Night Shift by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Night Shift was Stephen King’s 1st-published short story collection. It was originally published in 1978. Most of the stories had been previously released in various magazines, but a few had never been seen before, including the 1st-story in the collection, Jerusalem’s Lot.
I read this collection as a kid, but I’m not sure how much I really understood of the nuance of it all. Thinking back on it, I really only remembered one story well, The Lawnmower Man, which I think had more to do with the fact that it contained a naked man than anything else.
As a kid, that seems to be memorable content. Reading it now, 30+years later, it’s one of the least impactful stories of the bunch, but still memorable.
Let’s get into the stories, shall we? While reading, I made brief comments after each one. I don’t feel any contain spoilers, but will more give you a general idea about what sorts of topics you’ll find explored within this collection.
#1: Jerusalem’s Lot — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I love that King chose to make this story epistolary. It feels a perfect nod to Dracula. I also love the historical vibes and history of the place. Certain scenes gave me chills. I would love to see him dive deeper into exploring this time period in the Lot.
#2: Graveyard Shift — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 King brought out the rats early and often. They remaining a staple in his work. This has such a good ending. Terrifying 🐀
#3: Night Surf — ((unrated)) Very short, Maine Coast, The Stand connection. Brutal start, pensive ending. Didn’t leave much of an impact.
#4: I Am the Doorway — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Holy shit, I loved this. I need a full length novel for this idea. It gave clarification to the cover of my favorite edition Signet paperback, as well. Light Duma Key vibes, I believe because of the location.
#5: The Mangler — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved it!!! It’s the perfect example of how in the right hands, anything, person, place or thing, can be made terrifying, horrifying and ghastly. 😳😲🙌
#6: The Boogeyman — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unsettling! Fun ending! Left off with a chill – loved it!
#7: Grey Matter — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ OMG! I loved that! That’s good ole’ fashioned Horror right there!! 😲
#8: Battleground — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is a fun one. It’s straight out of a child’s worst imaginings. Bro needs to pick better weapons though, for real. 😝🤣
#9: Trucks — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ As the daughter of a truck driver, I can recognize how horrifying this story is. Having one of these beasts parked in your driveway, is admittedly a little intimidating if you let your imagination run wild!
#10: Sometimes They Come Back — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was an absolute nightmare of a story. I’d say it’s not over for Jim either, but just the beginning…
#11: Strawberry Spring — ((unrated) Hahaha, fantastic conclusion 👏 wow! Got me in the end!!
#12: The Ledge — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ As someone with a fear of heights, this definitely got my pulse racing!! I can’t even imagine being the protagonist in this story. No way!!
#13: The Lawnmower Man — ((unrated)) The one I have been waiting for… This is the only story I remember from when I read this collection as a kid. Reading it now, I’m not quite sure why it had such an impact? It’s the shortest of the stories so far. Maybe the indecent exposure? LOL
#14: Quitter’s, Inc. — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ahh, this was so good. I could picture being in this guy’s shoes, how terrifying that would be, to live in fear like that. He def handed over the power in his life to a new entity. And that ending!? That was so fun 😁
#15: I Know What You Need — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 I loved this. It’s so eerie, so creepy and it completely immersed me in Elizabeth’s story. Also, it has a touch of early ‘Good For Her’ Horror, which I love!
#16: Children of the Corn — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This could explain my almost life-long fear of cornfields and men named Malachi.
#17: The Last Rung on the Ladder — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So that’s what it feels like to have your heartbroken in under 30-pages. 😢
#18: The Man Who Loved Flowers — ((unrated)) There’s no beating around the bush with this story. It strikes quickly, and hard! This one probably petrified me as a kid…
#19: One For the Road – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Unsurprisingly, King made the 19th-story connected. IYKYK. It’s a tale of the Lot, and a helluva good one!
#20: The Woman in the Room — ((unrated)) 😢 This one makes me so sad to think about. I get it, I definitely do, but yeah, sort of sucks the wind of of my sails a bit by how sadly realistic it is.
Overall, this is a STUNNING collection. There is so much fantastic Horror and Speculative content in this. An absolute icon, and so ahead of his time. King was breaking ground. No matter what you may think of King’s work, you have to be able to doff your cap to what he did for the genre.
No doubt about it, I’ll definitely be revisiting this collection someday. I highly recommend this to any Horror Reader who enjoys short stories.
What King was able to accomplish with these tales is truly incredible. Proving, fewer pages doesn’t necessarily equate to lesser impact.