. Its not a bad collection, but something just felt off. The six stories I loved are probably some of my favorite Stephen King stories but the rest were just blah!
The Good:
1)The Raft is my favorite story in this collection. A group of friends on a raft find themselves being picked off by some mysterious black slug in the water.
2)Word Processor of the Gods. A man who hates his life discovers he can delete or add people and things in his life through his new Word Processor.
3)The Reapers Image is one of King's best stories period. As someone who actually has seen an inexplicable image in a mirror, I love scary stories involving mirrors.
4)Survivor Type is so disturbing that while I loved it, I will never read it again. A surgeon is stranded on a island and finds that one particular meat is tastier than the rest.
5)Uncle Otto's Truck, Stephen King loves a haunted car and I think this story is best of all of his haunted car stories.
6) Gramma I've heard or read this story before but I can't remember where. Gramma never dies.
I'm not going to go into detail on the bottom 3 because I just don't care enough.
The Mist was a disappointment because I had such high hopes.
The Wedding Gift was pointless and not funny in the least.
Beachworld was boring.
Skeleton Crew is a good collection but with Stephen King I've come to expect greatness. If you love Stephen King I would still recommend this but for the casual King reader maybe skip it.
Hooked On Books September Read-A-Thon
The Good:
1)The Raft is my favorite story in this collection. A group of friends on a raft find themselves being picked off by some mysterious black slug in the water.
2)Word Processor of the Gods. A man who hates his life discovers he can delete or add people and things in his life through his new Word Processor.
3)The Reapers Image is one of King's best stories period. As someone who actually has seen an inexplicable image in a mirror, I love scary stories involving mirrors.
4)Survivor Type is so disturbing that while I loved it, I will never read it again. A surgeon is stranded on a island and finds that one particular meat is tastier than the rest.
5)Uncle Otto's Truck, Stephen King loves a haunted car and I think this story is best of all of his haunted car stories.
6) Gramma I've heard or read this story before but I can't remember where. Gramma never dies.
I'm not going to go into detail on the bottom 3 because I just don't care enough.
The Mist was a disappointment because I had such high hopes.
The Wedding Gift was pointless and not funny in the least.
Beachworld was boring.
Skeleton Crew is a good collection but with Stephen King I've come to expect greatness. If you love Stephen King I would still recommend this but for the casual King reader maybe skip it.
Hooked On Books September Read-A-Thon
May 22, 2023
2023 Reread:
Still a strong collection! Not my favorite collection of King stories, not even close—just a bit too much filler for my taste—but the fact that I’m still giving this 4 stars says a lot about King’s mastery of the short form. But we all know this.
“The Reach” is still my favorite, the “Milkman” stories still baffle, and the biggest grower this time was “Uncle Otto’s Truck”… I actually liked it this time. Skeleton Crew is 1980s King. Come on.
2016 Review:
I finished Skeleton Crew with tears in my eyes. I thought I'd read "The Reach" — the story that closes out this collection — before, but I guess I hadn't. It was an entirely new experience for me, and it packed quite the emotional wallop. As I write this review I'm still trying to mentally recover from that one, so pardon me if my thoughts are a little scattered. My Fornit died, and I'm stuck doing the job myself.
By the time this collection was published in 1985, Stephen King was a bona-fide literary rock star. His fame was gargantuan, beaten in size only by his addiction to dope and alcohol. According to the man himself, his study was the site of nightly parties for one, where the beer flowed and nose candy was always available. Yeah, King wasn't in a great state of mind for most of the eighties. He warns the reader in this book's introduction that the act of writing short stories hadn't gotten easier for him over the years — instead, it had gotten harder. Novel deadlines made it difficult to carve out time for shorter tales, and everything the man put into his Word Processor of the Gods wanted to be six hundred pages in length. If this reviewer is being honest, that's painfully apparent with this collection. A handful of the tales presented here should've never made it off the cutting room floor and several others could have been trimmed a bit. Most of what the reader is presented with is great (hence the four stars), but King overwrites like crazy here. That's my problem with a lot of his output from this decade — excess verbosity.
After the reliably folksy, mood-setting introduction to this collection from Sai King himself, things get rolling with "The Mist," the first (but not last) story in Skeleton Crew about ordinary people stranded and facing likely death, due to out-of-this-world circumstances. "The Mist" is a novella, and I always enjoy every word of it. Yeah, King overwrites in several places in this book . . . but this story ain't one of 'em. I have quite the fear of mist, thanks to this story. Other favorites of mine include "The Ballad Of The Flexible Bullet," a delightfully paranoid story King could have never written before or after cocaine; "The Raft," which was my very favorite in this collection for a long time; The Monkey," a story that doesn't get as much love as it deserves; "The Reach," the previously mentioned story that moved me to tears; "The Jaunt," which, for my money, contains King's most haunting story ending yet; and "Cain Rose Up," a story that other reviewers like to rag on but I can't help but dig.
All that said, there are several stories here that should have gotten canned. "Here There Be Tygers" makes no sense and is downright gimmicky; the two "Milkman" stories also don't make much sense and go nowhere. "Uncle Otto's Truck," a story about (you guessed it) a haunted truck, feels worn out and old — King has touched on this theme so many times in his career. I also don't like "For Owen" at all, and "Paranoid: A Chant" should have been folded into "The Ballad Of The Flexible Bullet" where it belongs. It's a shame this collection is somewhat weighed down by so many DOA entries, because there are several genuine classics here. This one just isn't very consistent, and if that's what you're looking for might I recommend Night Shift or Just After Sunset?
All in all, this is very much a collection worth checking out. It was released during King's "classic" period, so of course it's worth a purchase. The theme of external isolation and humanity's will to save itself is done really well in "The Mist," "Beachworld," "Survivor Type," and "The Raft." I also like this book's "Do you love?" motif — it makes this collection hang together much better than it probably should. This is definitely a strong read, and I will come back to my favorites for years to come.
King connections:
(I tried to take actual notes for this one, as I knew there are connections to the King universe all over the place. I know I missed some, but here's what I caught while reading. Sorry my notes are a little scattered.)
"The Mist"
P. 94 - David Clayton, our main character, thinks of a character as "looking like a crazy gunslinger in an existential comedy."
It is theorized that The Shop is at least partially responsible for the mist. I could totally see that.
I'm not sure if this is a connection or not, but when David and a few others make the courageous trek to the pharmacy next door, they encounter an "otherworldly" presence that takes the shape of a spider . . . though they know it's something more. Any relation to IT? Totally possible, as that book was published the following year.
"Mrs. Todd's Shortcut"
It takes place in Castle Rock, home of several King novels and short stories.
P. 182 - Joe Camber of Cujo is mentioned.
P. 186 - Haven gets a shout out!
"The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands"
This one could be could be seen as a spiritual successor to "The Breathing Method," even going so far as to reference that earlier novella. It revoles around the same, strange story-telling club that we first met in Different Seasons.
"Nona"
It takes place in Castle Rock, firmly placing it in the same universe as "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" as well as several other King stories.
The narrator of "Nona" mentions once getting "messed up" by Ace Merrill, the local baddie — an antagonist in "The Body" and Needful Things.
The narrator lets the reader know he grew up in Harlow, Maine — the setting of "N." and Revival.
P. 347 — Vern Tessio of "The Body" gets a brief mention. Cool!
"Uncle Otto's Truck"
Both Derry and Castle Rock play an important role in this one.
"Gramma"
P. 421 - Cora Simard and Henrietta Dodd are mentioned. George, the protagonist in "Gramma," listens to one of the ladies' phone conversations on a party line. Cora's daughter, Rhonda, was a student of Ewen High School and was among Carrie White's tormentors. Henrietta Dodd was the mother of Frank Dodd, as seen in The Dead Zone and mentioned in various other Castle Rock stories.
Joe Camber gets another mention! This story takes place near Castle Rock in 1977-ish (I think), so before the major events of Carrie and Cujo. Hmm.
Favorite story:
"The Ballad Of The Flexible Bullet"
Least favorite story:
"Big Wheels: A Tale Of The Laundry Game (Milkman #2)"
Favorite quote:
“I sit on the bench in front of Bell's Market and think about Homer Buckland and about the beautiful girl who leaned over to open his door when he come down that path with the full red gasoline can in his right hand - she looked like a girl of no more than sixteen, a girl on her learner's permit, and her beauty was terrible, but I believe it would no longer kill the man it turned itself on; for a moment her eyes lit on me, I was not killed, although a part of me died at her feet."
(from "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut")
Up next:
It's everything you ever were afraid of. It's . . . IT.
Still a strong collection! Not my favorite collection of King stories, not even close—just a bit too much filler for my taste—but the fact that I’m still giving this 4 stars says a lot about King’s mastery of the short form. But we all know this.
“The Reach” is still my favorite, the “Milkman” stories still baffle, and the biggest grower this time was “Uncle Otto’s Truck”… I actually liked it this time. Skeleton Crew is 1980s King. Come on.
2016 Review:
I finished Skeleton Crew with tears in my eyes. I thought I'd read "The Reach" — the story that closes out this collection — before, but I guess I hadn't. It was an entirely new experience for me, and it packed quite the emotional wallop. As I write this review I'm still trying to mentally recover from that one, so pardon me if my thoughts are a little scattered. My Fornit died, and I'm stuck doing the job myself.
By the time this collection was published in 1985, Stephen King was a bona-fide literary rock star. His fame was gargantuan, beaten in size only by his addiction to dope and alcohol. According to the man himself, his study was the site of nightly parties for one, where the beer flowed and nose candy was always available. Yeah, King wasn't in a great state of mind for most of the eighties. He warns the reader in this book's introduction that the act of writing short stories hadn't gotten easier for him over the years — instead, it had gotten harder. Novel deadlines made it difficult to carve out time for shorter tales, and everything the man put into his Word Processor of the Gods wanted to be six hundred pages in length. If this reviewer is being honest, that's painfully apparent with this collection. A handful of the tales presented here should've never made it off the cutting room floor and several others could have been trimmed a bit. Most of what the reader is presented with is great (hence the four stars), but King overwrites like crazy here. That's my problem with a lot of his output from this decade — excess verbosity.
After the reliably folksy, mood-setting introduction to this collection from Sai King himself, things get rolling with "The Mist," the first (but not last) story in Skeleton Crew about ordinary people stranded and facing likely death, due to out-of-this-world circumstances. "The Mist" is a novella, and I always enjoy every word of it. Yeah, King overwrites in several places in this book . . . but this story ain't one of 'em. I have quite the fear of mist, thanks to this story. Other favorites of mine include "The Ballad Of The Flexible Bullet," a delightfully paranoid story King could have never written before or after cocaine; "The Raft," which was my very favorite in this collection for a long time; The Monkey," a story that doesn't get as much love as it deserves; "The Reach," the previously mentioned story that moved me to tears; "The Jaunt," which, for my money, contains King's most haunting story ending yet; and "Cain Rose Up," a story that other reviewers like to rag on but I can't help but dig.
All that said, there are several stories here that should have gotten canned. "Here There Be Tygers" makes no sense and is downright gimmicky; the two "Milkman" stories also don't make much sense and go nowhere. "Uncle Otto's Truck," a story about (you guessed it) a haunted truck, feels worn out and old — King has touched on this theme so many times in his career. I also don't like "For Owen" at all, and "Paranoid: A Chant" should have been folded into "The Ballad Of The Flexible Bullet" where it belongs. It's a shame this collection is somewhat weighed down by so many DOA entries, because there are several genuine classics here. This one just isn't very consistent, and if that's what you're looking for might I recommend Night Shift or Just After Sunset?
All in all, this is very much a collection worth checking out. It was released during King's "classic" period, so of course it's worth a purchase. The theme of external isolation and humanity's will to save itself is done really well in "The Mist," "Beachworld," "Survivor Type," and "The Raft." I also like this book's "Do you love?" motif — it makes this collection hang together much better than it probably should. This is definitely a strong read, and I will come back to my favorites for years to come.
King connections:
(I tried to take actual notes for this one, as I knew there are connections to the King universe all over the place. I know I missed some, but here's what I caught while reading. Sorry my notes are a little scattered.)
"The Mist"
P. 94 - David Clayton, our main character, thinks of a character as "looking like a crazy gunslinger in an existential comedy."
It is theorized that The Shop is at least partially responsible for the mist. I could totally see that.
I'm not sure if this is a connection or not, but when David and a few others make the courageous trek to the pharmacy next door, they encounter an "otherworldly" presence that takes the shape of a spider . . . though they know it's something more. Any relation to IT? Totally possible, as that book was published the following year.
"Mrs. Todd's Shortcut"
It takes place in Castle Rock, home of several King novels and short stories.
P. 182 - Joe Camber of Cujo is mentioned.
P. 186 - Haven gets a shout out!
"The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands"
This one could be could be seen as a spiritual successor to "The Breathing Method," even going so far as to reference that earlier novella. It revoles around the same, strange story-telling club that we first met in Different Seasons.
"Nona"
It takes place in Castle Rock, firmly placing it in the same universe as "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" as well as several other King stories.
The narrator of "Nona" mentions once getting "messed up" by Ace Merrill, the local baddie — an antagonist in "The Body" and Needful Things.
The narrator lets the reader know he grew up in Harlow, Maine — the setting of "N." and Revival.
P. 347 — Vern Tessio of "The Body" gets a brief mention. Cool!
"Uncle Otto's Truck"
Both Derry and Castle Rock play an important role in this one.
"Gramma"
P. 421 - Cora Simard and Henrietta Dodd are mentioned. George, the protagonist in "Gramma," listens to one of the ladies' phone conversations on a party line. Cora's daughter, Rhonda, was a student of Ewen High School and was among Carrie White's tormentors. Henrietta Dodd was the mother of Frank Dodd, as seen in The Dead Zone and mentioned in various other Castle Rock stories.
Joe Camber gets another mention! This story takes place near Castle Rock in 1977-ish (I think), so before the major events of Carrie and Cujo. Hmm.
Favorite story:
"The Ballad Of The Flexible Bullet"
Least favorite story:
"Big Wheels: A Tale Of The Laundry Game (Milkman #2)"
Favorite quote:
“I sit on the bench in front of Bell's Market and think about Homer Buckland and about the beautiful girl who leaned over to open his door when he come down that path with the full red gasoline can in his right hand - she looked like a girl of no more than sixteen, a girl on her learner's permit, and her beauty was terrible, but I believe it would no longer kill the man it turned itself on; for a moment her eyes lit on me, I was not killed, although a part of me died at her feet."
(from "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut")
Up next:
It's everything you ever were afraid of. It's . . . IT.
June 20, 2022
Whew! I started the new year with this collection of novellas and short stories by Stephen King. It’s taken me all year to read it. That seems to sum up my 2020 nicely.
This is a good collection of weird and unnerving stories. I loved The Mist, Gramma and The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet - some of the longer pieces. They are all upsetting in different ways. They have that creepy feel from the long burn of King’s suspenseful description. Like you’re walking around a twisted haunted house and you know something is going to happen but you just can’t tell which way it’s going to go for you. Such a great feeling if you love psychological horror. King really plays with different genres but he always finds the scary and horrific in them. Such a talent!
The Monkey, Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut, The Jaunt, Paranoid: A Chant, Word Processor of the Gods, The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands, Beachworld, The Reaper’s Image, For Owen, and Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1) are the other stories I loved out of this selection. Interesting characters doing crazy or unspeakable things. The nondescript character who does something horrible to his neighbors. The lady who drives like a bat out of hell or maybe actually in hell itself. The men who land on the unforgiving land of a barren planet. Objects that are manipulated by other forces become characters as well. The stories about children who are victims of the terrible things in life are the hardest (as a mother) to read.
I wish short stories were still a normal part of magazines and the publishing world. It’s more difficult to write a coherent and rousing short story than it is a novel. A writer has less time to make an impression. King does a magnificent job with most of these. There are a few that miss the mark for me but they are few and far between. Overall, this is a great collection that will stay with a reader long after the lights go out.
This is a good collection of weird and unnerving stories. I loved The Mist, Gramma and The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet - some of the longer pieces. They are all upsetting in different ways. They have that creepy feel from the long burn of King’s suspenseful description. Like you’re walking around a twisted haunted house and you know something is going to happen but you just can’t tell which way it’s going to go for you. Such a great feeling if you love psychological horror. King really plays with different genres but he always finds the scary and horrific in them. Such a talent!
The Monkey, Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut, The Jaunt, Paranoid: A Chant, Word Processor of the Gods, The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands, Beachworld, The Reaper’s Image, For Owen, and Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1) are the other stories I loved out of this selection. Interesting characters doing crazy or unspeakable things. The nondescript character who does something horrible to his neighbors. The lady who drives like a bat out of hell or maybe actually in hell itself. The men who land on the unforgiving land of a barren planet. Objects that are manipulated by other forces become characters as well. The stories about children who are victims of the terrible things in life are the hardest (as a mother) to read.
I wish short stories were still a normal part of magazines and the publishing world. It’s more difficult to write a coherent and rousing short story than it is a novel. A writer has less time to make an impression. King does a magnificent job with most of these. There are a few that miss the mark for me but they are few and far between. Overall, this is a great collection that will stay with a reader long after the lights go out.
July 31, 2016
Skeleton Crew. What a great name for this book of short stories. Many pack a scare. Some not so much. I thought I’d just highlight a few of my favorites:
The Mist - It’s by far the longest “short story” in the collection. Really, it could be called a novella. I’m glad it was included here instead of a novella collection (something that SK has become famous for doing). The Mist starts things off with a bang, or should I say a storm. After the storm comes the mist, and within that mist is the stuff of children’s nightmares. A crowd of people end up in turmoil together against that stuff, and at first there’s only a feeling that something terrible is hidden in the mist. Call it the calm before the shit hits the fan. At this point SK explores some of the characters involved. It’s just what I love to see, and here I am pleasantly reminded of a few of SK’s other full length novels. The Mist is just long enough to glimpse some personalities. Enough to get me invested even a second time around.
The Monkey - Holy shit did this toy monkey ever sell from the store’s shelf again after this story? And for those who already owned one think about it lying inside a box in the upstairs attic, eyes wide open, cymbals poised? This scary good story may be the reason I never owned one myself.
The Raft - The title alone sets your mind to wondering. A raft. Water. Isolation. King’s imagination takes you beyond the norm. Give me a shark to contend with. I want off this raft. And what could be the most terrifying part of this story, is that fact that I felt like the fifth person on that raft, just trying to figure a way to shore.
Word Processor of the Gods - This is so good because it is the reimagining of the genie in the bottle, or “The Monkey’s Paw” by WW Jacobs. Again, it became the question of “What would I do?”, while at the same time telling its main character to STOP, or at least SLOW DOWN because I need time to think first. Fun and thrilling.
The Reaper’s Image - An antique mirror, or looking-glass as it was called, is locked away in the attic for a good reason. Some people cannot help themselves. Maybe that’s because it’s priceless, or maybe something else. The story is short, and seems to have been purposely written with little crisis, but then end gets me all the same.
Survivor Type - This one proved that it’s possible to hate the protagonist yet still love the story. For me, that is a rarity. Maybe that’s what King set out to do. Provide a desperate situation that keeps the reader riveted and place a dirtball in the center of it. I don’t know. The shock value counts for a lot here, and I wonder, “Would I like the story even more with a character I cared for, or less?”
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet - Again, what a great title. It’s the Crew’s second longest story. Not it’s best. Much of the first three-fourths succumb to a slow pace. All I can say is you got to make it through to the end because that’s where the payoff occurs. Saved by a great finale.
King includes a nice afterward, at least in the 1985 HC edition, in what he calls such things that might interest the casual reader. He includes a few notes for a few of the stories describing how each came about. I love a peak into his mind. Even SK is stumped for an idea at times, but then a most mundane experience occurs, and a story is born from real life.
The Mist - It’s by far the longest “short story” in the collection. Really, it could be called a novella. I’m glad it was included here instead of a novella collection (something that SK has become famous for doing). The Mist starts things off with a bang, or should I say a storm. After the storm comes the mist, and within that mist is the stuff of children’s nightmares. A crowd of people end up in turmoil together against that stuff, and at first there’s only a feeling that something terrible is hidden in the mist. Call it the calm before the shit hits the fan. At this point SK explores some of the characters involved. It’s just what I love to see, and here I am pleasantly reminded of a few of SK’s other full length novels. The Mist is just long enough to glimpse some personalities. Enough to get me invested even a second time around.
The Monkey - Holy shit did this toy monkey ever sell from the store’s shelf again after this story? And for those who already owned one think about it lying inside a box in the upstairs attic, eyes wide open, cymbals poised? This scary good story may be the reason I never owned one myself.
The Raft - The title alone sets your mind to wondering. A raft. Water. Isolation. King’s imagination takes you beyond the norm. Give me a shark to contend with. I want off this raft. And what could be the most terrifying part of this story, is that fact that I felt like the fifth person on that raft, just trying to figure a way to shore.
Word Processor of the Gods - This is so good because it is the reimagining of the genie in the bottle, or “The Monkey’s Paw” by WW Jacobs. Again, it became the question of “What would I do?”, while at the same time telling its main character to STOP, or at least SLOW DOWN because I need time to think first. Fun and thrilling.
The Reaper’s Image - An antique mirror, or looking-glass as it was called, is locked away in the attic for a good reason. Some people cannot help themselves. Maybe that’s because it’s priceless, or maybe something else. The story is short, and seems to have been purposely written with little crisis, but then end gets me all the same.
Survivor Type - This one proved that it’s possible to hate the protagonist yet still love the story. For me, that is a rarity. Maybe that’s what King set out to do. Provide a desperate situation that keeps the reader riveted and place a dirtball in the center of it. I don’t know. The shock value counts for a lot here, and I wonder, “Would I like the story even more with a character I cared for, or less?”
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet - Again, what a great title. It’s the Crew’s second longest story. Not it’s best. Much of the first three-fourths succumb to a slow pace. All I can say is you got to make it through to the end because that’s where the payoff occurs. Saved by a great finale.
King includes a nice afterward, at least in the 1985 HC edition, in what he calls such things that might interest the casual reader. He includes a few notes for a few of the stories describing how each came about. I love a peak into his mind. Even SK is stumped for an idea at times, but then a most mundane experience occurs, and a story is born from real life.
February 10, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this short story collection. I made a few notes about some of the stories:
- The Mist
Brilliant. Really want to see the movie version, and check out the audio version that Scott mentions in the comments!
- The Monkey
Particularly creepy. I found this uncomfortably believable! Anything with ominous toys/dolls tends to get under my skin.
- Mrs Todd's Shortcut
Quite beautiful -- loved it with an unexpected intensity.
- The Raft
I hate LaVerne so much. She's that female character that's so often present in books/movies especially horror. The kind of character where, terrible as it may sound, I feel pleased when someone finally hits her (if it was a real life situation I would NOT feel that way, but this is fictional, and in the realms of fiction my moral compass is different).
I've been thinking about my intense dislike of her, and those of her ilk, the vapid airheads who do nothing but scream hysterically or swoon pathetically, and I have concluded that some of it stems from a worry that if I found myself in such a situation, I might react the same. No stoicism or being calm and collected, just a blubbering mess! I dislike that possibility, so I intensely dislike the characters that represent that. Also, they tend to be excruciatingly annoying.
In 'The Mist' when the (less annoying) Amanda, 'screamed ceaselessly, like a firebell', Mrs. Reppler says, "Woman, shut your head" --- and I loved her in that moment! I hope I would be a Mrs. Reppler, rather than an Amanda or, returning to this story, a LaVerne. I do feel sorry for her though, considering the situation she found herself in.
- Word Processor of the Gods
Loved this one! I admit Googling a picture of a word processor, so I had a better image of the technology. I've never seen one before. A little before my time I suppose. I really liked the outcome of this one too -- unexpected.
- Survivor Type
I winced constantly while I read this. It's stuck in my head and I'd prefer that it wasn't!
- Gramma
This one scared me! Something I really find interesting is coming across as story that scares you more you'd have thought. This one just got to me, and from the blurb it didn't sound that bad -- but it was!
- The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet
'Madness is a flexible bullet.'
Probably my favourite in this collection.
- The Mist
Brilliant. Really want to see the movie version, and check out the audio version that Scott mentions in the comments!
- The Monkey
Particularly creepy. I found this uncomfortably believable! Anything with ominous toys/dolls tends to get under my skin.
- Mrs Todd's Shortcut
Quite beautiful -- loved it with an unexpected intensity.
- The Raft
I hate LaVerne so much. She's that female character that's so often present in books/movies especially horror. The kind of character where, terrible as it may sound, I feel pleased when someone finally hits her (if it was a real life situation I would NOT feel that way, but this is fictional, and in the realms of fiction my moral compass is different).
I've been thinking about my intense dislike of her, and those of her ilk, the vapid airheads who do nothing but scream hysterically or swoon pathetically, and I have concluded that some of it stems from a worry that if I found myself in such a situation, I might react the same. No stoicism or being calm and collected, just a blubbering mess! I dislike that possibility, so I intensely dislike the characters that represent that. Also, they tend to be excruciatingly annoying.
In 'The Mist' when the (less annoying) Amanda, 'screamed ceaselessly, like a firebell', Mrs. Reppler says, "Woman, shut your head" --- and I loved her in that moment! I hope I would be a Mrs. Reppler, rather than an Amanda or, returning to this story, a LaVerne. I do feel sorry for her though, considering the situation she found herself in.
- Word Processor of the Gods
Loved this one! I admit Googling a picture of a word processor, so I had a better image of the technology. I've never seen one before. A little before my time I suppose. I really liked the outcome of this one too -- unexpected.
- Survivor Type
I winced constantly while I read this. It's stuck in my head and I'd prefer that it wasn't!
- Gramma
This one scared me! Something I really find interesting is coming across as story that scares you more you'd have thought. This one just got to me, and from the blurb it didn't sound that bad -- but it was!
- The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet
'Madness is a flexible bullet.'
Probably my favourite in this collection.
May 13, 2025
"Do you love?"
This was my second time through Stephen King's Skeleton Crew, and it was a ride. It's always interesting to me when revisiting a short story collection years later, to discover which stories really stand out at this time in my life/reading journey. There are stories that I had completely forgotten from my first read decades ago that made a huge impression this time around. Of course, I remembered "The Mist," as well as "The Monkey" and "The Raft." On this visit, I was particularly delighted by some stories that I didn't remember at all from that first reading, like the deadly humorous "Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1) and its companion story "Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2)," the quietly creepy "The Reaper's Image," the cold-blooded "Gramma," and "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut," which was a revelation to me and might currently be my favorite story in the collection.
This time through, I listened to the audiobook and every single narrator was perfectly suited to the story they read. There are some well-known actors present here, like Michael C. Hall, Paul Giamatti, Matthew Broderick, and Frances Sternhagen. King himself contributes the voice of "The Raft." But the standouts for me were Will Patton, who read two stories, and David Morse, who lends his voice to three. I would highly recommend this audiobook to fans of that format.
Even though a couple of stories were complete duds for me ("The Wedding Gig," and "Beachworld"), I'm sticking with my five-star rating overall because the excellent stories are really excellent and there are so many of them present in this one collection.
This was my second time through Stephen King's Skeleton Crew, and it was a ride. It's always interesting to me when revisiting a short story collection years later, to discover which stories really stand out at this time in my life/reading journey. There are stories that I had completely forgotten from my first read decades ago that made a huge impression this time around. Of course, I remembered "The Mist," as well as "The Monkey" and "The Raft." On this visit, I was particularly delighted by some stories that I didn't remember at all from that first reading, like the deadly humorous "Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1) and its companion story "Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2)," the quietly creepy "The Reaper's Image," the cold-blooded "Gramma," and "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut," which was a revelation to me and might currently be my favorite story in the collection.
This time through, I listened to the audiobook and every single narrator was perfectly suited to the story they read. There are some well-known actors present here, like Michael C. Hall, Paul Giamatti, Matthew Broderick, and Frances Sternhagen. King himself contributes the voice of "The Raft." But the standouts for me were Will Patton, who read two stories, and David Morse, who lends his voice to three. I would highly recommend this audiobook to fans of that format.
Even though a couple of stories were complete duds for me ("The Wedding Gig," and "Beachworld"), I'm sticking with my five-star rating overall because the excellent stories are really excellent and there are so many of them present in this one collection.
September 5, 2025
Re-read!
Obvious favorite? Survivor Type, of course!
Obvious favorite? Survivor Type, of course!
September 3, 2014
Revisiting Skeleton Crew, Stephen King's collection of twenty-two short stories published in 1985, for the first time since I was in 7th grade -- a time when I was trying to dress like Don Johnson and get Madonna's "Into the Groove" out of my head -- was a wonderful experience. The horror stories I loved as a 12-year-old were each better than I remember. A couple I didn't have the patience for back then became new discoveries. A lot of the stories I never cottoned to are still terrible.
Five stars:
The Mist. This novella of apocalyptic doom and ravenous monsters at the threshold may be the most terrifying thing I've ever read. Imaginative and horrible, The Alamo meets H.P. Lovecraft, I've reread certain passages to make sure I read what I imagined I did. King's depiction of how quickly good folk descend into a mob when confronted by their own mortality is one of his finest pieces ever. I've never looked at supermarkets the same way again.
Mrs. Todd's Shortcut. One of the stories I skipped at age 12. No monsters, no boogeymen, but love stuff? Gross! King's creativity bloomed for me this time around, as did his unabashed romance for Ophelia Todd, one of the more compelling characters in what usually amounts to a rogue's gallery for him.
The Jaunt. Spellbinding science fiction tale that documents the invention of teleportation (in 1987!) and how a family preparing for a jaunt to Mars hundreds of years later comes out the other end with a valuable lesson about space-time travel. This one still blows my mind.
The Raft. Another one of King's most primal and terrifying tales. In a lot of King's stories, I can imagine myself getting out of the predicament with logic and abundant knowledge of horror movie cliches, but this is one story I want no participation in whatsoever.
Uncle Otto's Truck. This was another story I skipped over when I was younger. Since, I've come to appreciate a great yarn. Everyone has a story to tell and I can hardly resist a first-person account by a character who seems to be whispering to the reader that they have something they really want to get off their chest, something we might not believe, but really happened.
Four stars:
The Monkey. Not quite as scary as I remember it, but still wonderfully written. A windup monkey with crashing cymbals doesn't quite scare me, but the journey the protagonist takes from orphaned boy to adult and his battle with this evil thing is compelling.
Nona. Bumpy at the beginning, this is another terrific yarn, a jailhouse confessional by a convicted killer whose account of his raven haired, irresistible accomplice cannot be verified by any witness. It's quite creepy. The tie-in to The Body was an unexpected treat.
Survivor Type. Not terribly suspenseful, more of a gross-out story, but the lengths King goes to describe how a rogue doctor ended up marooned with surgical equipment and heroin is imaginative as hell.
The other stories range from decent (The Reaper's Image, Word Processor of the Gods) to godawful messes (I can't even begin to unravel what the hell is going on in Milkman #1 or Milkman #2. I now remember why after The Raft, why Skeleton Crew becomes something of a chore to power through and finish. There's junk mixed amid the treasures, but part of the fun was dumpster diving here and discovering that for myself.
Five stars:
The Mist. This novella of apocalyptic doom and ravenous monsters at the threshold may be the most terrifying thing I've ever read. Imaginative and horrible, The Alamo meets H.P. Lovecraft, I've reread certain passages to make sure I read what I imagined I did. King's depiction of how quickly good folk descend into a mob when confronted by their own mortality is one of his finest pieces ever. I've never looked at supermarkets the same way again.
Mrs. Todd's Shortcut. One of the stories I skipped at age 12. No monsters, no boogeymen, but love stuff? Gross! King's creativity bloomed for me this time around, as did his unabashed romance for Ophelia Todd, one of the more compelling characters in what usually amounts to a rogue's gallery for him.
The Jaunt. Spellbinding science fiction tale that documents the invention of teleportation (in 1987!) and how a family preparing for a jaunt to Mars hundreds of years later comes out the other end with a valuable lesson about space-time travel. This one still blows my mind.
The Raft. Another one of King's most primal and terrifying tales. In a lot of King's stories, I can imagine myself getting out of the predicament with logic and abundant knowledge of horror movie cliches, but this is one story I want no participation in whatsoever.
Uncle Otto's Truck. This was another story I skipped over when I was younger. Since, I've come to appreciate a great yarn. Everyone has a story to tell and I can hardly resist a first-person account by a character who seems to be whispering to the reader that they have something they really want to get off their chest, something we might not believe, but really happened.
Four stars:
The Monkey. Not quite as scary as I remember it, but still wonderfully written. A windup monkey with crashing cymbals doesn't quite scare me, but the journey the protagonist takes from orphaned boy to adult and his battle with this evil thing is compelling.
Nona. Bumpy at the beginning, this is another terrific yarn, a jailhouse confessional by a convicted killer whose account of his raven haired, irresistible accomplice cannot be verified by any witness. It's quite creepy. The tie-in to The Body was an unexpected treat.
Survivor Type. Not terribly suspenseful, more of a gross-out story, but the lengths King goes to describe how a rogue doctor ended up marooned with surgical equipment and heroin is imaginative as hell.
The other stories range from decent (The Reaper's Image, Word Processor of the Gods) to godawful messes (I can't even begin to unravel what the hell is going on in Milkman #1 or Milkman #2. I now remember why after The Raft, why Skeleton Crew becomes something of a chore to power through and finish. There's junk mixed amid the treasures, but part of the fun was dumpster diving here and discovering that for myself.
May 31, 2023
This volume went over much better with me than it did the first time around. Maybe it's because each story is narrated by a different celeb: Will Patton, Paul Giamatti, David Morse, etc..
I especially loved Patton performing The Mist.
I bumped my rating to 4 stars.
I especially loved Patton performing The Mist.
I bumped my rating to 4 stars.
January 20, 2025
While Skeleton Crew overall doesn’t reach the heights of Stephen King’s previous collection for me, it still contains some fantastically brilliant stories. I found when I was reading Skeleton Crew that the stories within it could be split into three different categories. The first category is something I thought of as pedal-to-the-floor King were the story has no fat or tangents and is all go, go, GO!. The second category I thought of as being for folksy tales that tend to go off on tangents, and the third category I thought of when encountering stories that held weirdness and had an overall surreal feel. With these in mind let the rating begin.
The Mist - 5 Stars - The Mist is really a novella and its the first incidence of pedal-to-the-floor King. Even though this story is the longest in the collection it does not feel long at all when reading it, which is a clear indicator of how good it is. I always think the best stories are ones that make you want to swallow them whole on the first read and leave you wanting to reread instantly. That's exactly what The Mist did for me. It's a simple story about a father, his son and their obnoxious neighbour as they drive to the local supermarket after a storm in rural Maine and become trapped inside by a mysterious mist. There's something in the mist, in fact, we learn that there are multiple things in the mist, but we only get glimpses of some of them. Its all left to our imaginations in the same way the creation of this mist is. There are references to a secret government project close to this community where the characters live, but nothing is ever confirmed, instead, the characters just have to react. And it's those reactions, which pass by at breakneck speed, that keep the reader invested as each character has their own way of dealing with this disaster.
Here There Be Typers - 3 Stars - This story falls into the third category. A young boy is given permission to use the restroom at school by his cruel teacher only to discover a tiger in the bathroom. Weird.
The Monkey - 3.5 Stars - This uses a narrative device that King would later perfect in writing It. The reader gets two stories, one from the perspective of a child and another after that child has entered into middle age.
Cain Rose Up - 2 Stars - With so many school shootings it makes this story a difficult read.
Mrs. Todd Shortcut - 3 Stars - A lot of people seem to really like this story and I can understand why. It falls into the folksy category and for a lot of people these types of stories rely on you falling for the characters within them. I didn't. I still found the premise interesting, about a woman who discovers short cuts that allow her to travel to places quickly even when it verges on the physically impossible. Plus, the hinted explanation is linked to themes King has explored in other stories such as a multiverse is a nice side story but it didn't not me over.
The Jaunt - 4 Stars - The possibilities within this short story are endless. Plus, it features one of the creepiest lines of dialogue in any King story.
The Wedding Gig - 1 Stars - A didn't really see the point of this story, plus its depiction of people that are overweight and race makes me uncomfortable.
The Raft - 5 Stars - Like The Mist this one has its foot to the floor. It's a simple tale about four teens that head to a lake only to fall victim to a monster. What more could you want? The body horror here is some of King's best.
Word Processor of the Gods - 4 Stars - A trashy story due to certain characters but it holds plenty of charm.
The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands - 3 Stars - An interesting tale from King as it’s a return to a location from another story, The Breathing Method. In it men tell stories to one another, stories of horror and magic. It’s an enjoyable read as it provides King the chance to write in a different style similarly to Victorian mysterious.
Beachworld- 4 Stars - A story about two astronauts who crash land on a desert planet. Chilling and atmospheric, this one of the collection most memorable tales.
The Reaper’s Image - 4 Stars - This one had a very Night Shift vibe for me.
Nona - 4.5 Stars - Reminded me of Strawberry Spring from Night Shift.
Survivor Type - 5 Stars - I haven’t read this story in years and I remember it having a real lasting affect on me as a teenager. I’m happy to say it still lives up to my memory of this horrifying, gruesome tale. It’s one of King’s finest and like the best ones in this collection has very little fat in it. It also reminds me of a section in the early Resident Evil games were the gamer finds a diary with a similar story in it.
Uncle Otto’s Truck - 3 Stars - Another folksy tale told in first person.
Morning Deliveries (Milkman#1) - 4 Stars - A story that has an interesting premise but is too short. I wanted more!
Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman#2) - 2 Stars - This story has little to do with the previous one and is as long and rambling as the drunken stories it’s characters tell. It’s my least favourite story in the collection.
Gramma - 4.5 Stars - This one creepy, chilling and hair raising tale about a young boy having to be alone in his house with his sick Gramma. That ending!! Damn did it deliver.
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet - 4 Stars - This is an interesting story that reflects on how certain people develop habits and mental tics while contemplating the idea of what happens when a person’s mind becomes self-destructive. It’s lengthy and it is a story that is told by someone about someone else and while that didn’t necessarily work for in me with Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut, it worked me here. I found myself being pulled into the story by the narrators' voice.
The Reach - 3 Stars
The Mist - 5 Stars - The Mist is really a novella and its the first incidence of pedal-to-the-floor King. Even though this story is the longest in the collection it does not feel long at all when reading it, which is a clear indicator of how good it is. I always think the best stories are ones that make you want to swallow them whole on the first read and leave you wanting to reread instantly. That's exactly what The Mist did for me. It's a simple story about a father, his son and their obnoxious neighbour as they drive to the local supermarket after a storm in rural Maine and become trapped inside by a mysterious mist. There's something in the mist, in fact, we learn that there are multiple things in the mist, but we only get glimpses of some of them. Its all left to our imaginations in the same way the creation of this mist is. There are references to a secret government project close to this community where the characters live, but nothing is ever confirmed, instead, the characters just have to react. And it's those reactions, which pass by at breakneck speed, that keep the reader invested as each character has their own way of dealing with this disaster.
Here There Be Typers - 3 Stars - This story falls into the third category. A young boy is given permission to use the restroom at school by his cruel teacher only to discover a tiger in the bathroom. Weird.
The Monkey - 3.5 Stars - This uses a narrative device that King would later perfect in writing It. The reader gets two stories, one from the perspective of a child and another after that child has entered into middle age.
Cain Rose Up - 2 Stars - With so many school shootings it makes this story a difficult read.
Mrs. Todd Shortcut - 3 Stars - A lot of people seem to really like this story and I can understand why. It falls into the folksy category and for a lot of people these types of stories rely on you falling for the characters within them. I didn't. I still found the premise interesting, about a woman who discovers short cuts that allow her to travel to places quickly even when it verges on the physically impossible. Plus, the hinted explanation is linked to themes King has explored in other stories such as a multiverse is a nice side story but it didn't not me over.
The Jaunt - 4 Stars - The possibilities within this short story are endless. Plus, it features one of the creepiest lines of dialogue in any King story.
The Wedding Gig - 1 Stars - A didn't really see the point of this story, plus its depiction of people that are overweight and race makes me uncomfortable.
The Raft - 5 Stars - Like The Mist this one has its foot to the floor. It's a simple tale about four teens that head to a lake only to fall victim to a monster. What more could you want? The body horror here is some of King's best.
Word Processor of the Gods - 4 Stars - A trashy story due to certain characters but it holds plenty of charm.
The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands - 3 Stars - An interesting tale from King as it’s a return to a location from another story, The Breathing Method. In it men tell stories to one another, stories of horror and magic. It’s an enjoyable read as it provides King the chance to write in a different style similarly to Victorian mysterious.
Beachworld- 4 Stars - A story about two astronauts who crash land on a desert planet. Chilling and atmospheric, this one of the collection most memorable tales.
The Reaper’s Image - 4 Stars - This one had a very Night Shift vibe for me.
Nona - 4.5 Stars - Reminded me of Strawberry Spring from Night Shift.
Survivor Type - 5 Stars - I haven’t read this story in years and I remember it having a real lasting affect on me as a teenager. I’m happy to say it still lives up to my memory of this horrifying, gruesome tale. It’s one of King’s finest and like the best ones in this collection has very little fat in it. It also reminds me of a section in the early Resident Evil games were the gamer finds a diary with a similar story in it.
Uncle Otto’s Truck - 3 Stars - Another folksy tale told in first person.
Morning Deliveries (Milkman#1) - 4 Stars - A story that has an interesting premise but is too short. I wanted more!
Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman#2) - 2 Stars - This story has little to do with the previous one and is as long and rambling as the drunken stories it’s characters tell. It’s my least favourite story in the collection.
Gramma - 4.5 Stars - This one creepy, chilling and hair raising tale about a young boy having to be alone in his house with his sick Gramma. That ending!! Damn did it deliver.
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet - 4 Stars - This is an interesting story that reflects on how certain people develop habits and mental tics while contemplating the idea of what happens when a person’s mind becomes self-destructive. It’s lengthy and it is a story that is told by someone about someone else and while that didn’t necessarily work for in me with Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut, it worked me here. I found myself being pulled into the story by the narrators' voice.
The Reach - 3 Stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2023
If you're looking for a book that will make you laugh, cry, scream, and shiver, look no further than Skeleton Crew by Stephen King.
“There are things of such darkness and horror—just, I suppose, as there are things of such great beauty—that they will not fit through the puny human doors of perception.”
This exceptional collection of short stories and novellas showcases King's mastery of horror, fantasy, and humour. You'll meet a grandmother with a deadly hug, a raft with a hungry mouth, a monkey with a cursed toy, and many more unforgettable characters and situations.
It's a book that will keep you up all night, reading just one more story...or maybe two...or three...
"..even the most well-adjusted person is holding on to his or her sanity by a greased rope."
“There are things of such darkness and horror—just, I suppose, as there are things of such great beauty—that they will not fit through the puny human doors of perception.”
This exceptional collection of short stories and novellas showcases King's mastery of horror, fantasy, and humour. You'll meet a grandmother with a deadly hug, a raft with a hungry mouth, a monkey with a cursed toy, and many more unforgettable characters and situations.
It's a book that will keep you up all night, reading just one more story...or maybe two...or three...
"..even the most well-adjusted person is holding on to his or her sanity by a greased rope."
January 11, 2020
Out of all the stories in this collection, it’s The Mist that’s not only the longest but strongest and well known - it also possibly overshadowed the others for me.
The novella length tale easily makes this collection worth reading, whilst some of the other stories that have also been adapted were the pick of the rest.
‘The Raft’ (from Creepshow 2) was my next favourite along with ‘Gramma’ being creepily good.
Out of the stories that I’d had no prior knowledge, the diary entries by Richard Pine in ‘Survivor Type’ really stood out.
It was also great to see King try Sci-Fi as ‘The Jaunt’ was pretty memorable too.
The novella length tale easily makes this collection worth reading, whilst some of the other stories that have also been adapted were the pick of the rest.
‘The Raft’ (from Creepshow 2) was my next favourite along with ‘Gramma’ being creepily good.
Out of the stories that I’d had no prior knowledge, the diary entries by Richard Pine in ‘Survivor Type’ really stood out.
It was also great to see King try Sci-Fi as ‘The Jaunt’ was pretty memorable too.
February 25, 2025
“Команда скелетів” — збірка з понад 20 оповідань і повістей Стівена Кінга. Того самого старого доброго Кінга, з текстами 70-80-х років. Купив цю збірку у день відкриття “Сенсу” у Франківську і читав з двох причин: щоб насолодитись хорошим контрольованим горором (а не неконтрольованим горором у новинах), і щоб подивитись на коротку прозу “Короля жахів” з метою спостереження. З успіхом втамував обидва бажання.
З усіх текстів дуже сподобалась абсолютна більшість. Зокрема, дуже круті повісті “Туман” (є класна екранізація) та “Мавпа” (вже були в кіно?), оповідання про страшну телепортацію “Довгий джонт”, про те як молодь рятувалась від чорної плями на озері “Пліт”, про те як письмо стає дуже всесильним “Всемогутній текст-процесор”, про те як сильно хоче людина вижити за абсолютно несприятливих умов “Той, хто хоче вижити”, і про те, що бабусі не завжди хороші та печуть пиріжки “Бабуся”. Ще декілька посередніх, як для Кінга, оповідань, і парочка тих, які чомусь взагалі не відгукнулись — “Параноїк: Кантика”, “Нона”, “Вантажівка дядька Отто” і два тексти про молочника.
Під кінець аж трохи втомився від Кінга і він занурень в чергову історію, в якій знаєш, що певно нічого хорошого не буде. Тому рекомендую читати дозовано, а не підряд, якщо відчуваєте щось схоже.
Цікаво було також дивитись на побудову сюжету, розкриття персонажів, формування саспенсу, діалоги та те, як Кінг додає жахи в реальність. В кінці він сам розповідає, як зароджувались ідеї тих чи інших оповідань, і це читати було також дуже цінно.
🔥 Збірка крута, велика, насичена, дуже рекомендую купувати та читати. В першу чергу — це хороша та цікава проза, а горор та драма додає їй родзинку.
Кінг красунчик в усіх сенсах 💪
З усіх текстів дуже сподобалась абсолютна більшість. Зокрема, дуже круті повісті “Туман” (є класна екранізація) та “Мавпа” (вже були в кіно?), оповідання про страшну телепортацію “Довгий джонт”, про те як молодь рятувалась від чорної плями на озері “Пліт”, про те як письмо стає дуже всесильним “Всемогутній текст-процесор”, про те як сильно хоче людина вижити за абсолютно несприятливих умов “Той, хто хоче вижити”, і про те, що бабусі не завжди хороші та печуть пиріжки “Бабуся”. Ще декілька посередніх, як для Кінга, оповідань, і парочка тих, які чомусь взагалі не відгукнулись — “Параноїк: Кантика”, “Нона”, “Вантажівка дядька Отто” і два тексти про молочника.
Під кінець аж трохи втомився від Кінга і він занурень в чергову історію, в якій знаєш, що певно нічого хорошого не буде. Тому рекомендую читати дозовано, а не підряд, якщо відчуваєте щось схоже.
Цікаво було також дивитись на побудову сюжету, розкриття персонажів, формування саспенсу, діалоги та те, як Кінг додає жахи в реальність. В кінці він сам розповідає, як зароджувались ідеї тих чи інших оповідань, і це читати було також дуже цінно.
🔥 Збірка крута, велика, насичена, дуже рекомендую купувати та читати. В першу чергу — це хороша та цікава проза, а горор та драма додає їй родзинку.
Кінг красунчик в усіх сенсах 💪
October 23, 2021
I'm really surprised this collection doesn't have a higher overall rating here on GR. There are some real gems in this book. Probably the fifth time I've read it since it's release, and it certainly won't be the last.
January 30, 2025
I read this a long time ago ! I don’t like short stories, but I remember loving all of these 🐒🐒
October 18, 2018
While this definitely isn’t my favourite collection of King short stories, it does have some gems that I really loved. My favourite by far were Nona, The Mist and The Monkey. Something about each of those three stories really got to me and sunk their claws deep into me. The rest of the stories were quite enjoyable as well but they just didn’t leave me with the same delicious feeling of unease as the three stories I mentioned above.
October 26, 2017
Some stories were awesome and some not so much but none were terrible.
I reread some of these and finished the book. I bumped my rating up from 3 stars to 4. I really enjoyed this collection. my favorite 2 were the mist and GRAMMA. OMG that one was so good and unexpected. the only one I didn't care for was the jaunt. I didn't listen to the whole story so it may have been great but spacey stuff just isn't my thing. Dylan Baker reading the milkman stories was FANTASTIC!! Because of his stellar performance, I'm putting them in #2 spot for favorite audio..story. Kate Mulgrew reading NOS4A2 is #1. I think everyone should pick this book up if only to read The Mist and Gramma and the audiobook for Dylan Baker's reading. (Mr. Wilkins from Trick R Treat <3 )
I reread some of these and finished the book. I bumped my rating up from 3 stars to 4. I really enjoyed this collection. my favorite 2 were the mist and GRAMMA. OMG that one was so good and unexpected. the only one I didn't care for was the jaunt. I didn't listen to the whole story so it may have been great but spacey stuff just isn't my thing. Dylan Baker reading the milkman stories was FANTASTIC!! Because of his stellar performance, I'm putting them in #2 spot for favorite audio..story. Kate Mulgrew reading NOS4A2 is #1. I think everyone should pick this book up if only to read The Mist and Gramma and the audiobook for Dylan Baker's reading. (Mr. Wilkins from Trick R Treat <3 )
August 22, 2022
Skeleton Crew is a short story anthology collection by Stephen King published in 1985, when he had already become an iconic figure. By that time most of his early books had been transformed into movies, and the author himself had become what many consider (as do I) a Modern Master. I remember reading these stories for the first time and marveling (as I still do) at the imaginative ways ordinary things are transformed into macabre, eerie horrors. Take “The Monkey” as a for instance. I had a wind-up monkey toy with cymbals growing up and remembering it as an adult, I recall its nappy fur and capricious clapping of cymbals at all hours of the night. Nostalgia is always that familiar feeling of home, coupled with the pain of loss. That is what I experienced here: talking with an old friend that has drifted away from me. In an anthology, the stories are always uneven, so I have opted for 4 stars instead of 5. I am sure King will not be crushed by my review. Still, I practically love them all.
January 10, 2021
Several stories, but nothing great in my view. 4 of 10 stars
May 29, 2022
My reread of Skeleton Crew ~14 years later did definitely damper my feelings on it. Previously I held it up with Paper Menagerie as one of my favorite short story collections. It definitely isn't. This is the 3 star-est 3 star collection full of average-to-decent stories that shined much brighter in my memory due to The Jaunt, The Raft, and Survivor Type, all of which I still loved on reread. A couple others are still pretty good- The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands, Gramma- but one of the longest ones, The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet, was a huge slog and there were a lot of unmemorable ones. Next time, I will just read those top three, which still rank among the best short stories I've ever read, especially The Jaunt.
January 13, 2015
Stephen King seems to be a bit hit and miss with me. Sometimes there can be a Joyland and sometimes there can be a Under the Dome. But they have never been bad or unreadable, just seemingly poor, rushed and formulaic. I am noticing that I like his more modern tales greater than his 80s and 90s huge output.
So here is a short story collection from that time. The time where it seems like he was writing a book every couple of months. And it was just how I find myself feeling about all of his works. There were some hits, but there were also some misses.
The great tales here were:-
'The Mist' as post-apocalyptic Cthulhu tale that is very suspenseful, but a little dated now. But still a good deal of fun.
'The Monkey' which I am sure has kind of entered into horror as a classic. A toy monkey that taunts and sticks around more than it's welcome.
'Mrs Todd's Shortcut' should delight any map nerd or even mathematicians. Very clever.
'Uncle Otto's Truck' mirrors 'The Monkey' and even "Christine' which I have not read yet.
'Gramma' is great and haunting. What do you do with your dead Gramma?
But while these stand out others were just OK. But there was one or two ones that did annoy me. Especially 'The Jaunt' which seems to be Stephen's attempt at traditional SF short story writing. It was terrible. It brings back memories of the last section of 11 23 63. He cannot do SF. But still I'm hoping that this statement is wrong.
So a great read for fans and a recommendation to casual readers. You might not love everything here, but there is a good chunk of it to love.
So here is a short story collection from that time. The time where it seems like he was writing a book every couple of months. And it was just how I find myself feeling about all of his works. There were some hits, but there were also some misses.
The great tales here were:-
'The Mist' as post-apocalyptic Cthulhu tale that is very suspenseful, but a little dated now. But still a good deal of fun.
'The Monkey' which I am sure has kind of entered into horror as a classic. A toy monkey that taunts and sticks around more than it's welcome.
'Mrs Todd's Shortcut' should delight any map nerd or even mathematicians. Very clever.
'Uncle Otto's Truck' mirrors 'The Monkey' and even "Christine' which I have not read yet.
'Gramma' is great and haunting. What do you do with your dead Gramma?
But while these stand out others were just OK. But there was one or two ones that did annoy me. Especially 'The Jaunt' which seems to be Stephen's attempt at traditional SF short story writing. It was terrible. It brings back memories of the last section of 11 23 63. He cannot do SF. But still I'm hoping that this statement is wrong.
So a great read for fans and a recommendation to casual readers. You might not love everything here, but there is a good chunk of it to love.
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