Night Shift: INCLUDES THE STORY OF ‘THE BOOGEYMAN’ – SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM 20th CENTURY STUDIOS
£8.70£9.50 (-8%)
The No. 1 bestselling author’s first classic collection of short stories which showcases the depths of his brilliant imagination – now with a stunning new cover look.
A collection of tales to invade and paralyse the mind as the safe light of day is infiltrated by the shadows of the night.
As you read, the clutching fingers of terror brush lightly across the nape of the neck, reach round from behind to clutch and lock themselves, white-knuckled, around the throat.
This is the horror of ordinary people and everyday objects that become strangely altered; a world where nothing is ever quite what it seems, where the familiar and the friendly lure and deceive. A world where madness and blind panic become the only reality.
Stories include:
-Jerusalem’s Lot
-Graveyard Shift
-Night Surf
-I Am the Doorway
-The Mangler
-The Boogeyman
-Gray Matter
-Battleground
-Trucks
-Sometimes They Come Back
-Strawberry Spring
-The Ledge
-The Lawnmower Man
-Quitters, Inc.
-I Know What You Need
-Children of the Corn
-The Last Rung on the Ladder
-The Man Who Loved Flowers
-One for the Road
-The Woman in the Room
Read more
Additional information
| Publisher | Hodder Paperbacks (7 Jun. 2012) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 496 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1444723197 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1444723199 |
| Dimensions | 12.8 x 3.4 x 19.6 cm |
by Lisa
Good quality quick read just what you’d expect from Stephen king including a quick very look in to salems lot
by Dáithí Farrell
Stephen King’s “Night Shift” is a chilling collection of short stories that showcase the author’s mastery of the horror genre. Here’s why it deserves a four-star rating:
Diverse Tales: “Night Shift” offers a diverse range of horror stories, from the supernatural and the eerie to the psychologically disturbing, ensuring there’s something to unsettle every reader.
Iconic Stories: This collection includes iconic tales like “The Children of the Corn” and “The Lawnmower Man,” which have left a lasting impact on the horror genre.
Engaging Writing: King’s writing style is as engaging as ever, with his ability to draw readers into the dark and mysterious worlds he creates.
Character Development: Despite the brevity of the stories, King manages to craft well-rounded characters with complex motivations and fears.
Nostalgia: For fans of classic ’70s and ’80s horror, “Night Shift” offers a nostalgic journey into the era when these stories were originally published.
In summary, “Night Shift” is a masterclass in short horror, showcasing Stephen King’s ability to terrify and captivate readers in a compact format. The four-star rating reflects its enduring impact on the genre and its ability to deliver spine-tingling tales that will continue to haunt your dreams. A must-read for horror enthusiasts and King fans
by ben steward
3 stars is fair. With a collection of 20 stories ranging from 10-40 pages in length. Some are amazing, some not so much.
by Kez
A great collection of stories but I couldn’t help but think that some of them were lazily written with lazy endings.
I would recommend this though.
by bluesouris
These comments relate solely to the Audible Version
This ‘selection’ does not contain two short stories from the original publication. Even though they are listed in the summary.
Missing:
‘I am the Doorway’
‘One for the Road’
I don’t care what the reasoning, copyright or business decision was for not including these two classics. This is misleading Audible.
by Val Kyrie
“night shift” is a collection of short stories with eerie little twists which are sometimes predictable but otherwise haunting.
the best one, in my opinion, is ‘the boogeyman’, where a man confesses to a local psychiatrist what happened when the boogeyman came knocking. although you’re all familiar with the monster-in-the-closet scenario, something occurs in this story that you didn’t think would be possible & as silly as it seems, it surprisingly works; it makes you realise just how ubiquitous the stretch of a monster can be. (see also ‘oh, whistle & i’ll come to you lad’ by m. r. james for a similar feeling).
my other favourites were ‘i am the doorway’, ‘battleground’, ‘sometimes they come back’ & ‘quitters inc.’
the first is the only short story with a sci-fi/horror element. an astronaut survives the crash-landing of his spaceship from an orbit of venus, only to discover that there are alien eyes peering up at him from his hands…
the second is strangely humorous: a professional hitman receives a mysterious parcel from the wife of a man he just killed & finds himself in combat with a sentient toy army with real-life weaponry…
the third is about a teacher recovering from a nervous breakdown. he is still haunted by the death of his brother by a gang of bullies & if he isn’t mistaken, they’re coming back for him too in the guise of transfer students at the school where he works…
the fourth takes quitting cigarettes to interesting extremes. a man determined to quit needs only the right incentive & the program will punish not just the man but also his wife & children…
what i wasn’t so impressed with were ‘strawberry spring’ (the culprit & ending was too obvious), ‘night surf’ (really boring), ‘the man who loved flowers’ (made no impression on me apart from the charming descriptions of a man clearly in love), ‘the woman in the room’ (quite drab & had no suspense or passion whatsoever) & ‘the lawnmower man’ (became a little too ridiculous in the end for me).
all in all, “night shift” is quite enjoyable, teenage-friendly (in my opinion!) & offers a nice break from the soft, normal stories out there on the bookshelves. i would definitely recommend & will probably read another short story collection by stephen king.
by Squeaky Joe
Though some of the short stories in Stephen King’s first collection were familiar to me, I’m amazed I haven’t read this book before. Some (like ‘Strawberry Spring’), were first published in the late Sixties, but most appeared between 1971 and 1978. Only four, including ‘Jerusalem’s Lot’ and ‘Quitters Inc’ were previously unpublished.
While I’d always say King is a highly talented novelist, his flair for the short story is almost unsurpassed. My favourite is ‘Children of the Corn’, where a bizarre road accident prompts an argumentative couple to seek help. When they begin to explore a strange town, a rather disturbing lack of adults leads them into a sinister ritual. King’s own experience of working in an industrial laundry inspired the ‘The Mangler’, where a laundry press develops a taste for human flesh. ‘The Lawnmower Man’ is a simple story that revolves around an original, if somewhat bloody, slant on grass-cutting techniques. Not all the stories are quite so gory though – in ‘The Man Who Loved Flowers’, a handsome young man grabs the attention of passersby, whereas ‘Jerusalem’s Lot’ and ‘One for the Road’, both follow on from King’s 1975 novel ‘Salem’s Lot’.
All the stories are wonderfully creepy, with well-observed characters that shine through with an originality that gives credence to their various fates (though of course, they don’t all die!) While this may not be the best of Stephen King, it clearly shows how, even though barely into his Twenties, he was developing a way of telling stories that most writers can only dream about.
by Mark Twain
I love King but this isn’t his best