Top 10 Stephen King Novellas Worth Reading

It’s that time again! In my last article, I listed what I thought were Stephen King’s best short stories. This time, we’re going to dive deeply into what I consider his 10 best novellas.

Usually averaging out around 20,000 to 40,000 words, novellas give an author more room to develop the characters, the atmosphere, while remaining a more accessible length than a fully-fleshed novel. In this case, the somewhat-longer-than-a-short-story format means we truly care about the characters before we find out what unspeakable fate Stephen King inevitably has in store for them.

So, lock your doors and grab whatever protective talisman you need as we once again delve into the imagination of the world’s greatest horror writer. Here are 10 Stephen King novellas all guaranteed to keep you up in the small hours of the night:

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10. Ur featured in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

Reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, this story began when Amazon approached Stephen King about writing a story for the then newly-released Kindle.

After an argument with his girlfriend, English teacher Wesley Smith – a man with a severe disliking for technology – buys his first Kindle. He receives a hot pink one, with an added feature called UR. With this, he can scroll through various different timelines in King’s multiverse, each time seeing a large, dark tower as the Kindle loads.

Discovering new/unpublished novels by Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Allen Poe, Wesley Smith also finds he can read newspapers from days in advance. And he sees that a coach/bus load of students, along with his own girlfriend, will be killed by a drunk driver in three days.

Ur is a fun read, once again showing how Stephen King can take ordinary objects and twist them into nightmarish shapes. Also tying into his epic Dark Tower series, Ur has something for casual readers and longtime fans alike.

Does Ur have a film adaptation?

Nothing yet.

9. Hearts in Atlantis featured in Hearts in Atlantis

Not quite a full-on horror novella (it’s a historical mystery coming-of-age drama with multiple horror elements), Hearts in Atlantis is a nostalgic tale capturing the counterculture of the 1960s through the eyes of college students playing the card game Hearts.

Young Peter Riley meets the strange Ronnie Malenfant and, as the story moves forward, Stephen King uses the card game as a metaphor for the characters’ lives. King blends together childhood innocence, latent psychic abilities, and the always looming spectre of the Vietnam War to show how the times they live in start to change.

This Stephen King novella serves to showcase his talent in mixing historical context with personal drama. Hearts in Atlantis’s narrative burns slowly, with King building up the tension to a moving climax. All the stories in the full Hearts in Atlantis book – including the title story – are interconnected, but they can also be read as standalones.

Does Hearts in Atlantis have a film adaptation?

Yes. A film in 2001 starring Anthony Hopkins and Anton Yelchin. It mixes two stories from the Hearts in Atlantis book – and adds huge changes that make it almost incomprehensible. Best avoided. Stick with the original Stephen King novella. But if you must watch it, it’s streaming at these places:

8. Big Driver featured in Full Dark, No Stars

On her way home from a speaking engagement in Massachusetts, mystery writer Tess rolls over nail-studded wood and gets a flat tire near an abandoned gas station. Afterwards, a huge man in a pickup truck offers to help. Tess realizes he set the trap for her and he knocks her out, sexually assaults, and strangles her.

Tess fakes her death and the man leaves her in a culvert with two other bodies. Realizing she’s very nearly become the third victim of a serial killer, Tess sets out on a journey of revenge – taking in the man’s brother and mother – as she blurs the line between justice and vengeance.

Like all the stories in Full Dark, No Stars, this in an intense and difficult read. Stephen King tackles the themes of trauma and survival with a sensitive hand. No ghosts or goblins here, rather a well-written female protagonist who faces real world horror.

Big Driver is a raw and brutal story that will stay with you long after you put it down.

Does Big Driver have a film adaptation?  

Yes. A film released in 2014, directed by Mikael Salomon and starring Maria Bello. You can watch Big Driver (2014) here:

7. The Langoliers featured in Four Past Midnight

Falling asleep on a red-eye flight, pilot Brian Engle awakens to find the crew and most of the other passengers vanished. The only others on the plane were people who, like him, had fallen asleep before the mysterious disappearances.

Taking control and landing at Bangor’s airport, they discover the grim truth that they’ve travelled a short distance into the past. Time itself seems to have stopped and, in the distance, they can hear…something. It’s coming closer and they better not be on the ground when it arrives.

It’s a simple concept but Stephen King wraps together mystery, horror, and science-fiction to create a story that thrills and keeps you turning the pages. Waking up on an abandoned plane is frightening enough, but when the Langoliers themselves finally make their entrance, pure nightmare fuel is released.

Does The Langoliers have a film adaptation?  

Yes. A miniseries released in 1995, directed by Tom Holland and starring David Morse. You can watch The Langoliers (1995) here:

6. 1922 featured in Full Dark, No Stars

Set in the titular year in rural Nebraska, 1922 is the confession of farmer Wilfred James.

Wilf’s alcoholic wife Arlette is determined to move him and their son off their farm and to the city. Reasoning that murdering her would be the solution to all of their problems — they’d rid of a vindictive, abusive wife and the farm would become theirs outright — Wilf and his son Henry get Arlette drunk and brutally cut her throat. But it’s not a quick and simple attack and Stephen King leaves nothing to the imagination.

The father-son murder duo bury Arlette in the old well on their farm. Then the rats begin to arrive.

Like Big Driver, 1922 is a hard and unflinching read. King blends horror and human drama, showing us how one horrific act can poison everything it touches. Wilf begins to break down psychologically, and the farm he worked so hard for begins to mirror his own mental and physical state. The slow narrative, along with his descriptive imagery make this tale of moral decay an absolute standout among Stephen King’s novellas.

Does 1922 have a film adaptation?   

Yes. A 2017 film, released on Netflix. Directed by Zak Hilditch and starring Thomas Jane. You can watch it here:

5. Secret Window, Secret Garden featured in Four Past Midnight

Writer Mort Rainey awakens from a nap to find the violent John Shooter on his doorstep accusing him of plagiarism. Shooter claims Rainey stole his short story and published it himself.

As Shooter ramps up his campaign of terror, including killing Rainey’s cat and burning down his house, Rainey begins to lose his grip on reality as he desperately tries to prove Shooter wrong.

Secret Window, Secret Garden’s mixture of horror and psychological thriller keeps us guessing until the very end, when King gives us the shocking true nature of Mort’s struggle. His description of Mort’s descent into madness is genuinely unsettling, and his exploration of the themes of identity, creativity, and the blurred lines between fiction and reality are compelling. He leaves one final shocker for the very end.

Does Secret Window, Secret Garden have a film adaptation? 

Yes. Secret Window, released in 2004. Directed by David Koepp and starring Johnny Depp. You can watch Secret Window (2004) here:

4. The Mist featured in Skeleton Crew

A thick, impenetrable mist settles over the town of Bridgton, Maine, trapping local artist David Drayton and son Billy in the supermarket along with a collection of townspeople. Creatures with large tentacles and teeth swarm in the mist, picking off anybody foolish enough to venture outside.

As the tension and fear mounts inside, local religious fundamentalist Mrs. Carmody begins preaching that they’re in the end times, and only a blood sacrifice can ward off the creatures, with eyes turning to young Billy. David and a few others manage to escape, and Stephen King offers us just the smallest glimmer of hope at the end.

The cosmic horror outside the supermarket is secondary to what’s happening inside. King shows us just how quickly our supposedly civilized exterior appearance shatter when confronted with catastrophe and the unknown. He explores fear and prejudice along with mob mentality to create a horror story that’s both supernatural, and deeply disturbing.

Does The Mist have a film adaptation?

Yes. There’s a 2007 film directed by Frank Darabont and starring Thomas Jane. However, Darabont changed the adaptation’s ending to something far bleaker than what King wrote. There was also a TV series in 2017, but it only lasted one season and was cancelled before reaching the conclusion. You can watch The Mist (2007) here:

3. Apt Pupil featured in Different Seasons

In 1974, thirteen-year-old Todd Bowden, who dreams of becoming a detective, realizes that his elderly German neighbor Arthur Denker is in fact Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander. Rather than turning him in, Todd, who has recently become interested in the Holocaust, blackmails Dussander, demanding to hear stories of his crimes.

Todd and Dussander’s dark relationship corrupts them both. As Todd’s sanity begins to slip and Dussander suffers horrific nightmares, both begin killing as a way to relieve their pain.

Apt Pupil is one of the most disturbing stories Stephen King has ever written. He explores the depths of human evil, along with one of his recurring themes of just how seductive that evil can be. His study of the twisted psyches of both characters captivates the reader until the shocking ending. It’s a powerful and challenging story.

Does Apt Pupil have a film adaptation?

Yes! A film released in 1998. Directed by Bryan Singer and starring Ian McKellen. Watch Apt Pupil (1998) here:

2. The Body featured in Different Seasons

Here, we have a bittersweet coming-of-age story. Narrated by writer Gordie LaChance, The Body tells the story of a time in his childhood when he and three friends set off to find the body of a local kid who had been hit by a train.

Gordie and his friends all come from broken or abusive families and, during their journey, they come to accept the nature of death and the hard reality that comes with living in a small town that offers little in the way of a future.

King quite masterfully weaves the themes of friendship, mortality, and the loss of childhood innocence into a story that feels both nostalgic, and at the same time, haunting. Again, the premise of The Body might be simple, but King explores how these pivotal moments in our lives as children can shape the rest of them. The novella’s themes are universal, and he’s written a rightly beloved classic.

Does The Body have a film adaptation?

Yes. Stand By Me, released in 1986 and directed by Rob Reiner. Starring Wil Wheaton as Gordie. Watch Stand by Me (1986) here:

1. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption featured in Different Seasons

There really was no other choice, was there? This story of hope and friendship behind cold prison walls show that Stephen King’s talents go far beyond supernatural horror.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is narrated by Red, telling us the story of how Andy Dufresne – a banker convicted of killing his wife and her lover – survived and eventually escaped the forbidding stone of Shawshank Prison.

Andy and Red’s unlikely friendship remains a testament to how much the human spirit can endure. King explores friendship, along with the themes of institutionalization and dignity in a way that stays with the reader long after they’ve set it down.

This Stephen King novella isn’t typically categorized as horror (although it has absolutely horrific parts in it), but it touches other Constant Readers and myself too deeply to not include it. And it’s perhaps no surprise that this cherished story led to one of the most beloved films of all time!

Does Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption have a film adaptation?

Absolutely! The Shawshank Redemption, released in 1994. Directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Watch The Shawshank Redemption (1994) here:

Did YOUR Favorite Stephen King Novella Make My Top 10…?

And there we have it. Ten stories that once again prove Stephen King is master of short-form writing. From the hope of Shawshank to the reality-devouring Langoliers, we’ve seen the versatility of King as a storyteller.

Novellas are shorter and allow the author to experiment more – to push the boundaries in a way that’s not often possible in a full-length novel. And a majority of Stephen King’s novellas have transcended horror and become highpoints to culture at large, introducing King’s work to others who may not have had any interest in horror before. These stories have taken on lives of their own, far exceeding what was on the page.

But there are SO many more to choose from! Maybe YOUR favorite Stephen King novella didn’t make my top 10 list…? Or, maybe you whole-heartedly agree with my assessment! Either way, let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

***This article was written by Adam Page. You can learn more about him in his author bio below!***

Film images for this review were purchased on MovieStillsDB. The image for “Ur” was made from two stock photos from Pixabay that’ve been combined and recolored.