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Rainy Season
short story
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
Audiobook
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About the author
Stephen King
2,382 books890k 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 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 23, 2021
3.5*
"Ni siquiera las personas que han oído hablar de lluvias de ranas, sapos y pájaros se hacen una idea de lo que ocurre en Willow cada siete años. Pero les daré un consejo; si deciden quedarse, les conviene no salir de la casa. Lo más probable es que no les pase nada si se quedan en la casa(...)
Pero siempre pasa, y la estación de las lluvias siempre vuelve, y los forasteros vuelven con ella, siempre en parejas, siempre un hombre y una mujer, y siempre les contamos exactamente lo que va a pasar, y nunca se lo creen… "
Si nos guiamos por la premisa no es una historia que prometa demasiado. Pero la verdad que te brinda un grato rato de entretenimiento, y tiene algunos pequeños detalles que le aportan "el toque"y un cierre que termina de redondear muy bien la historia.
*Ideal para un día que el clima adverso acompañe.
"Ni siquiera las personas que han oído hablar de lluvias de ranas, sapos y pájaros se hacen una idea de lo que ocurre en Willow cada siete años. Pero les daré un consejo; si deciden quedarse, les conviene no salir de la casa. Lo más probable es que no les pase nada si se quedan en la casa(...)
Pero siempre pasa, y la estación de las lluvias siempre vuelve, y los forasteros vuelven con ella, siempre en parejas, siempre un hombre y una mujer, y siempre les contamos exactamente lo que va a pasar, y nunca se lo creen… "
Si nos guiamos por la premisa no es una historia que prometa demasiado. Pero la verdad que te brinda un grato rato de entretenimiento, y tiene algunos pequeños detalles que le aportan "el toque"y un cierre que termina de redondear muy bien la historia.
*Ideal para un día que el clima adverso acompañe.
July 17, 2022
Story & audio 3.5 stars**
Narrator Yeardley Smith
Narrator Yeardley Smith
February 2, 2023
I needed to read a short story for a prompt for the Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon Bingo board. It being October, I grabbed one of Mr. King's short story collections and randomly opened to this one! And I loved it! It was tense and exciting and oh shit, the decision they made! Lovely horrifying short story. Creepy, nonsensical, perfect King. Read during Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon. There is no longer an e-book version of this on Goodreads.
February 1, 2021
so what won't king ruin for me? i'll be afraid of everything at this point
January 11, 2026
Дощ із зубастих жаб Слей
January 25, 2026
Creepy grotesque creatures and a fast paced storyline. I think I’d have enjoyed more backstory on this but I’m also pleased with what I got!
July 19, 2023
From Nightmares & Dreamscapes
February 2, 2022
It never rains cats and dogs in King’s world, it’s far more sinister and terrifying of course. I’ll certainly be thinking of this book the next time it rains hard and I hear loud thuds.
August 6, 2022
Great, somewhat absurd concept but plenty of actual horror in this short story. The early reference to The Lottery was spot on.
October 10, 2022
Loved this little gem. Felt like classic King.
December 5, 2022
A fun story about raining frogs
November 25, 2023
Very effectively creepy tale of a small town that has made a devil’s bargain, and a couple from out of town that find themselves in the middle of a truly biblical plague. Reminded me of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” The audiobook is read by Yeardley Smith, famous as the voice of Lisa Simpson.
August 30, 2023
iccckkkkyyyyy
September 1, 2024
The story of a village that experiences a shower of toads once every 7 years. 5 big stars, loved every bit of this nonsense.
August 10, 2025
torrent of toads may
bring unexpected species
close up the windows
bring unexpected species
close up the windows
August 11, 2025
Also another Stephen king book I read awhile back
October 17, 2025
I’d need to outside again if I lived through what those people lived through. Work remote and do deliveries only and flame throwers on my roof no thanks
December 2, 2025
If “The Lottery” met “The Birds” and they fell in love and had a little baby story, this would be it.
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
July 10, 2023
Stephen King's take on Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, though the stories are starkly different. This one features the creepiest frogs I have ever encountered. I always wondered what about the Biblical plague of frogs was so terrible, but if the frogs were anything like these frogs then I understand.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews