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Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Volume I

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Nightmares & Dreamscapes is another virtuoso performance from the master of modern horror. Tales of vampires and lurking spirits, of inexplicable evil cloaked in the guise of childish innocence, of ordinary people driven to unthinkable extremes by the perversities of fate -- they're all here, told with King's inimitable blend of dark humor and heart-clenching suspense.

Introduction (Stephen King)
Suffer the Little Children (Whoopi Goldberg)
Crouch End (Tim Curry)
Rainy Season (Yeardley Smith)
Dolan’s Cadillac (Rob Lowe)
The House on Maple St. (Tabitha King)
Umney’s Last Case (Robert B. Parker)
Head Down (Stephen King)
Brooklyn August (Stephen J. Gould)

Audio CD

First published October 13, 1993

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About the author

Stephen King

2,574 books886k followers
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.

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5 stars
476 (36%)
4 stars
514 (39%)
3 stars
257 (19%)
2 stars
42 (3%)
1 star
12 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
Profile Image for Jammin Jenny.
1,534 reviews218 followers
December 20, 2020
I have the hardcover of the book Nightmares & Dreamscapes, which I read when it first came out. I devour Stephen King books.



I loved this audio narration of about 1/3 of the collection of short stories. My favorites were probably Couch End read by Tim Curry and Suffer the Children read by Whoopi Goldberg. I also love the story when a husband, who is a third grade school teacher, sets out to destroy the gangster that killed his wife. This one is called DOLAN'S CADILLAC, read by Rob Lowe.

This is just an awesome collection for any serious Stephen King fan and Constant Reader.
Profile Image for Benjamin.
90 reviews
April 25, 2025
Great collection to go through again, and the audiobook for the first third of the stories didn't disappoint.
Profile Image for Jenni DaVinCat.
575 reviews24 followers
April 13, 2017
I really do enjoy Stephen King, but this was not his best work. Most of the stories ended up falling flat for me, instead of absorbing me in his usually interesting plots. There were a couple very well-done stories, but that's not enough to make the entire audiobook worthwhile.

Writing aside, the narration was all over the place. Whoopi Goldberg, Tim Curry and Rob Lowe provided excellent narration. It made the stories much more interesting to listen to and provided a proper emotional aspect to the stories. The rest of the narrators were not as great. Stephen King, as much as I like the guy, is not a great narrator. He is the one person who knows better than anybody else what the emotional inflection of his stories should be, but it sounds more like he's reading off of a paper, and it also sounds like he might be in a hurry to get it over and done with. It just wasn't very entertaining.

I had a really hard time taking the story read by Yeardley Smith seriously. How am I supposed to sit there and listen to Lisa Simpson yelling at me and think that she's being serious? Definitely not the best choice for a horror narrator.

Tim Curry though...that was a delight. I've always had a soft spot for Tim Curry, even though he has the honor of being one of the scariest Stephen King characters of all time. I guess that just makes him the best!

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Profile Image for Donna.
1,313 reviews11 followers
December 5, 2020
Just finished reading NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES by STEPHEN KING.
I read this book while listening to the 24 stories on 3 separate Auudible books. This wonderful collection of short stories was #39 in my bookclub THE 2ND ROUND OF STEPHEN KING. Short stories and their narrators include:
VOLUME 1:
SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN, read by Whoopie Goldberg.
CROUCH END, read by Tim Curry.
RAINY SEASON, read by Yeardley Smith.
DOLAN'S CADILLAC, read by Rob Lowe.
THE HOUSE ON MAPLE STREET, read by Tabitha King.
UMNEY'S LAST CASE, read by Robert B. Parker.
HEAD DOWN, read by Stephen King.
BROOKLYN AUGUST, read by Stephen J. Gould.
VOLUME 2:
CHATTERY TEETH, read by Kathy Bates.
MY PRETTY PONY, read by Jerry Garcia.
SNEAKERS, read by David Cronenberg.
DEDICATION, read by Lindsay Crouse.
THE DOCTOR’S CASE, read by Tim Curry.
THE MOVING FINGER, read by Eve Beglarian.
THE END OF THE WHOLE MESS, read by Matthew Broderick.
HOME DELIVERY, read by Stephen King.
VOLUME 3:
IT GROWS ON YOU, read by Stephen King.
THE FIFTH QUARTER, read by Gary Sinise.
YOU KNOW THEY GOT A HELL OF A BAND, read by Grace Slick.
THE NIGHT FLIER, read by Frank Muller.
POPSY, read by Joe Mantegna.
SORRY, RIGHT NUMBER, read by Full Cast.
THE TEN O’CLOCK PEOPLE, read by Joe Morton.
THE BEGGAR & THE DIAMOND, read by Domenic Cuskern.
A wrong turn on a lonely road lands a wayward couple in Rock and Roll Heaven, Oregon, where there’s no escaping the free nightly concert….A novelty toy becomes an unexpected and terrifying instrument of self-defense….An ex-con pieces together a map to unearth a stolen million dollars—but at what price?...A private investigator in Depression-era Los Angeles is finding his life unraveling as he discovers the shocking truth of who he really is….A third-grade teacher is willing to dig deep in order to exact revenge for his murdered wife.... These are just some of the haunting scenarios to be found in this classic collection—spellbinding tales from the darkest places and the unparalleled imagination of fiction’s master storyteller. Stephen King at his best! Loved it!
Profile Image for Regina.
153 reviews4 followers
May 13, 2020
Not his best, but there's some gems in here. The stand-outs to me are Suffer the Children, Crouch End, Rainy Season, and Dolan's Cadillac.
Profile Image for Caro.
1,776 reviews42 followers
August 7, 2020
This was a pretty good book. I liked most of the stories and enjoyed listening to them. An interesting set of stories and voices. Great for passing time or just something to read. Some get to you and some are just for fun. Good luck.
Profile Image for Dasha.
1,568 reviews21 followers
April 5, 2025
3,5 estrellas

En general, muy buenos relatos pero el ensayo sobre béisbol me ha sobrado 😅
Pero bueno, es que me encanta el King cuentista y la ficción corta.
8 reviews
October 24, 2024
2.5 as there is a baseball story (not a scary short story) at the end of the book that doesn't fit with the rest of the work (at least for me).
Profile Image for Luke.
9 reviews
October 21, 2025
This one's more a mixed bag than his previous collections, but there are some gems. Was floored (somewhat surprisingly) by Head Down.
Profile Image for Susan.
1,619 reviews121 followers
December 10, 2019
This one had the baseball poem but also had Tim Curry reading Crouch End... it had Unmey's but it also had Tabby reading Maple St... mixed bag and a mystery
Profile Image for Christina Wagner.
40 reviews1 follower
October 30, 2022
Loved most of the stories in this, but my favorite narration in the audiobook was obviously Tim Curry. Whoopi Goldberg is a close second. Plenty of spookiness in most of these. The last one, Head Down, really didn’t belong and I ended up skipping most of it. This is a book with spooky stories, why are we getting an essay about his son’s little league team? And King himself is not the best narrator, so listening to his voice read the subject matter, I really just couldn’t keep going after the first 30 minutes.

Suffer the Little Children, Crouch End, and Umney’s Last Case all get 4.5-5 stars. Rainy Season and Tge House on Maple Street get 4 stars. Dolan’s Cadillac gets 3 stars. Head Down gets 1 star, but I’m not really counting it in my overall rating because it was so out of place. The poem, Brooklyn August, fit with the essay but was otherwise out of place, but it was nice, so 3 stars I guess?

Anyway, definitely worth the read! I’ll read the other volumes at some point, I’m sure. :)
Profile Image for Kandice.
1,652 reviews352 followers
June 15, 2014
Dolan's Cadillac - 3 stars
The End of the Whole Mess - 4 stars
Suffer the Little Children - 4 stars
The Night Flier - 5 stars
Popsy - 5 stars
It Grows on You - 3 stars
Chattery Teeth - 2 stars
Dedication - 4 stars
The Moving Finger - 3 stars
Sneakers - 5 stars
You Know They Got a Hell of a Band - 4 stars
Home Delivery - 5 stars
Rainy Season - 4 stars (read by Yeardly Smith/voice of Lisa Simpson) sounded almost surreal
My Pretty Pony - 5 stars
The Ten O'Clock People - 5 stars
Crouch End - 2 stars (my least favorite in the collection, but read bautifully by Tim Curry)
The House on Maple Street - 5 stars (Tabitha King has the most pronounced New England accent I have ever heard and is a great reader!)
The Fifth Quarter - 3 stars
The Doctor's Case - 3 stars
Umney's Last Case - 5 stars
Head Down - 5 stars (I love when King reads his own stuff and for this to be non-fiction AND about his child...homerun!)
Brooklyn August - 4 stars
Profile Image for Barbara ★.
3,510 reviews286 followers
December 2, 2011
I know better, I know better, I know better. Damn it I know better than to read short stories. They are so boring, pointless and worthless. I picked up three volumes of Nightmares and Dreamscapes in a used bookstore for $1 each and now I know why they are in perfect condition because no one could get past the first set. UGH. I was able to get through the first five but even listening to this in the car, I cannot force myself to listen to anymore of this crap. Stephen King writes monster-sized books for a reason because he cannot come to the damn point and even in a short story he rambles to the point of madness about inconsequential details that detract from the story or just have no bearing. I gave up on Stephen King a long time ago and should have stuck to my guns and passed up this great deal. Damn it I knew better!
Profile Image for Donna.
1,313 reviews11 followers
December 5, 2020
Just finished reading NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES by STEPHEN KING.
I read this book while listening to the 24 stories on 3 separate Auudible books. This wonderful collection of short stories was #39 in my bookclub THE 2ND ROUND OF STEPHEN KING. Short stories and their narrators include:
VOLUME 1:
SUFFER THE LITTLE CHILDREN, read by Whoopie Goldberg.
CROUCH END, read by Tim Curry.
RAINY SEASON, read by Yeardley Smith.
DOLAN'S CADILLAC, read by Rob Lowe.
THE HOUSE ON MAPLE STREET, read by Tabitha King.
UMNEY'S LAST CASE, read by Robert B. Parker.
HEAD DOWN, read by Stephen King.
BROOKLYN AUGUST, read by Stephen J. Gould.
VOLUME 2:
CHATTERY TEETH, read by Kathy Bates.
MY PRETTY PONY, read by Jerry Garcia.
SNEAKERS, read by David Cronenberg.
DEDICATION, read by Lindsay Crouse.
THE DOCTOR’S CASE, read by Tim Curry.
THE MOVING FINGER, read by Eve Beglarian.
THE END OF THE WHOLE MESS, read by Matthew Broderick.
HOME DELIVERY, read by Stephen King.
VOLUME 3:
IT GROWS ON YOU, read by Stephen King.
THE FIFTH QUARTER, read by Gary Sinise.
YOU KNOW THEY GOT A HELL OF A BAND, read by Grace Slick.
THE NIGHT FLIER, read by Frank Muller.
POPSY, read by Joe Mantegna.
SORRY, RIGHT NUMBER, read by Full Cast.
THE TEN O’CLOCK PEOPLE, read by Joe Morton.
THE BEGGAR & THE DIAMOND, read by Domenic Cuskern.
A wrong turn on a lonely road lands a wayward couple in Rock and Roll Heaven, Oregon, where there’s no escaping the free nightly concert….A novelty toy becomes an unexpected and terrifying instrument of self-defense….An ex-con pieces together a map to unearth a stolen million dollars—but at what price?...A private investigator in Depression-era Los Angeles is finding his life unraveling as he discovers the shocking truth of who he really is….A third-grade teacher is willing to dig deep in order to exact revenge for his murdered wife.... These are just some of the haunting scenarios to be found in this classic collection—spellbinding tales from the darkest places and the unparalleled imagination of fiction’s master storyteller. Stephen King at his best! Loved it!
Profile Image for Justin Smith.
89 reviews
October 18, 2020
This is a solid collection championed behind 1st person narrative Dolan's Cadillac (5 stars) which is an absolutely fabulous, near perfect story. :::tractor beam:: sucked me right in.

The next batch of favorites behind DC is Crouch End, Suffer the Little Children and Umney's Last Case (4 stars).

The remaining titles are good and capture King's weirdness that I know all of King's Constant Readers will appreciate.

The narration is pretty solid all around, but you can't NOT give mad props to Tim Curry and his stellar performance. And, for me, a special tip-of-the-cap nod to Rob Lowe. I see you RL.

The annoyances: why is this book split up into 3 volumes? Why do the stories and audio chapter interlope? ...Argh...
Profile Image for Caroline.
228 reviews
December 17, 2022
Some great, some awful.

I loved:
Introduction (Stephen King)
Suffer the Little Children (Whoopi Goldberg)
Crouch End (Tim Curry)
Rainy Season (Yeardley Smith)
Dolan’s Cadillac (Rob Lowe)
The House on Maple St. (Tabitha King)

I hated:
Umney’s Last Case (Robert B. Parker)
Head Down (Stephen King)
Brooklyn August (Stephen J. Gould) (less)

So overall a good book, I just really disliked the last few stories, especially "head down". My dislike for this one story brings the whole book down in rating a wee bit.
Profile Image for Nikki .
910 reviews44 followers
June 17, 2021
I enjoy most of King's short story collections. There are a few added in to the collections that are not good, but most are enjoyable. I enjoyed this collection. The only downside was the story Narrator, Yeardly Smith aka Lisa Simpson.

The last story in this volume is a baseball story. If you're a baseball fan, you might enjoy the reading/listening to it, myself not so much. It was a Little League story, fun but I'm a hockey person.
Profile Image for Joshua.
265 reviews6 followers
August 29, 2023
This morning I finished “Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Volume 1” by Stephen King, another set of short stories published in the 90s (though many stories written well before). There were some interesting stories here, but nothing too memorable. “Dolan’s Cadillac” was my favorite, but the collection included a long essay about kids in little league that was a lot of fun.
Profile Image for Linda Smith.
964 reviews22 followers
July 30, 2025
I was enjoying this collection of short stories (many read by well known actors) until I got to the last entry in the book. For some reason, Stephen King decided to include an essay that he had written about a Little League season and playoffs from years ago. Two hours of Little League baseball was two hours too much. It makes me think I should not pursue the other two volumes in this series.
Profile Image for Russell Howcroft.
184 reviews
January 12, 2023
This is exclusively for Head Down and Brooklyn August. I can't find it on here. Anyway, Head Down is a longer essay about baseball. Brooklyn August is a short poem on the same topic. King's love for the sport and family shines through.
Profile Image for Ginger Fargas.
227 reviews2 followers
May 18, 2024
I will stand by my opinion that King writes great short stories. He writes great epic thousand page tomes. Anything in between… the man cannot write an ending. This collection was further evidence of his undersold versatility. I enjoyed almost every story, horror, noir, mystery, and non fiction.
Profile Image for Jessie.
367 reviews
May 26, 2025
You can tell this is King’s older stuff. Some of it was a bit more sci-fi-y than I normally prefer but the audiobook was such a fun listen! Lots of cool narrators!! Tim Cury, Yeardley Smith and King himself. I loved the last story too of his son in the little league.
Profile Image for Yadi.
91 reviews
August 1, 2025
I listened to the audiobook of all 3 volumes. Man it sucked. majority of these short stories were pretty boring. each volume had 1 maybe 2 max that I really liked. I'm so over King but I've committed to reading all his crap so here I am.
Profile Image for Randy.
901 reviews5 followers
May 6, 2017
I find that I enjoy over half of the short stories in the first section of this book. I look forward to reading the other 2 sections.
Profile Image for Sara.
1,321 reviews
May 17, 2017
Interesting stories. Love Tim Curry as a narrator!
17 reviews
September 28, 2017
Really good. Suffer the Little Children was my favorite story in the whole 897 page book.
Profile Image for Robert.
322 reviews4 followers
March 21, 2022
Not a bad read...the baseball part at the end was quite tedious. But I read the whole book 30 years ago and decided to reread...as well as listen to audible. Pretty good performances....
Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews

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