Cain Rose Up

by Stephen King

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Thriller, Novels

Unknown Binding

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

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A chilling story that unfortunately has more of an emotional punch reading it in 2019 than I think it probably had when it was originally published. It made for deeply uneasy reading.

[Amit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mentally ill or say depressed Curt Garrish is a college student. At first while he was having conversation with his friends it seems there's nothing wrong with him and his friends never knew what is coming after then when Garrish lock up his room and began the shooting from his room's window. Good to read for short time reading basis...

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for the faint of heart, but timely in today's messed up world.

[Amie Clostio · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5* - such a good story, but a little hard to take the subject matter

From The Skeleton Crew

[Medhat The Fanatic Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

[Russell Howcroft · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short and random story of someone who has apparently snapped.

[Emerson Toronto · Rating 2 out of 5]

My boy pulled out the gat

[Jason Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marty McFly isn't in this story. In fact, this isn't remotely related to Back to the Future. But, he hits the nail on the head. I wonder if it would be as heavy hitting if I had read it back in the 80's instead of 2019 where this kind of thing has become so commonplace that I don't even pay attention to it anymore when another news story about it comes out.

The gist: a disenchanted college kid snipes a bunch of people from his dorm room.

I couldn't help but think about the 2017 Las Vegas shooting since the set-up was so similar. A lot of stuff I would say about this I already said in my review of Rage, and since I don't feel like chewing my cabbage twice, you can check that out for details about my thoughts on mass shootings in general if you're interested.

As far as how this compares to Rage, this is a much better story because it's so much more believable. I could see everything in this playing out as it did, and suspension of disbelief wasn't strained at all. It helps that this was a shortie, and King was forced to stick to the main point. Rage got lost in a bunch of fiddle-faddle that just didn't work well.

I toyed with the notion of giving this five stars, but it wasn't "amazing." 4.5 rounded down, I reckon. Nowadays one feels like he must defend himself for rating something controversial so high, and I suppose I should do that. This was well written and to the point. I don't rate it high because I want to go out and kill a bunch of people, but I was engaged once I got an idea about what was coming. And since it's only five pages, that didn't take long.

Some people will hate this due to the disturbing subject matter, but I thought it was good. Of course, I realize it's a work of fiction even if such events happen more often nowadays. Not everyone can separate the two in his head. If that's the case for you, then don't read this.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of a young man in a college dormitory who decides to shoot several people through the window. It is told simply, without regret or emotion.

[Emmer Wilde · Rating 2 out of 5]

OH MY GOD, I JUST READ CAIN ROSE UP AND IT WAS HONESTLY SO DISTURBING! 2 STARS BECAUSE IT WAS JUST TOO DARK WITHOUT ENOUGH POINT! 🎯📉 I was literally staring at the pages like... "Wait, is this really happening?!"

The story follows a college student who just snaps after finals and starts sniping people from his dorm window, and it was peak uncomfortable! 🏫🔫 While Stephen King is the king of getting into a twisted mind, this one felt way too short and just bleak for the sake of being bleak. I was clutching my head because there was no real explanation or fallout—it just happened and then it was over! 😭🚫 It definitely didn't have that "supernatural spark" I love; it was just a total downer!

It’s a 2-star because the writing is sharp, but the vibes were just immaculate trash for my mood! 😂 If you’re a King completionist, you can find this one in the Skeleton Crew collection at Simon & Schuster or Amazon, but honestly, prepare to be majorly bummed out! SCHOOL’S OUT... FOREVER! ✨🏫📉💀

[Loktis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une tuerie dans une école sans explication autres que les pulsions meurtrières du protagoniste et sa prétendu dépression. C'est glaçant et paraît injustifié sans contexte. Ça a apparemment été inspiré par une tuerie semblable en 1966.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

He wrote a SECOND story about a school shooter??? Please stop, Rage was already pure trash. At least no one idolizes Garrish, unlike in Rage...

[Jesse Fecher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes not a fan

[Derek Kaellner · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a teenager growing up in the '60s, it was inevitable for King to write about the chaotic trend of gun violence. This story is a disturbingly modern snapshot of Curt Garrish, a sociopathic college student with a rifle, whose twisted motive and callousness is all too present in today's mass shootings. What begins as a detailed description of the routine events before summer break quickly gets ripped apart by an extensive look into Curt's sick justification for killing those outside his dorm window - he believes their futures will not benefit humanity, so why not end their lives early? This is of course an assumption not based in reality, giving Curt no sympathetic qualities and turning him into one of King's scariest villains. From a literary standpoint, we get an early example of what made King's early works outstanding - brilliantly fleshed-out environments, instantly recognizable characters, and strategic use of isolation. His clever use of pop culture references also makes an appearance as Curt recruits a Humphrey Bogart poster as his partner in crime. One of King's most famous lines from Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, "get busy living, or get busy dying," has a dark predecessor too - "you either ate the world or the world ate you and it was okay either way." Luckily Morgan Freeman's version is a lot more optimistic, but what do you expect from a college student with a budding love for psychological horror?

[Tony Baker]

Just re-read this one after many years. I recall not liking it that much the first time, but... maybe it has to do with being older, and all that's gone on in the world over the intervening years. This time I found it much more compelling.

I picked up on hints of what was coming that I likely would have glossed over when I was younger; King does a good job foreshadowing here (without being too terribly obvious about it). Some of the characters the protagonist interacts with briefly are also quite vividly drawn, despite only appearing for a paragraph or two.

More than anything, I think King captures the mindset of this type of killer, without indulging in a lot of transparent psychoanalysis. We never learn the motivations for what the lead character is doing, or about the experiences that have led him to this point, yet we get a crystal-clear picture of what kind of guy he is all the same.

Good stuff.

[Josh Olds · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the kind of story that, if a high school kid wrote in writing class, would warrant a parent-teacher conference. It’s also a bit shocking that, with Rage taken out of print, that Cain Rose Up lives on. It’s a simple of a school shooter. That’s all. After a particularly difficult test that ends a particularly difficult semester, a depressed Curt Garrish, loads his gun and begins shooting. As far as a horror story, this is it. King drops a few clues as to Garrish’s motivation, but they’re all overlooked by the supporting cast. It’s a brutal, shocking story that really needs more nuance or context to justify itself.

[Bri (the short story guy) · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the lowest ratings I've ever given to a story by Sai King.
I hate the subject matter and don't like how I felt after reading it.
This guy feels like a close relative of the high school kid from Rage...probably a cousin.

[Nick Katenkamp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Stephen King's short novel Rage, Cain Rose Up fails to impress. I think Rage is far and away Stephen King's worst novel and this isn't one of his better short stories. It isn't developed enough to be meaningful and disturbing but not in a fun or interesting way.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audio - Bizzar

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of King’s best works. This story could have been expanded upon much more.

[Kenny Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this one seems a timeless relatable scary story.

[Ashley L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story very similar to Rage.

[connorishere · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly short, and didn't really go anywhere. Brutal honesty: not worth reading.

[Raz O'Xane · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's bad.

[Tichina Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chilling - this one will stick with you. Short and sweet, straight to the point.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not interesting to me.

[Fíonn Kirwan · Rating 3 out of 5]

7 out 10

[Sara Planz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is still timely today.

[Lynnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely terrifying and triggering.
This one might actually give me nightmares.

[ULa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sayang terlalu pendek, bisa berpotensi sebagus Apt Pupil. :/