Night Shift
336 Pages
Night Shift is Stephen King’s first short story collection, and it’s packed with raw, early horror that helped define his legacy. These 20 tales are gritty, fast, and deeply unsettling, ranging from killer machines to vengeful rats, cursed fields, and unknowable evils that lurk in the everyday.
Some stories strike fast and hard, while others quietly rot under your skin. Whether it’s a laundromat mangler with a taste for blood or a group of kids who take their religion way too seriously, Night Shift shows King at his most primal: punching nightmares straight into the heart of ordinary life.
Jerusalem’s Lot: A gothic, epistolary tale set in the 1800s that serves as a chilling prequel to ’Salem’s Lot. A cursed town. A forbidden book. Deeply Lovecraftian.
Graveyard Shift: A factory’s rat-infested sub-basement holds a hidden, festering horror that should have stayed buried.
Night Surf: A small group of plague survivors on the beach reflect on the virus that ended the world. A spiritual prequel to The Stand.
I Am the Doorway: An astronaut returns from a mission… changed. Something out there is still watching—through him.
The Mangler: A possessed industrial laundry press starts killing. Yes, it’s absurd. Yes, it’s terrifying.
The Boogeyman: A man recounts the deaths of his children to a psychiatrist, convinced something inhuman is responsible.
Gray Matter: A strange transformation begins after a man drinks a spoiled can of beer. Body horror at its creepiest.
Battleground: A hitman receives a box of toy soldiers in the mail—armed, angry, and very real.
Trucks: In a world gone mad, machines have become sentient and turned on humanity. Gas stations are no longer safe.
Sometimes They Come Back: A high school teacher is haunted by the ghosts of bullies who died decades ago. And they’re not done with him yet.
Strawberry Spring: A college campus is gripped by a string of murders during a foggy “Strawberry Spring.” The killer could be anyone.
The Ledge: A man must walk the ledge of a high-rise building with death below and revenge behind him.
The Lawnmower Man: A suburban man hires a lawn service—and gets something… much stranger. Ancient gods, grass, and gore.
Quitters, Inc.: A man joins a company that guarantees it will help him quit smoking. No matter what it takes.
I Know What You Need: A manipulative young man always seems to know exactly what a woman wants. But how?
Children of the Corn: A couple finds themselves in a small town where the kids worship something in the cornfields. And adults? Not welcome.
The Last Rung on the Ladder: A tender, tragic story about a brother and sister, and a moment that changed everything.
The Man Who Loved Flowers: A quiet romantic stroll through the city turns into something much darker.
One for the Road: A sequel of sorts to ’Salem’s Lot, where the shadows of the vampire-infested town still reach out.
The Woman in the Room: A man grapples with the emotional toll of caring for his terminally ill mother. Haunting and personal.
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