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A short story in the Nightmares and Dreamscapes collection.
On a small island off the coast of Maine, a small community prepares to defend themselves from an attack of reanimated corpses. Maddie Pace, a pregnant widow, prepares for the attack from her husband, recently dead in a boat accident.
On a small island off the coast of Maine, a small community prepares to defend themselves from an attack of reanimated corpses. Maddie Pace, a pregnant widow, prepares for the attack from her husband, recently dead in a boat accident.
Paperback
Published January 1, 1989
106 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,393 books888k 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 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 25, 2020
Story 3.75 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Stephen King
Always enjoy a zombie book even if it’s short.❤️
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Stephen King
Always enjoy a zombie book even if it’s short.❤️
October 30, 2020
A great, quick zombie story that held my attention from start to finish (audio is 1 or 2 minutes over an hour). Read by Stephen King, he does a good job with the different voices.
The story holds your attention by making a pregnant woman, trying to survive the possible attack of her the dead husband the focus of the story. Although all the characters were quite fun.
The story holds your attention by making a pregnant woman, trying to survive the possible attack of her the dead husband the focus of the story. Although all the characters were quite fun.
July 6, 2021
3.5 stars
July 11, 2020
Aliens? Zombies? Worms? it was ok
July 19, 2023
From Nightmares & Dreamscapes
October 28, 2024
FULL REVIEW ON MY WEBSITE
http://thebookcornerchronicles.com/20...
This short story is included in the “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” which I will be reviewing pretty soon.
To be fully honest here, short stories written by Stephen King always miss the mark with me. I always end up not liking his short stories and I don’t know why it is so.
And this short story isn’t any different from Stephen King’s other short stories ive read in the past.
The characters in this short story in my opinion were very boring and uninteresting.
The plot in this one is meh as well because it was very slow, boring and uninteresting. And to be honest writing I’m writing this review the next day after reading this short story and I cant recall what the short story was about because I just didn’t bother remembering this short story because I didn’t like it so much.
The writing style here in my opinion didn’t feel like something written by the one and only master of horror. But rather by someone who have never written any books or short stories before
http://thebookcornerchronicles.com/20...
This short story is included in the “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” which I will be reviewing pretty soon.
To be fully honest here, short stories written by Stephen King always miss the mark with me. I always end up not liking his short stories and I don’t know why it is so.
And this short story isn’t any different from Stephen King’s other short stories ive read in the past.
The characters in this short story in my opinion were very boring and uninteresting.
The plot in this one is meh as well because it was very slow, boring and uninteresting. And to be honest writing I’m writing this review the next day after reading this short story and I cant recall what the short story was about because I just didn’t bother remembering this short story because I didn’t like it so much.
The writing style here in my opinion didn’t feel like something written by the one and only master of horror. But rather by someone who have never written any books or short stories before
November 4, 2020
Good King short story.
July 22, 2020
This is the story of a young, pregnant woman named Maddie Pace whose husband has recently died. Suddenly, the world is plagued by the dead being reanimated as zombies. It is a global plague, but the reader shares the point of view of the widow Maddie. Her community joins to defeat the zombies, but Maddie is most affected by the return of her zombie husband that attacks her.
July 26, 2020
Free Audible on YouTube.
Yes this is a zombie 🧟♀️ short story thriller. As for me, I can only read about one or two zombie books a year, but when I saw Home Delivery was offered and the narrator was none other then the great writer himself, Stephen King I wasn’t going to pass up such a great chance.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Stars
Yes this is a zombie 🧟♀️ short story thriller. As for me, I can only read about one or two zombie books a year, but when I saw Home Delivery was offered and the narrator was none other then the great writer himself, Stephen King I wasn’t going to pass up such a great chance.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Stars
August 4, 2020
Zombie short story by Stephan King. Enough said. LOL
September 22, 2020
A Superb read from the master.
December 3, 2022
Not too sure about this one. Casual take on a zombie apocalypse I guess
November 25, 2023
Feels like it’s trying a bit too hard to be folksy in tone, and while this is a solidly written zombie story, it’s pretty by-the-book, and we’ve had SO many zombie stories.
April 4, 2025
Read as part of the collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes.
August 9, 2025
mid-story pivot
takes the whole thing somewhere else
a pleasant surprise
takes the whole thing somewhere else
a pleasant surprise
December 1, 2025
I would love to connect the dots on the stories and books connected to Little Tall Island! One of my favorite scenes set by The King l- always puts in me in the mood for Storm of the Century.
December 2, 2025
“Sometimes the dead come back with a smile.”
A creepy, fast-paced story with strong tension and a chilling atmosphere. The premise is simple but effective, and the suspense keeps you turning pages. A satisfying, eerie read.
A creepy, fast-paced story with strong tension and a chilling atmosphere. The premise is simple but effective, and the suspense keeps you turning pages. A satisfying, eerie read.
July 10, 2023
Home Delivery is an interesting take on the zombie genre, though I felt it lacked action and a good ending. The idea of a community being safe from the zombie apocalypse because they live on an island.
June 19, 2025
i <3 u maddie
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews