Skeleton Crew by Stephen King Book Review
Skeleton Crew
By Stephen King
Published Year: 1985
Page Count: 762 pages
Medium Used: Paperback
Genre: Horror, Short Stories, Anthology, Thriller, 2026-read.
I am reviewing bigger stories/ novellas here. There are other shorter stories apart from these which I will give a overall rating at the end to. A couple of really short stories like the milkman fail to impress and stir horror in me. Plus all these these stories are very old - from the late twentieth century. So overall rating for the book is 4.25/5 😎 😄 😄 😀
The Mist (a novella of 190 pages length)
Rating: 5/5
Really frightening. All the more scary because it is so plausible. I mean some scientists tinkering with world dimensions and bringing in a host of other worldly, carnivorous creatures into ours? After a night of terrible storm that takes down power lines, damages houses and destroys roads and bridges, a fine mist seems to be slowly encroaching over the land. David, the narrator and protagonist, takes his son to the supermarket to restock their supplies. They get stranded there in the market for over four days because they realise that there are bugs and strange, monstrous creatures, out lurking and feeding on the flesh and blood of whoever makes the mistake of stepping amidst them. They spend that time, sealed up in the supermarket, struggling to contain their fears and nursing their failing hopes and courage. To make matters worse, there is a preacher of doom amongst them, sermoning about God wanting blood sacrifice to fall out of this predicament. Also the scenes describing the mutilation and death of those who become food to the creatures is haunting and harrowing to say the least.
Definitely, one of the best horror, thriller stories on apocalypse like situation. The end is open to speculation and I feel there must be some hope. All apocalyptic stories have some remnant population, scattered across the world, recouping and repopulating right? Atleast the escaped guys, with David the boss, hold a gun handy if worst comes to worst and there is no hope left for them!!
The Monkey
Rating : 4/5
The monkey is this sinister and evil doll that haunts its owner. When it plays on its cymbals by janging on them, someone close to its owner dies. The main character got rid of it when he has left it and went away in his childhood. He is back in that house with his family when his aunt who has been residing in that house passes away. It starts reaquainting with him and his family. Even his children sense it's malevolent spirit. How they get rid of it anew this time is interesting but I wanted it to be burnt or permanently removed from this world rather than leaving a chance for it to fall into some others' hands! Interesting read.
Mrs Todd's Shortcut
Rating : 4/5
It is a fun read. A woman who drives around Maine to find shortcut routes to Bangor, Maine from her home in an attempt to save on time by saving on miles. While she finds mysterious shortcuts that take her through wild creatures that are not known to exist in our reality, she confesses that she feels like a Goddess and free while she is driving through. What has fate in store for her and her confidant, Mr. Homer? Liked the idea of a shrinking distance with different routes and also of strange, otherworldly creatures hanging to her car as she sauters through!
The Jaunt
Rating : 5/5
One of the best explained and contemplated visions of teleportation - called the 'jaunt' here. A scientist who has been working on a teleportation device accidentally stumbles on the right coordinates for making it work. He passes various objects between portal 1 and 2 in his lab successfully. Then he sets the experiment for lab mice but they die or go mad after coming through the portal 2. Later the government agencies land on him and take over his project, making him a nominal head, nothing more. They figure how to make the system work for human transportation. It makes oil prices to tumble , stock markets to blow up and enables interstellar travel within seconds. This history is narrated by Mark Oates, to his children, who is on his way with family to Mars. So what did the scientists do to make the setup work for humans/animals and what happens that makes them die on emerging? It is interesting and also mouth gape shocking. It is also horror because of what happens to Mark's son at the end! Do read.
The Raft
Rating : 4.5/5
Reading this brought back memories of a similar novel from Scott Smith, titled The Ruins. A group of four - two girls and two guys - go on a late night dare to a floating raft on their beach. The water is biting cold it being the month of October. Right off, one of the guys, Randy, a medico student, sees a circular oil stain floating on the water and hearing in the direction of their raft. Soon, it starts killing one after the other of them and the story ends on a note of no exit for Randy. He wishes he has an easy and painless way out of the situation but he doesn't. Its the absolute horror of what that oily thing is that kept me hooked. And what it would do should it be let loose on the world? There is some morbidity in reading about the different ways in which they are killed and enjoying it. It felt voyeuristic. Still, a very thrilling story!
The Man Who Wouldn't Shake Hands
Rating 4.5/5
To think that I almost skipped this one .. because the games of poker between the group felt boring and drawling at the start. A man, one of the players in the group, hasn't had much of company of others for a while. So he has come to play this game with his acquaintances. He is absolutely against shaking hands or someone touching his hands and as the mystery unravels with a confounding story of his former life in Bombay, India, I was transfixed and spellbound. What's wrong or so scary about someone holding his hand? A must read.
Gramma
Rating : 5/5
I have read this idea of soul hopping bodies pre-death elsewhere. But still this story is distressing and very provocative. A little kid has always been afraid of his dying maternal grandma. There were rumors that she was a witch and had been kicked out of her town, church and job because of some horrid revelations. She was deemed incapable of having children but she gets some 'books' after which she pops as many as nine kids. So with such a frightening grandmother, a young kid of eleven, George, is left alone in their house when his mother goes out on an errand for his elder brother. The story is written in a chilling King's usual dramatic style. The kid has to come to terms with gramma's death and go near her to prove himself brave. Goosebumps on my skin all through! Must read.
Others
There is a small story about a drug peddling surgeon that gets cast away on an island when his ship sinks. How far does he go to keep surviving? He catches an occasional sea gull or crab but then what. If he should want to resort to cannibalism, there are no others present with him right. So what he does is scary to say the least!
Another story about a writer who believes firmly that his typewriter is inhabited by a magical elf which is giving him inspiration to write. Everyone thinks he is crazy because he also assumes everyone else in his life is after this elf, looking to destroy it and thereby him. Eventually this madness gets him. He commits suicide. But before dying we learn atleast part of his claims are true. There are indeed these elves in typewriters. How crazy to know it and yet accept madness in him right?!
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