Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Volume III

by Stephen King

A star-studded cast of readers present unabridged tales of horror and suspense from Stephen King’s classic bestselling short story collection.

Stories
-The Night Flier
-Popsy
-It Grows on You
-You Know They Got a Hell of a Band
-The Ten O'Clock People
-The Fifth Quarter
...and more!

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery

Audible Audio

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

Stephen 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.

Reviews

[Jammin Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this third volume on audible of the short stories from Nightmares & Dreamscapes. Some of my favorites in this volume were You Know They Got a Hell of a Band narrated by Grace Slick, The Night Flier narrated by Frank Muller and The 10 O'Clock People narrated by Joe Morton. Really fun to hear the stories read by a multi-star cast.

[Dorieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some solid stories and some rather dull ones. A bit of a mixed bag...

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75

[Sean Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Popsie and The Ten O'clock People are two of my new favorite Stephen King short stories.

[Shana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" is from a collection of short stories that Stephen King had in some random box in his basement and decided to publish when he didn't have anything else on hand. I love Stephen King short stories, but "Skeleton Crew" and "Nightshift" (which are both excellent books) are definitely a lot better than "Nightmares and Dreamscapes." However, if you are a huge Stephen King fan, you will probably still find "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" entertaining. I admit that I skipped a couple stories. There were some I liked, particularly the one about "Rock and Roll Heaven" and the screenplay about the phone call. So overall, I gave this 3 stars. But you could really skip Nightmares and Dreamscapes and just re-read "Skeleton Crew" and "Nightshift."

[Shawn Flanagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many vampire stories in this one.

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's good to finish this collection again, and I really feel like they saved the strongest stories in it for last.
"The Nightflier" and "Popsy" are classics for vampire stories for me, and "The Ten O'clock People" is always a fun read.
My favorite by far is "It's Grows on You". It doesn't really feel like a horror story (it is), but it does remind me a lot of growing up in rural Maine and hearing the old cutters bantering with each other at the general store.
All in all, another great collection.

[David Neff · Rating 3 out of 5]

It Grows On You 4
The Fifth Quarter 3
You Know They Got a Hell of a Band 1
The Night Flier 3
Popsy 3
Sorry, Right Number 4
Ten O’ Clock Men 4

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories were good and creepy, others just okay. The music was getting annoying...I can see having at the beginning and end, but in the middle..nope. Overall, a good collection.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple gems in here but overall just ok. I much prefer his novels.

[Susan]

so, Joe Mantegna did a GREAT job of reading "Popsy" -- it would have been great to have Miguel Ferrer read "The Night Flyer" !

[Regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume contains my all-time favorite short story Popsy along with Sorry, Right Number.

[Randy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The final section of Nightmares & Dreamscapes was on the boring side. The stories were very sci-fi like.

[Russell Howcroft · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is for The Beggar And The Diamond. Nice story of appreciating what one has.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the collection on a whole isn't terribly strong, it's fascinating to see King's range.

[Barbara ★ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was such a mistake. After attempting the first volume, I should have known better but I was desperate for something to listen to in the car since the library has been closed for 3 weeks. I made it through the first of 8 cassettes before I gave up in disgust...again. The stories are incomplete (or unfinished) and just go nowhere. As a matter of fact, the narrator for the first one "It Grows On You" was horrible and read basically in a monotone. After completing the flip side, I checked the narrator for the first book and it was Stephen King himself. Turns out he couldn't scrounge up any enthusiasm for his own story.

[Carina Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was bummed on this collection. It's not nearly as good as the others in this series. The two stories I liked best ended up fizzling out and there's nothing very original in this book. Still, I love Stephen Kings style and the insightful notes at the end of his books. With the volume at which he writes they can't all be exceptional books.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read by Gary Sinise, Joe Mantegna and King himself, this is a great production of some of King's better work. You got big action numbers, small town creepers, vampires and fables. Well worth a listen.

[Miranda]

I'll let ya know...

[Edyanne Haafke · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved all 3 audiobook volumns!! some readers & stories (an all-star cast) were better than others; overall worth listening!!

[RoseMadder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved some of the short stories but not all of them.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. Am. In. Love. With. Audio. Books.

Also Joe Mantegna. *swoons*