While he’s rightly regarded as a master of the epic 1200-page horror novel, Stephen King, like so many writers, started out writing short stories. He’s had hundreds published — and who knows how many unpublished! Imagine what may be shoved into boxes, hidden in dark corners, while he thinks, “Hmm. Not quite good enough…”
Novels like The Stand and Under the Dome can keep Stephen King’s Constant Readers hooked for weeks at a time, but there is a lot to be said for his short stories as well. Working in a shorter medium, these stories have to grab the reader quickly and his best short stories can pack just as much of a punch as something longer like It.
But how do you choose just ten out of the hundreds of brilliant stories he was written? I dug through my collections of his short stories, trying not to get distracted too much, and managed to choose what I consider the best-of-the-best – which I’ve written about below, in descending order.
Of course, my word is not law (unfortunately) and you can disagree. But, no matter what, all of the stories on this list are a guaranteed treat. So, what’s waiting in the dark…?
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10. “The Mangler” from Night Shift
A folding/ironing machine in a small town becomes possessed through a variety of accidents and develops a taste for human blood. Yes, the premise is silly, and will fall apart if you think too hard about it. But here we see how Stephen King’s imagination can make even the most mundane object scary.
Employees are killed or maimed in gruesome ways and a local cop and professor try to take on the deadly machine. It’s a fun and bloody read.
Does “The Mangler” have a film adaptation?
Yep! In 1995 Tobe Hooper filmed an adaptation of “The Mangler” that follows the plot pretty closely. And it makes good, blood-soaked use of the practical effects of the time. If you ever wondered what a folded body looks like, check this out.
Where to Watch The Mangler (1995):
9. “Survivor Type” from Skeleton Crew
A surgeon/drug smuggler survives a shipwreck and washes up on a rocky outcrop with two bags of heroin and nothing to eat. He uses a diary to tell his story — even as he resorts to self-cannibalism to survive.
He starts off rationally, amputating his broken, infected foot and using the drugs he’d been smuggling as painkillers. But as our unreliable narrator slowly loses his mind due to isolation and hunger, he resorts to cutting off more and more of himself off to survive.
“Lady fingers, they taste just like lady fingers,” he recounts as he chews on his own hand. “Survivor Type” is a frightening story, with Stephen King playing on regular, conventional fears. Who hasn’t wondered just how far they would go to survive?
Does “Survivor Type” have a film adaptation?
Yes. A short, 30-minute film was made in 2012, directed by Billy Hanson. In the ‘found footage’ horror subgenre, it’s haunting and stays with you.
Where to Watch Survivor Type (2012):
This film is currently unavailable.
8. “Children of the Corn” from Night Shift
One of Stephen King’s scariest short stories! A couple driving through Nebraska get lost and come across a seemingly empty town. We discover the children have killed off all of the adults, sacrificing them to a demonic entity known as He Who Walks Behind the Rows.
While the sacrificial scenes are certainly horrific, it’s the atmosphere of dread that Stephen King evokes that makes “Children of the Corn” truly scary. It’s ostensibly about the dangers of organized religion, but with scythe-wielding, psychotic children doing terrible things with corn husks. You’ll think long and hard about your next planned road trip.
Does “Children of the Corn” have a film adaption?
Many. A series of films began with 1984s Children of the Corn, directed by Fritz Kiersch. A prequel was released in 2020, directed by Kurt Wimmer.
Where to Watch Children of the Corn (1984):
7. “The Man in the Black Suit” from Everything’s Eventual
Gary, now an elderly man, recounts the time in the 1920s when he was fishing and met the devil. Dressed all in black and burning from the inside, this devil is not interested in offering a deal for your soul. He simply wants to torment (then eat) Gary.
Stephen King uses childhood fears, along with an adult’s understanding, to create a study of evil and mortality in “The Man in the Black Suit.”
Gary is now elderly and he knows he only managed to escape the devil by giving him a fish he’d caught, and through sheer dumb luck. Now, Gary knows death is approaching, and the Man in the Black Suit may appear again. Only this time, he won’t be able to outrun him.
Does “The Man in the Black Suit” have a film adaption?
Yep, another short, 20-minute movie released in 2004 and directed by E. Nicholas Mariani.
Where to Watch The Man in the Black Suit (2004):
This film is currently unavailable.
6. “The Jaunt” from Skeleton Crew
In the future, a family is travelling to Mars for the father’s job. Getting there by “jaunting” -arriving instantaneously – has become routine. The narrative follows the father telling the story of how the Jaunt came to be — the early experiments involving mice and eventually a live prisoner, who emerged with his hair turned white and who died with the cryptic phrase “It’s eternity in there” on his lips.
We find out you need to be sedated for the trip. The story is all exposition, just a father trying to reassure his nervous family. Then Stephen King pulls the rug out: The son holds his breath, cheating the sedation so he can see exactly what’s in there. He emerges as an ancient, capering monstrosity, screaming and laughing before he rips his own eyes out.
It’s Stephen King so we know it won’t be a happy ending… but a child? He leaves us with the father’s screams mixing with the screams of the thing his son once was.
Does “The Jaunt” have a film adaption?
Nothing yet.
5. “The Ledge” from Night Shift
Technically not a horror tale, “The Ledge” is more an experiment in creating an atmosphere of tension. A man is forced to circumnavigate the ledge of a high-rise apartment building as part of a wager. He was planning on running off with a crime lords’ wife. Drugs have been planted in his car. He’s given two choices: Walk the ledge, or go to jail.
Stephen King writes in the first person, and the story becomes a heart-pounding experience, as he uses his descriptive powers to create a totally believable experience with the dizzying heights involved, the wind pulling at the protagonist, and a pigeon who just doesn’t want to move.
In “The Ledge,” we read another of King’s tropes – seeing just how cruel people can be. We know the protagonist survives, but it’s what happens after he makes it round the building that really elevates the story.
Does “The Ledge” have a film adaption?
Yep, as a section in the anthology horror film Cat’s Eye, directed by Lewis Teague and released in 1985.
Where to Watch Cat’s Eye (1985):
4. “Beachworld” from Skeleton Crew
“Beachworld” is underrated in my opinion. You never really hear it being talked about.
It starts off more sci-fi, with three astronauts crash landing on a planet with nothing but sand. No plants, buildings, or people. The sand, however, is alive. And because this is Stephen King, it’s not friendly.
The sand slowly begins to consume the ship, and the astronauts themselves. “Beachworld” deals with isolation, and being stranded. It’s a theme Stephen King returns to over and over — people are placed in a frightening situation they can’t control and are picked off one at a time.
This is a story that, I think, only Stephen King could write. It blends sci-fi and horror, which always works, and the ending in which one of the men has gone crazy and been left to be consumed stays with you long after you’ve finished reading. He sings the Beach Boys in a low monotone, shovelling handfuls of sand into his own mouth, while it slowly begins to cover his legs.
Does “Beachworld” have a film adaption?
Nothing yet.
3. “1408” from Everything’s Eventual
Writer Mike Enslin, who debunks haunted places, checks into room 1408 of a hotel in New York, despite repeated warnings not to. The room is evil, defying the laws of physics and reality. Stephen King sets us up before Enslin even enters, with doorframes crooked then not. There’s a real feeling of dread as Enslin describes what’s happening, as his sanity begins to slip.
A theme King uses over and over is the feeling that there are larger things at work, things waiting to follow and devour us if we give them a chance. It’s only hinted at in “1408,” but it’s definitely there. This isn’t Stephen King’s only haunted hotel story, of course. And while this may be sacrilege, I think “1408”is scarier than The Shining.
Does “1408” have a film adaption?
Yep, a film released in 2007, directed by Mikael Hafstrom and starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson.
Where to Watch 1408 (2007):
2. “N.” from Just After Sunset
The Lovecraftian theme of our reality being thin, and just beyond it are…things…desperately trying to break through is one Stephen King returns to again and again. And with good reason! The idea that the Old Eldritch Gods are waiting — that a mere glimpse of them can drive a person insane — is truly frightening.
Here, a psychiatrist is recounting the story of his obsessive-compulsive patient, N, who believes his actions in touching a ring of rocks in a field is keeping an apocalyptic event at bay. The psychiatrist slowly succumbs to the same ideas, and we see that N wasn’t hallucinating. Something is trying to break into our reality at that strange rock circle.
“N.” is Stephen King’s most direct tribute to H.P Lovecraft in his short stories, and it’s one that I don’t tire of reading.
Does “N.” have a film adaption?
Nothing yet.
1. “The Last Rung on the Ladder” from Night Shift
No, “The Last Rung on the Ladder” isn’t what most people would consider horror, but hear me out. All good horror, at its heart, deals with pure, raw emotion. And that’s what this story delivers.
A man is recounting a childhood incident when his sister is stuck hanging high up, holding onto a ladder. He piles hay up under her and tells her to let go. She does and we discover she hadn’t even looked down. She trusted her brother to save her that much.
As they grow, the sister spirals into drugs, and a bad life, while the brother becomes successful. He doesn’t reply to her increasingly desperate letters, not out of spite, but because he’s too busy. Finally, we learn she has committed suicide. In her last letter, she wrote, “…I’ve decided that it would have been better for me if that last rung had broken before you could put the hay down.”
No ghouls or monsters, “The Last Rung on the Ladder” is just a deeply affecting look at guilt and regret. Sometimes, the worst demons are the ones we carry with us emotionally. This is a brilliant short story – not only of Stephen King’s, but of any authors.
Does “The Last Rung on the Ladder” have a film adaption?
Nothing yet.
What are YOUR favorite Stephen King short stories…?
I selected ten stories with differing lengths and themes that are all fun, all scary, and all guaranteed to leave you wanting more from the twisted imagination of Stephen King. You may disagree with my choices – in fact probably will. I’m already rethinking my choices! There are just far too many great Stephen King short stories to choose from. But what do YOU think? Did your favorites make it on my list?
You may have noticed I didn’t choose anything from Different Seasons; Four Past Midnight; Full Dark, No Stars; Hearts in Atlantis; or If It Bleeds. Contained in those books are Stephen King’s novellas… which are for another day. (Editor’s Note: Return on August 22nd for Adam Page’s list of Stephen King’s 10 Best Novellas! -L*).
***This article was written by Adam Page. Read more about him in his author bio below***
Movie stills for this article were purchased via MovieStillsDB; all other images are free stock photos from Pixabay.
