Skeleton Crew

5 out of 5

By Donald Wardlow on Nov 29, 2012

Stephen King has written 4 collections of short stories, and this is the best, closely followed by Night Shift. Skeleton Crew features at least two stories that were made into movies: "The Mist," and "The Raft." "The Mist," is his scariest writing of all time. A volunteer read it to me in August 1985, the hottest August I can recall, and her reading was so scary I had to pull the blanket up to my neck, for fear I'd never be warm again. "The Raft," is about 4 college kids who don't see how a swim in a local lake can be a swim to Perdition. "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut," is a fascinating tale of an old guy, and a younger woman who is obsessed with driving shortcuts--at any risk. "The Man Who Wouldn't Shake Hands," is truly a highlight of the book-a horror tale of a man accursed after a tragic accident. There are a few duds as in any short story collection, but they are mercifully few. Near the end is one of the best, "Ballad of the Flexible Bullet," about how a writer's paranoia becomes contagious. All told, this is a "must have" for any true King cuckoo, of which I am one. Neither of his later two collections, "Nightmares and Dreamscapes," or "Just After Sunset," come up to the standard of this collection.