SKELETON CREW by Stephen King ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Decided to take notes on each story. Here we go:

THE MIST

I read this on it’s own in 2016 and have seen the movie multiple times, and as much as it bugs me not to complete a god’s honest read from cover to cover, I couldn’t make myself sit through it again. Life’s too short, even for a strong story such as this. But I remember it being a doozy, aptly adapted for the screen after its inclusion as the star of this collection. It’s pretty bonkers at times. Sometimes you just can’t beat bonkers.

HERE THERE BE TYGERS

Super short spin on the anxiety of being a kid. Even when there’s a murderous tiger, the wrath of an adult figure is always scarier.

THE MONKEY

Extremely clever, turning such a classic knickknack-y toy into something I truly found terrifying. Bit of a heart stopper too. Credit to King and his ability to turn just about anything evil. The plot tied up nicely as well, something he doesn’t always manage by the end.

CAIN ROSE UP

Brief, prescient read coming from the 80s. Makes you wonder if reading this was a more profound experience back then. Now it almost feels like watching the news, just another shooting to flip past. The short length and almost complete absence of an explanation are all the more like real life.

MRS. TODD’S SHORTCUT

My favorite so far. About the perfect length for a quality short story. It has a dash of the creepy, as I’m sure all of these will, but doesn’t rely on it too much. It lives off the relatable desire to run away toward something new, something that reminds you of what being young felt like. Those are the kind of stories that make the child in me yearn for more and the adult in me hope I’ll find it.

THE JAUNT

Wow. Loved the sci-fi back story and the bang of an ending. Reminds me of the Russian Sleep Experiment creepypasta (go find it online if you don’t want to sleep tonight). Both really leave you with a chill. Good stuff.

THE WEDDING GIG

No creeps or anything supernatural, just a well-done historical fiction piece. Nothing special.

PARANOID: A CHANT

A quirky quickie. Once again proves he can say so much with so little.

THE RAFT

Brutal. Right into the heart of horror and gore. Without the extreme use of detail, it would be just another spooky story. Instead, it makes your stomach turn with its imagery. Up in the top tier of the collection.

WORD PROCESSOR OF THE GODS

A ‘what if?’ story anyone can get behind. A simple idea done well.

THE MAN WHO WOULD NOT SHAKE HANDS

I think there’s more to this story than just the memory given. Either way, a good tall tale with a signature creep factor. There’s an indescribably unsettling feeling throughout I’ll just attribute to King’s ability to make every atmosphere scary.

BEACHWORLD

Interesting idea, but easily one of the weaker in the batch. Just doesn’t compare to the rush of the others. Coincidentally, my hands and throat feel dry as hell after reading it.

THE REAPER’S IMAGE

Got the hair on the back of my neck standing up. Stephen King can really have you imagining the worst with just a few simple words.

NONA

A short saga of brutality brought on by some kind of malevolent force. That could probably describe a majority of King’s work. At times it felt like a love story, at times it felt like a late night ghost story. The strength of the narrator’s incredulity at what he was doing is so effective. I liked this one, but it gave me an icky feeling. Classic.

FOR OWEN

A bittersweet poem for a son from a father. As a soon-to-be father, this was a nice one to picture.

SURVIVOR TYPE

Oooph, that was hard to read by the end. One of those stories where you kind of know the beats but have to keep reading to make sure you’re right. It goes there, and so much farther. This is another case where I’ve read stories like this with the same general setup, but King’s version is so effortlessly interesting that I start to wonder if his came first, or if his story popularized it again. I’ve noticed that with a couple in this book.

I would not recommend this story hungover.

UNCLE OTTO’S TRUCK

How does he make every inanimate object so ominous and scary?!

MORNING DELIVERIES (Milkman #1)

Too short to be invested in, but definitely the start of something sinister and intriguing.

BIG WHEELS: A TALE OF THE LAUNDRY GAME (Milkman #2)

Didn’t really care for this. People wanna kill people. People do kill people. People wreck cars. The world is rough. Just seems like a downer for no reason. A bit more insight into the psycho milkman character, but not for any real payoff. The other snippet has way more worth exploring.

GRAMMA

Back to the good stuff. He plays so well off our natural, sometimes ridiculous fears, spinning them into true terror. The ending is a tight little bow, wonderfully terrible.

THE BALLAD OF THE FLEXIBLE BULLET

Quite a yarn. It’s always cool that you can see King’s inner thoughts on the page. Like a story about a writer becoming entranced by where his words really do come from, and making a whole lot of crazy out of it. It’s sometimes hard to know where the line between fiction and reality is with his work. We’ve all got our own types of crazy. King just happens to be damn good at interpreting his.

I give the story a B- though.

THE REACH

I love the sentimental ones. I don’t think anyone writes them like King does. A lovely, tender kiss of a story to close the book on.

Overall

I can’t believe it took me this long to read one of his short story collections. Now that I’ve been sampling the genre on both sides of the page, it was a must. There’s so many other volumes to get to, but this was a good starting point. Full of the heebie-jeebies and gross-out details as much as the poignant. It seemed to have it all and then some.

It’s hard to compare them all when they stretch across so many themes, but I can’t help myself but try. The best (besides the obvious #1, The Mist) would be:

1. Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut

2. The Raft

3. The Monkey

4. The Jaunt

5. Survivor Type

6. Gramma

7. Word Processor of the Gods

8. The Reach

9. For Owen

One other thing I like about this book is his explanations for each stories inception. I know not everyone wants to peek behind the curtain, but I Iove that stuff.

I know King more than any other author at this point, and my faith in his abilities has only solidified more after crossing this iconic entry off my list. No matter the page count, he’s a true master.