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Things They Left Behind
A year after 9/11, a pair of red glasses and other things lost on that horrific day haunt a World Trade Center worker who suffers from severe survivor's guilt.
41 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published January 1, 2005
About the author
Stephen King
2,144 books898k 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 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 25, 2020
Stephen wrote this sometime after 9/11 and I felt it was powerful. That was almost 20 years ago now. This story made me feel all the feels.
A man who worked in an insurance company that was on the 110th floor of one of the towers and on the day of the terror attack, he called in sick. He has some survivor guilt. It’s Stephen King and there is usually an element of paranormal or fantasy.
This man comes home one day in 2002 and all these items are in his apartment that should be impossible.
Spoiler:
These items belonged to his co-workers who died in the office. These items whisper to him at night. This man thinks he’s going crazy. These items should be gone. The ending is so lovely. There is more to the story, but the end is this man delivering these items to family members to have something to hold on to their love ones.
The ending was so perfect. I really loved this. This is one of the best stories in the collection so far in my opinion.
A man who worked in an insurance company that was on the 110th floor of one of the towers and on the day of the terror attack, he called in sick. He has some survivor guilt. It’s Stephen King and there is usually an element of paranormal or fantasy.
This man comes home one day in 2002 and all these items are in his apartment that should be impossible.
Spoiler:
These items belonged to his co-workers who died in the office. These items whisper to him at night. This man thinks he’s going crazy. These items should be gone. The ending is so lovely. There is more to the story, but the end is this man delivering these items to family members to have something to hold on to their love ones.
The ending was so perfect. I really loved this. This is one of the best stories in the collection so far in my opinion.
June 7, 2018
الأشياء التي تركوها خلفهم، رواية كتبها ستيفن كينك بعد شهر إثر حادثة البرجين. كقارئ اما ان تنظر اليها بالشكل التراجيدي المأساوي بالفقد لأناس كانوا قريبين منك أو بشكل آخر. أما انا فنظرت إليها بالشكل الآخر، ألا وهو عند رحيل مختلف الشخوص من حياتنا إما بإختيارنا الواعي أو من دونه فإنه يبقى لهم في حياتنا لمحة، ليست بالضرورة أن يكون شئ ماديا ملموسا ولكن ربما تكون مجرد لقطة تقبع في ذاكرتك. وتكون أمام إختيارين، إما ان تعيد الأشياء (الذكرى) إلى أصحابها وتتحرر منها -وكذلك منهم- أو ان تظل أسيرهم وتدعهم يؤرقون عليك وهج الحياة.
أعتقد أن بولا لم تكن جميلة، فقد رآها في وقت آخر بشكل مغاير تماما، فهل كانت جميلة حقا، أم ان الرغبة في مجالسة أحدهم والانطلاق بالحديث عما يختلج في الصدر قد حولها الى ذلك. أو ربما هي جميلة بالفعل، ولكن ابقائها على الذكرى حولها الى تلك المرأة الدميمة؟
لقد قالت بولا:" على الأرجح هناك شخص يلعب معك. وهي لعبة ليست لطيفة." أغلب الظن أن من كان يمارس هذة المزحة هو سكوت ستالي نفسه، ولكنها لم تكن مزحة، بل قوة لاإرادية للإبقاء على الماضي والذكرى المؤلمة، دعوى للسقوط والتداعي مرة بعد أخرى.
April 25, 2020
The narrator finds heart shaped sunglasses and a baseball bat in his apartment. Where do those items come from? You find allusions to his growing up, Lolita, 9/11 and other remarkable things. But I found the story a bit confusing and less gripping than many other King stories. It was a bit of a tedious read and not my cup of tea. You'll also find the story in the anthology Just After Sunset. Of course it is a well written story by a master story teller, maybe a bit too posh, polished and literary.
July 1, 2020
Story 3 stars**
Audio 3.75 stars**
Narrator Ben Shenkman
Audio 3.75 stars**
Narrator Ben Shenkman
April 24, 2022
Nunca se me hubiera ocurrido algo así; la verdad es que es un relato muy original, terrorífico y bastante bien escrito. Le estoy cogiendo el gustillo a este escritor,...
January 26, 2023
الأشياء التي تركوها خلفهم.. القصة عن شخص نجا من احداث 11 سبتمبر لغيابه عن العمل قى ذلك اليوم وبعد مرور فترة من الوقت يفاجأ بظهور عدد من اغراض زملائه -المتوفين بالحادث- فى منزله ولا يعرف كيفية حدوث ذاك وكلما حول التخلص من تلك الاشياء تعاود الظهور فى منزله مرة اخرى
القصة قد تصنف رعب وولكنها تميل اكثر لان تكون مرثية لمن لقى حتفه فى ذلك الحاذث
القصة قد تصنف رعب وولكنها تميل اكثر لان تكون مرثية لمن لقى حتفه فى ذلك الحاذث
October 27, 2021
Choosing a category for this story is hard for me. I found it entirely affecting emotionally and spiritually. I experienced "a hah" moments in unravelling where the story was going.
The events of 9/11 figured prominently in my last year of teaching high school students before retirement. Then along came the evil Trump "presidency," and I feel that I have lived as witness to two deeply evil events in my lifetime. No, I am not a Holocaust survivor, but perhaps reading this story and praying for our country to come out of the black hole, the political nightmare we are in, gives me some inkling of survivor's guilt experienced by some in both instances.
I loved the specificity of the items "they" left behind, and the stories associated with them, and they have me thinking about the STUFF I have collected in a lifetime, and of how much gratitude I have for the fact that they may all be chucked out as insignificant when I go.
Thank you, Stephen King, for giving me so much to think about and be grateful for.
The events of 9/11 figured prominently in my last year of teaching high school students before retirement. Then along came the evil Trump "presidency," and I feel that I have lived as witness to two deeply evil events in my lifetime. No, I am not a Holocaust survivor, but perhaps reading this story and praying for our country to come out of the black hole, the political nightmare we are in, gives me some inkling of survivor's guilt experienced by some in both instances.
I loved the specificity of the items "they" left behind, and the stories associated with them, and they have me thinking about the STUFF I have collected in a lifetime, and of how much gratitude I have for the fact that they may all be chucked out as insignificant when I go.
Thank you, Stephen King, for giving me so much to think about and be grateful for.
September 13, 2020
Good short story. Bit sad at the lack of explanation of the potentially supernatural phenomena but mystery isn't always bad either.
June 20, 2019
3.5 Stars. Would have been 4.5 if it wasn't for the narrator.
I'm really torn on what star I want to give it since I really enjoyed the story despite the narrator and his comments. Yes, I know he's grieving and makes jokes because it's his coping mechanism but it got really annoying.
Besides that, I really loved this short story and how Stephen King handled it.
I'm really torn on what star I want to give it since I really enjoyed the story despite the narrator and his comments. Yes, I know he's grieving and makes jokes because it's his coping mechanism but it got really annoying.
Besides that, I really loved this short story and how Stephen King handled it.
February 12, 2020
This short story stayed with me for awhile. It took me back to that day. You know, where I was, what I was doing when the sky fell and the world changed. I don’t think I would have been able to read it back then but now almost 19 years later it was for me the best epilogue.
September 26, 2019
This is a story of a survivor of the 9/11 tragedy at the World Trade Center. The personal experience is something more dramatic than an outsider might imagine.
June 18, 2021
“The Things They Left Behind” is a 9/11 story. Originally written in the wake of that tragedy and first published in the anthology Transgressions: Volume 2 in 2003, it follows the story of a survivor who feels guilty for surviving. Scott Staley was supposed to be on the 110th floor of one of the towers on 9/11. Following his impetuous inner voice, he decides not to go to work and spend the day at Central Park instead. For a year, he’s struggled with why he lived while all his coworkers died.
Now, a year after the terrorist attack, Staley begins finding items belonging to his coworkers in his house. Panicked and confused, he throws them away but they continue to return. Somewhat believing him, his neighbor offers to store the things, seeing the distress they’re causing him, but she soon comes to him saying that she’s having nightmares where she’s living the final minutes of each person’s life. The two determine that what they must do is give the items to the families of the deceased and the story ends on a happy and satisfying note.
King wisely realizes that no horror is going to be more horrific than the real horror of 9/11, so his focus is on the horror of survival and then the horror of moving on. Because moving on is a horror. You’re afraid you’ll forget. You’re afraid that they’ll be forgotten. But you’re also afraid to remember. King captures the ethos of the world in the wake of 9/11 before it was sullied by an unjust war and claims of WMDs. For a brief moment, before it was politicized and weaponized, King captures the human element. It’s a beautiful, respectful story.
Now, a year after the terrorist attack, Staley begins finding items belonging to his coworkers in his house. Panicked and confused, he throws them away but they continue to return. Somewhat believing him, his neighbor offers to store the things, seeing the distress they’re causing him, but she soon comes to him saying that she’s having nightmares where she’s living the final minutes of each person’s life. The two determine that what they must do is give the items to the families of the deceased and the story ends on a happy and satisfying note.
King wisely realizes that no horror is going to be more horrific than the real horror of 9/11, so his focus is on the horror of survival and then the horror of moving on. Because moving on is a horror. You’re afraid you’ll forget. You’re afraid that they’ll be forgotten. But you’re also afraid to remember. King captures the ethos of the world in the wake of 9/11 before it was sullied by an unjust war and claims of WMDs. For a brief moment, before it was politicized and weaponized, King captures the human element. It’s a beautiful, respectful story.
July 14, 2020
Одно из первых произведений Стивена Кинга, которое я прочитал. Не думаю, что с этого нужно начинать знакомство с мастером ужасов и мурашек, но, абстрогируясь от этого, постараюсь оценить прочитанное по достоинству.
В целом, мне понравилась история. Не было страшно нисколько, но вместо этого были другие чувства, более глубокие. Было грустно, и иногда история трогала *почти* до слез (хотя, скорее всего дело в событии, а не в рассказе). Произведение заставляет задуматься, за что спасибо автору.
После этого понимаешь, что каждая вещь, оставленная человеком говорит о нем многое. Вещи, оставленные после нас, это есть мы сами. Они продолжают жить после нас, являясь памятью. Можно задуматься, какие предметы оставлю я, что они обо мне скажут потомкам.
+мне захотелось больше почитать и узнать о страшном событии именно через истории и чувства людей, а не обыкновенную информацию и факты.
В целом, мне понравилась история. Не было страшно нисколько, но вместо этого были другие чувства, более глубокие. Было грустно, и иногда история трогала *почти* до слез (хотя, скорее всего дело в событии, а не в рассказе). Произведение заставляет задуматься, за что спасибо автору.
После этого понимаешь, что каждая вещь, оставленная человеком говорит о нем многое. Вещи, оставленные после нас, это есть мы сами. Они продолжают жить после нас, являясь памятью. Можно задуматься, какие предметы оставлю я, что они обо мне скажут потомкам.
+мне захотелось больше почитать и узнать о страшном событии именно через истории и чувства людей, а не обыкновенную информацию и факты.
February 15, 2022
Most of these poor reviews seem to mainly come back to the fact that this isn't a typical Stephen King story, at least not for the time. But I think he's at his absolute best when writing these slice-of-life stories and building characters with little details and quirks that make them seem very real. Applying those skills to a horrific event like 9/11 makes it also seem very real, and that is more horrifying than anything else. I love this story and it hits me harder than nearly any other of his works.
May 4, 2023
Random items suddenly appear in someone property from The Twin Towers. How they got there no one knows. They give the occupant vivid dreams of the incident. There is only one way to get th3 drams to stop.
This story shows you can create a story out of any situation and sell it too the masses.
This story shows you can create a story out of any situation and sell it too the masses.
September 22, 2020
Not the best Stephen King
May 19, 2021
Good story, sad, real. Not too supernatural or long.
February 22, 2022
kind of like a male version of My Year of Rest and Relaxation
February 22, 2023
'Burning hair is apolitical. Do you understand that? ...They did it in the name of God. But there is no God.'
July 21, 2023
Feels like an exercise in which King was trying to work through his feelings about 9/11.
September 6, 2024
Brilliant and heart wrenching
December 29, 2020
"انها اشياء تُثقل العقل، وتُثقل الروح.."
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews