Random Underrated Stephen King Stories (15 items)

• 

  (#1) Dolores Claiborne

  Dolores Claiborne is one of those King adaptations that's hard to define, which is probably why you don't hear about it more often. Part psychological thriller, part domestic drama, this mystery novel finds the title character under questioning for murder, telling her life story to the police. The movie adaptation with Kathy Bates in the starring role also qualifies as underrated, most likely overshadowed by a different King adaptation featuring a memorable performance by Bates.
• 

  (#8) Everything's Eventual

  • Stephen King

  The premise of The Man in the Black Suit is pretty simple: a boy has an encounter with the devil, who tries to scare him into believing things that aren't true, and recounts what happened as an old man. Originally published in The New Yorker in 1994, it was later compiled as part of the collection, Everything's Eventual, and still stands as one of the best short form pieces from the mid-point of Stephen King's career. 

  The Man in the Black Suit evokes fears we all had when we were young, and makes us remember what they felt like. By framing it through the eyes of an old man, afraid of his own mortality, it forces us to examine how those fears morph and change with age. 
• 

  (#9) Gerald's Game

  • Stephen King

  You may or may not be familiar with the 2018 film Gerald's Game, but regardless, it is the perfect time to go back and catch up on the book that inspired this confined spaces thriller.

  In a sex act gone wrong, Jessie Gurlingame is handcuffed to the bed by her husband, Gerald. This quickly turns into a fight for survival, as Jessie is forced to battle malevolent forces real and imaginary from the confines of the bed. 
• 

  (#3) Doctor Sleep

  A sequel to The Shining. Could it be done? Should it be done? Stephen King answered both these questions with 2013's Doctor Sleep, which picks up with Danny Torrance 36 years after we first met him at the Overlook Hotel. 

  What makes Doctor Sleep memorable is King's unflinching look at alcoholism through Danny's - who inherited the disease from his father - experience. King has talked openly about how the alcoholic who wrote The Shining was a lot different from the AA member who wrote Doctor Sleep, and the way he looks at recovery makes the book a stirring and vital addition to his catalog.
• 

  (#12) Insomnia

  • Stephen King

  At 787 pages, Insomnia is nothing short of a tome. And although it has some things in common with his other longest works (It, The Stand) it perhaps doesn't have the epic, sweeping quality that made those books instant classics. 

  Stephen King has dismissed the novel himself at times, describing it as one of his lesser works. That's not to say that even with its daunting length, however, Insomnia is worth skipping.  This story of a man who can't sleep and begins to see strange visions after his wife's death is particularly affecting for anyone who's suffered from the titular infliction. There's a moody, dream-like quality here, present in other King works but never more at the forefront. 
• 

  (#6) Night Shift

  • Stephen King

  A classic Stephen King short story, Sometimes They Come Back appeared in 1978's Night Shift. A tale of trauma and revenge, the story centers around a high school English teacher named Jim. When a new student joins his class, he begins to recall the death of his brother in 1957 at the hands of some local greasers. What happens from there is best left unspoiled, but without giving too much away, Jim discovers that the title of the story is true in more ways than one.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking