Skeleton Crew: The Raft

by Stephen King

The Raft is a horror short story by Stephen King first published as a booklet included with Gallery in November 1982, and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Supernatural, Thriller, Adult

98 pages, Unknown Binding

First published November 1, 1982

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

[Eloy Cryptkeeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

"No podía creer lo que estaba viendo, no podía comprenderlo, pero no había ninguna duda, no tenía ninguna sensación de que perdía el juicio, no había nada que pudiera hacerle pensar que soñaba o sufría alucinaciones...
No hay nada como esa cosa en ninguno de los libros científicos que he leído en mi vida —. La última vez que vi algo parecido fue en el espectáculo de horror organizado el día de Difuntos"

"De algún modo untuoso, nauseabundo, aquello era regocijante, como los últimos segundos antes de incorporarte a la corriente de un vulgar desfile de carnaval. Tuvo tiempo de oír los barriles debajo de la balsa, entrechocando con un sonido hueco, de oír el rumor seco de las hojas de los árboles más allá de la playa, bajo la ligera brisa, de preguntarse por qué la cosa se había metido debajo de la balsa"

Probablemente no sea una de las historias mas brillantes, pero me parece sumamente divertida y me produce bastante nostalgia, porque esta historia fue una de las primeras adaptaciones en pantalla que vi de King, en Crepshow 2.
Tiene unas descripciones y situaciones bastante macabras. Pero creo que lo mas macabro son los pensamientos de uno de los protagonistas a medida que se dan los acontecimientos y también algunas actitudes que toma.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story 3 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Stephen king

[Brian]

This scared the hell out of me. I couldn't finish. I got rid of the collection. It's that scary.

[BookChampions · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technically I've already reviewed this story (or rather Skeleton Crew, the short story collection it comes from), and technically I don't review short stories on this site. But I want to catalogue my use of the story in my horror literature class this week. Plus, I am pining for that stunning vintage paperback copy of the story! If anyone has one...

"The Raft" is one of my favourite horror stories, even while it is riddled with problematic depictions of gender, especially women. Since all the depictions of traditional masculinity fare horribly, it's easy to interpret this story as a critique of machismo and sexist hegemony. But the story can also be seen as an exploration of nature's fierceness, the perils of entering adulthood, and the dangers of sexuality without communication. Those interested in studies of the human body will also find much of fascination within King's gruesome descriptions.

For such an immensely memorable example of modern horror, I feel like the story is widely unknown. On the other hand, it is horrifying to read, so maybe that is a reason why. But all means seek this story out; just don't tell me I didn't warn you first!

[Robert Reiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate the water. I mean a swimming pool is fine, but I'd prefer not to swim in a lake or the ocean. I have multiple fears of what might be lurking below me that I can't see. The Raft basically scared the snot out of me. The idea of being stranded on a raft with this lurking thing in the water waiting for me. I'm going to have nightmares tonight. But that's why you read scary stories right? King got me good on this one...

[Jon Downes · Rating 4 out of 5]

My quick fix of horror for today, good ole' King at his finest.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A chillingly effective short story

Ever since hearing The Police's "Synchronicity II" and Iron Maiden's "Still Life" (both released in 1983) and reading "The Fellowship of the Ring", I have had a fascination with mysterious creatures in bodies of water. There's something very effective about that motif. Perhaps it harkens to our collective unconcious of our ancestors memories?

For this story I enjoyed the early 1980s setting: the Camaro, the reference to the band Night Ranger, and The Ramones. There were interesting contrasts between the two college-aged couples. I guess this story could be referred to as a rite of passage tale, a common theme in many of Stephen King's stories. Well, it pulled me in (sorry, bad pun) from the get go. I finished it in two nights (winter holidays = busy time of year).

I kept wondering what the thing in the water was. Was it a result of an experiment, pollution, an extraterrestrial visitor, or even a psychedelic hallucination? Oh well, it does not matter. Whatever it was, King used it to great effect. I could almost imagine myself on the raft...

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one fucking scared me. I always knew that swirly shit leaking out of my boat onto the water wasn't just oil and gas. :)

[Stephen Alff (AlffBooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely a very well written horror story... I really don't know what to think, it inspires terror because of the rawness of what happens to the main characters, it destroys your hope that the story could end well, pretty soon after you start reading it. I only recently started reading stories by Stephen King and I think I took the fact that Stephen King wrote terrifying Thrillers and horror stories far too lightly. If you are looking for a story that will send chills down your spins for a long time after you finish it you are spot on... And to think that I was going to go for a swim(might put it off by a day just because, well..), You will understand my reluctance after you read the story.

[Krutika Kalkal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beauty of Stephen King's writing is that most of the horror comes from knowing what the characters are thinking in that moment. I admire the clarity in the way in which he expresses shock, lunacy, fear, and other extreme emotions in a completely normal person.

[Jol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story had the most horrifically detailed deaths and I loved every gut-wrenching minute of it. Stephen King really is incredible with his descriptions.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

JUST as good as my original read 20 years ago! What the heck IS that thing?!

[Vimal Thiagarajan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dark imagery that King creates in his shorts is really one of its kind.After an insipid start to his works, I'm beginning to see what a gifted writer he is.

[Bailey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why are most male characters that stephen king writes so disgusting and abusive. also in what world would someone want to have sex on a raft while their group is being picked off one by one by a mysterious murdering black glob in the water??

It was creepy though

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most chilling short stories I have ever read. A bleak, somewhat amorphous take on the "monster in the lake" scenario, you find yourself feeling like you too are running out of time.

[J.B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great concept, believable characters and interesting antagonistic. But that sex scene was just absolutely unnecessary. So stupid, especially in the moment it happens.

The visuals were pretty cool.

[Sg · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 terrifying and disgusting, I loved it minus kings trademark creepy sex content why are you like this dude

[Isgea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would rate this higher in terms of King's ability to build an atmosphere, a self contained world. The graphic descriptions were captivating, just a shame that he seems incapable of writing women with a scrap of agency and instead grossly exploits their sexuality at every turn. I have never encountered an author who manages to make every female character useless to the furthering of the plotline. The vitriollic way in which he silences and sometimes (almost every time) finds reason to physically abuse his female characters, lacks any self-awareness. His use of women is constantly imbued with tokenised sex appeal, and in his stories, a woman can be nothing else. Seriously, the misogynistic tones make it unbearable to read his work. It makes it worse than just excluding women from his work altogether; a preferable form of sexism at this point. At least it would allow people to read his stories without recoiling from the innate hatred and disrespect emanating from the page. Sorry, its just ridiculous.

[Russell Howcroft · Rating 3 out of 5]

A creepy tale about a thing in the lake. The way he describes the deaths is terrifying.

[Paul Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gruesome in a descriptive, clinical way that only King can do

[Jason Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this since a lot of people like it, and I wasn't disappointed. This was fantastic.

Some say it's Stephen King's best short story. I don't know that I'd go there. Well, let me clarify. It's not my favorite short story of his. It's not even my favorite in Skeleton Crew. So far, The Mist is holding steady with the blue ribbon there though I still have half the collection left to read, and even "The Mist" doesn't surpass a couple in Night Shift. And I still have eight other short story/novella collections of his to read. Well, nine if you count If It Bleeds when it comes out next year.

But I'm talking favorite, and the others said best. And, you know, I expect an argument could be made for that. There isn't a wasted word in this story, and it's put together well. All of the other stories I put on the top tier have flaws even though I like them more than this one, but I can't think of any problems with "The Raft." So, bear that in mind.

Solid read for any horror fan.

[Serene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is so good! It’s not as much scary as it is gory and graphic. Though it is still scary. There is swearing and some inappropriate content. I definitely recommend reading it! And it doesn’t take that long to read, as it is a short story. The only reason I gave it four stars is because I don’t especially like the ending.

[✿ℎazℯℓ - thℯ ℛock Cℎick ℱairy✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is a pretty quick and predictable read. SK was able to make the characters stand out more than anything else. However, the thing in the sea wasn't given so much detail.

It's like watching a B movie with all the characters dying, a football player, a cheer leader, an uptight girl etc.

[Casey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not particularly scary or tense at all and the constant and repeated threats of, fantasies of, and actual abuse of the female characters ruined it. women being punched for behaviour the men later display yet no violence or fantasies thereof. too much name calling of the ffemale characters.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

(1982) Every year I try to rediscover King, because I’m a sucker for nostalgia. He loves making fun of literary fiction but no literary author would dream of indulging in the hundreds and hundreds of pages of mundane, mediocre detail and filler the way he does. He’s actually insanely boring. And yet I keep trying. More than childhood memories, it’s the mix of the speculative and the familiar that I’m after—the extraordinary in an everyday setting, everyday at least for this New Englander.

So now I’m just taking my chances with his short fiction. “The Raft” is a fast piece of pastoral horror told with pure storytelling instinct: the quick intro to the characters; the timely placed foreshadowing to nudge a reader’s ever-waning interest along; the way King confuses the horror with more ordinary anxieties, such as jealousy or cowardice.

He doesn’t capitalize on the moral dilemmas such a nightmarish situation would present, and the beats leading up to the horror (here’s a strange black spot on the lake, now it’s moving, now comes fear, etc.) are handled better than when it’s explicit. In this the story is similar to “The Mist,” from the same collection. And the ending is a letdown. But I liked the way King doesn’t let up on the tension. The creature keeps getting bigger, more agile, seemingly hungrier, the safe spots on the raft smaller, the weariness more and more unbearable, the trance irresistible. The rhythm of the prose even becomes quite poetic during the climax.

My only real problem was it was sad to see the poor girls die so horribly. Guess I’m getting soft in my old age.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a pretty decent short story with a nice trashy 80s horror vibe, with all its pros, like the cool but silly monster, and its cons, like horny teenagers.

I also always appreciate it when a story sticks to its premise all the way through to the end.

[Sara Calderón · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reto: 13 sustos lectores del club "Clásico es Leerte"
consigna: mención de una película de terror

Me ví la adaptación al cine de este cuento hace aaaaños, es medianamente buena. Me parece interesante la idea de encontrar el miedo en un lugar que debería ser tranquilo: un lago solitario.

Los personajes están atrapados en una balsa y empiezan a bromear sobre si están en su propia película de terror, llegando a mencionar la película "Tiburón", preguntándose si lo que los acecha es uno de ellos o algo peor.

Del cuento me gustó como King logra un efecto de tensión y claustrofobia, todo se siente así.

[Kaitlyn (ktxx22) Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was delightfully spooky! I especially enjoyed the body horror and descriptions! Reminded me of Lovecraft’s a Color out of Space.

[Scott Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really cool gore and a fun concept, but as per Stephen’s usual, wayyyyy too much unnecessary sexual content.

[Loktis · Rating 2 out of 5]

C’était sacrément gore 😅