Night Shift—Stephen King’s first collection of stories—is an early showcase of the depths that King’s wicked imagination could plumb. In these 20 tales, we see mutated rats gone bad (“Graveyard Shift”); a cataclysmic virus that threatens humanity (“Night Surf,” the basis for The Stand); a smoker who will try anything to stop (“Quitters, Inc.”); a reclusive alcoholic who begins a gruesome transformation (“Gray Matter”); and many more. This is Stephen King at his horrifying best.
Horror Book Reviews Blog: Night Shift
Night Shift might have been one of the first Stephen King paperbacks that I owned, alongside Pet Sematary, which I passed on reading after picking up the massive paperback, and all sensation in my arm ceased to exist. Of course, I’m exaggerating, but it was too darn heavy for my pre-teen mind. Sure, it pales in comparison to hardcover editions (or any version for that matter) of IT, The Stand, and Under the Dome. Those did not so much as to warrant a second glance when perusing the bookshelves of Walden Books or Borders – the intimidation was real! The girth of Night Shift, however, was in my wheelhouse. The paperback covert art with its bandaged hand and leering eyeballs called to me. And I answered. The book’s table of contents intrigued me with titles such as Jerusalem’s Lot, Sometimes They Come Back, The Lawnmower Man, The Graveyard Shift, The Mangler, The Boogeyman, and Children of the Corn. All of these, with the exception of The Boogeyman, were familiar titles in that I have seen them in either television or film format. The Boogeyman, however, just sounded damn cool and downright creepy. However, I will admit that having watched some of the stories in their on-screen adaptations I skipped them altogether as I knew how the story went and how it ended. Let’s just say that I was wrong.
This time around, twenty-plus years later, I wanted to give the book another reading, only this time, I wanted to make sure to read every single short story in this collection. As suspected, most of the short stories were better than its film adaptation… for the most part. One that stood out was Sometimes They Come Back because it is one of my favorite Stephen King adaptations, and after having read the short story, I was surprised at how much I preferred the television version. This is not to say that the short story was not good, but I felt that the television version had more heart. It also differed in that the book version delved into satanic rituals and demons – which is touched on, if I am not mistaken, in the sequel to the T.V. movie adeptly titled Sometimes They Come Back… Again. I was NOT a fan of this straight-to-video release.
The Lawnmower Man differed significantly from the film starring Pierce Brosnan and Jeff Fahey. However, it did not satisfy me in either format. The Mangler, as ridiculous as its story, was rather entertaining with its haunted/possessed pressing and folding laundry machine. The silly plot and extravagant performances of the actors in the film version of the same name starring Robert Englund made this one hard to watch and was very cringe-worthy, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the short. The story in this collection that stood out for me is The Boogeyman. I remember reading this so many years ago, and it completely blew me away. It is a story that stayed with me for years and still haunts me to this day.
There were other stories that, when reading, sounded vaguely familiar. As I continued to read, it became apparent that they were adapted to television/movies such as Trucks, which later became Maximum Overdrive, or The Ledge, a segment in Cats Eye. Although not all of the stories were scary, they all had that magic Stephen King touch that intrigues the hell out of me and keeps me engaged. One of the stories in Night Shift that interested me right up until the end was I Know What You Need in which King presented an absorbing mystery only for its conclusion to feel rushed and fall flat.
This is not to say that all the stories warranted the same feeling of disappointment. On the contrary, many of the stories in this collection were fantastic. There is a reason King is known as the master of horror. The Shining, however, still remains my favorite King book to date. Now is as good as any other time to hunker down and finally give Pet Sematary a read.