Night Shift by Stephen King
1978 / 342 pgs Horror

Night Shift is a collection of twenty short stories.  Some of these stories appeared in magazines that Stephen King submitted to publish to make money before Carrie became a best seller.  A few of these stories were made into movies, Children of the Corn, Truckers (Maximum Overdrive), Quitters Inc and The Ledge (Cat’s Eye), Graveyard Shift, and finally The Mangler.  The Lawnmower Man was also a movie that just used the title to Stephen King’s story and nothing of the plot.

A few were also made into T.V. Mini Series.  Some of the stories are the classic creepy suspense that King is famous for, and some are decent readings.  The stories are in order, 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, and finally, The Woman in the Room. 

Of these, my favorites are Quitters, Inc, Battleground, The Ledge, and Children of the Corn.

Quitters, Inc is about Morrison, a man who wants to stop smoking.  When he sees a friend at the airport that he attended college with and smoked, he asked him how he quit smoking.  He mentioned Quitters, Inc.  Morrison contacts them, and they state they can guarantee they can stop him from smoking.  They say the method is they torture and beat the family until he stops.  After ten failures, the final solution is used….

            The battleground is about a guy that receives a G.I. Joe box that little green men with helicopters, jeeps and even a rocket launcher comes out of to kill him….

            The Ledge is a story about a tennis pro that is caught sleeping with a wealthy man’s wife.  The Richman makes a wager that the tennis pro could walk around the ledge of the 26 stories building, and he would get $20,000, the wife, and his freedom.  If he doesn’t, the police will arrest him with the heroin that was stashed in his car….

            Children of the Corn are about children in a cornfield in Nebraska that kill any adults who enter their small town and anyone over 18 years old, including the children raised in the corn….

I would recommend this collection of stories to read. It’s not on top of my King list, but some good ones will make your skin crawl.

Enjoy a good cup of coffee and an excellent book,

Lopaka