Stephen King Short Work

Ever since beginning this site in 1996, I have striven to maintain an "uncollected King" area, a sort of guidebook for folks to use to seek out stuff that King had never published in one of his books. It was also a place for budding collectors to start their search for stuff that had never even been published - things that, for whatever reason, has never appeared in print, anywhere.

There are a few challenges with maintaining a site like that. The first is that, whenever King releases a new collection, the listings for those stories just disappears - they're not "uncollected" any longer. The second is that King is wickedly prolific; keeping a running list of every publication of every story King has ever written is a job more suited to books. Four, in particular: The Lost Work of Stephen King, by Stephen Spignesi; Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished, by Rocky Wood; Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World's Most Popular Author, by Justin Brooks; and Horror Plum'd: An International Stephen King Bibliography and Guide, by Michael R. Collings are excellent, exhaustive volumes that belong on any King fan's shelf. I couldn't have created this site without them.

Therefore, I've decided to both streamline and expand the original intent of the "uncollected" area. Listed below is every short fiction piece King has ever, to my knowledge, written. If a piece appears in an official Stephen King collection (or two), I have only listed that collection's name as the primary place to find the work. If a piece is uncollected, I have listed one or two of the most probable places to find it. If it is unpublished, I have indicated that, as well. All uncollected and unpublished titles are featured in boldface type. Where applicable, I have included a short "factoid" of each work in smaller print. Fun with knowledge!

For clarity's sake, I am not including excerpts of novels that appeared before the novel was published. I am, however, including the stories that make up The Gunslinger and Hearts in Atlantis; those volumes exist in a shaky gray area between novels and collections, and I figured it best to include them here.

A

After the Play

1. unpublished

-Afterword to The Shining; lost by King

All That You Love Will Be Carried Away

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

Apt Pupil

-Different Seasons (1982)

Autopsy Room Four

-Six Stories (1997)

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

Ayana

-Just After Sunset (2008)

B

Ballad of the Flexible Bullet, The

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Battleground

-Night Shift (1978)

Beachworld

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Before the Play

1. Whispers (1982)

2. TV Guide [abridged] (1997)

Beggar and the Diamond, The

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2)

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Blind Willie

-Six Stories (1997)

-Hearts In Atlantis (1999)

Blue Air Compressor, The

1. Onan (1971)

2. Heavy Metal (1981)

Body, The

-Different Seasons (1982)

Boogeyman, The

-Night Shift (1978)

Bone Church, The

1. Playboy (October 2009)

-narrative poem

Breathing Method, The

-Different Seasons (1982)

Brooklyn August

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

But Only Darkness Loves Me

1. unfinished and unpublished

-Written with King's son, Joseph

C

Cain Rose Up

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Cat From Hell, The

-Just After Sunset (2008)

Charlie

1. unpublished (c. 1959)

-written when King was 12

Chattery Teeth

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Children of the Corn

-Night Shift (1978)

Chip Coombs

1. unfinished and unpublished (c. 1989-1991)

-36 pages; untitled but often referred to by above title

Code Name: MOUSETRAP

1. The Drum [Lisbon High School newspaper; Lisbon, Maine] (1965)

-Published in King's high school newspaper when King was a senior; discovered in 2002 by a former teacher.

Comb Dump

1. unfinished and unpublished

-41 pages; incomplete mystery story

Crate, The [illustrated version]

-Creepshow (1982)

Crate, The [text version]

1. Gallery (1979)

2. Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural (ed. Bill Pronzini) (1981)

3. Shivers VI, edited by Richard Chizmar (2010)

Crouch End

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Cursed Expedition, The

1. People, Places & Things (1960)

-Self-published collection by King and friend Chris Chesley

D

The Dark Man

1. Ubris (1969)

2. The Devil's Wine (anthology, ed. by Tom Piccirilli) (2004)

3. The Stephen King Illustrated Companion, by Bev Vincent

-poem, published in King's college literary magazine

Death of Jack Hamilton, The

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

Dedication

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Dimension Warp, The

1. People, Places & Things (1960)

-Self-published collection by King and friend Chris Chesley

Dino

1. Salt Hill Journal (1994)

2. Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished, ed. Rocky Wood et al (2006)

-poem, written about Dean Martin

Doctor's Case, The

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Dolan's Cadillac

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Donovan's Brain

1. Moth (1970)

2. The Devil's Wine (anthology, ed. by Tom Piccirilli) (2004)

-poem; based on the movie of the same name

E

End of the Whole Mess, The

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Evaluation, The

1. unfinished and unpublished (c. 1989-1991)

-12 pages, handwritten

Everything's Eventual

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

F

Father's Day

-Creepshow (1982)

Fifth Quarter, The

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

For Owen

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

For the Birds

1. Bred Any Good Rooks Lately? (1986)

43rd Dream, The

1. The Drum [Lisbon High School newspaper; Lisbon, Maine] (1966)

-Published in King's high school newspaper when King was a senior; discovered in 2002 by a former teacher.

1408

-Blood and Smoke (2000)

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

The Furnace

1. Weekly Reader (2005)

-King contributed only the first two paragraphs, intending readers to finish the story.

G

General, The

1. Screamplays (ed. Richard Chizmar) (1997)

-teleplay used as a portion of the film Cat's Eye

Gingerbread Girl, The

-Just After Sunset (2008)

Glass Floor, The

1. Starlight Mystery Stories, 1967 (fall)

2. Weird Tales, 1990 (fall)

Graduation Afternoon

-Just After Sunset (2008)

Gramma

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Graveyard Shift

-Night Shift (1978)

Gray Matter

-Night Shift (1978)

Gunslinger, The

-The Gunslinger (1982)

Gunslinger and the Dark Man, The

-The Gunslinger (1982)

H

The Hardcase Speaks

1. Contraband #2 (1971)

2. The Devil's Wine (anthology, ed. by Tom Piccirilli) (2004)

-poem; originally published as by "Stephan King."

Happy Stamps

1. unpublished (c. 1953)

-written when King was 6

Harvey's Dream

-Just After Sunset (2008)

Hearts In Atlantis

-Hearts In Atlantis (1999)

Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling

-Hearts In Atlantis (1999)

Here There Be Tygers

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Herman Wouk Is Still Alive

-The Atlantic (2011)

Heroes For Hope Starring The X-Men

1. Marvel Comic Book, pages 10-12 (1985)

-charity comic; King's segment illustrated by Berni Wrightson

Home Delivery

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Hotel at the End of the Road, The

1. People, Places & Things (1960)

-Self-published collection by King and friend Chris Chesley

House on Maple Street, The

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

I

I Am the Doorway

-Night Shift (1978)

I Hate Mondays

1. unpublished

-A comic gangster story written with King's son Owen.

I Know What You Need

-Night Shift (1978)

I Was A Teenage Graverobber a.k.a. In a Half-World of Terror

1. Comics Review (1965)

2. Stories of Suspense (as "In A Half-World Of Terror") (1966)

I'm Falling

1. People, Places & Things (1960)

-Self-published collection by King and friend Chris Chesley

In the Deathroom

-Blood and Smoke (2000)

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

"In the key-chords of dawn..."

1. Onan 1971

2. The Devil's Wine (anthology, ed. by Tom Piccirilli) (2004)

-poem; untitled but well-known by this first line.

It Grows on You [collected edition]

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

-This edition was heavily revised in order to make it a Castle Rock story.

It Grows on You [original edition]

1. Marshroots (Fall 1973)

2. Whispers #17/#18 (August 1982) [Heavily revised]

I've Got to Get Away!

1. People, Places & Things (1960)

-Self-published collection by King and friend Chris Chesley

J

Jaunt, The

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Jerusalem's Lot

-Night Shift (1978)

"Jesus watches from the wall..."

-Carrie (1974)

-untitled poem as by Carrietta White, a character in King's novel

Jhonathan & The Witchs

1. First Words (1993)

-written in 1956, when King was nine; spelling is correct.

Jumper

1. Dave's Rag (3 parts, over the winter of 1959-1960)

2. Secret Windows (2000)

-Dave's Rag was King's brother David's newsletter.

K

Keyholes

1. unfinished and unpublished (c. 1984)

-Two and one-half handwritten pages.

Killer, The

1. Famous Monsters Of Filmland (1994)

-Story was written and submitted to magazine Spacemen in 1960, but was never published. Original manuscript surfaced in 1980s and is reprinted here.

King Family and the Wicked Witch, The a.k.a. The King Family and the Farting Cookie

1. Flint [newspaper] (1977)

-Humorous short story in which the King family are all characters.

L

L.T.'s Theory of Pets

-Six Stories (1997)

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

Land of 1,000,000 Years Ago

1. self-published booklet (1959)

-Typed and mimeographed booklet King self-published at twelve years old.

Langoliers, The

-Four Past Midnight (1990)

Last Rung on the Ladder, The

-Night Shift (1978)

Lawnmower Man, The

-Night Shift (1978)

Ledge, The

-Night Shift (1978)

Leighton Street

-The Tommyknockers (1987)

-poem fragment, as by "James Eric Gardener," a fictional writer in King's novel.

Library Policeman, The

-Four Past Midnight (1990)

Little Sisters of Eluria, The

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

Livre Noir

1. unfinished and unpublished (c. 1986)

-a detective story to be written in French, "the language," King stated in the October 6, 1986 issue of Time, "that turns dirt into romance."

Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill, The

-Creepshow (1982)

Low Men In Yellow Coats

-Hearts In Atlantis (1999)

Luckey Quarter

-Six Stories (1997)

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

Lunch at the Gotham Café

-Six Stories (1997)

-Blood and Smoke (2000)

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

M

Man in the Black Suit, The

-Six Stories (1997)

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

Man Who Loved Flowers, The

-Night Shift (1978)

Man Who Would Not Shake Hands, The

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Man With A Belly

1. Cavalier (1978)

2. Gent (1979)

Mangler, The

-Night Shift (1978)

Mist, The

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Mobius

1. finished but unpublished (late 1970s)

-17 pages, typewritten

Molly

1. unpublished and unproduced teleplay (1997)

-King wrote this episode for the TV show The X-Files. This teleplay was rejected, and King instead wrote "Chinga," which was produced.

Monkey, The

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1)

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Morality

1. Esquire (July 2009)

2. Blockade Billy, Simon & Schuster Edition (May 2010)

Mostly Old Men

1. Tin House (2009)

-poem

Movie Show

1. unfinished and unpublished (c. 1989-1991)

-25 pages, handwritten

Moving Finger, The

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Mrs. Todd's Shortcut

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Muffe

1. unfinished and unpublished (c. 1989-1991)

-9 pages, handwritten

Mute

-Just After Sunset (2008)

My Pretty Pony

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

My Vase

Desperation (1996)

-poem [fragment?] as by Mary Jackson, a character in King's novel

N

N.

-Just After Sunset (2008)

Never Look Behind You

1. People, Places & Things (1960)

-Self-published collection by King and friend Chris Chesley

New Lieutenant's Rap

1. pamphlet, Philtrum Press (1999)

-pamphlet, published as a gifts for attendees at King's 25th publishing anniversary party April 6th, 1999; a heavily revised version is incorporated into the text of the Hearts in Atlantis section, "Why We're In Vietnam."

New York Times at Special Bargain Rates, The

-Just After Sunset (2008)

Night Flier, The

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Night Of The Tiger

1. Fantasy And Science Fiction (February 1978)

2. The Year's Best Horror Stories (ed. Gerald W. Page) (1979)

3. Tails of Wonder and Imagination: Cat Stories (ed. Ellen Datlow) (2010)

Night Surf

-Night Shift (1978)

Nona

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

O

The Old Dude's Ticker

1. Necon 2000 Commemorative Volume (2000)

-King credits this story as by him and Edgar Allen Poe.

One for the Road

-Night Shift (1978)

Oracle and the Mountains, The

-The Gunslinger (1982)

Other Side of the Fog, The

1. People, Places & Things (1960)

-Self-published collection by King and friend Chris Chesley

P

Paranoid: A Chant

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Popsy

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Premium Harmony

1. The New Yorker (November 9, 2009)

Q

Quitters, Inc.

-Night Shift (1978)

R

Raft, The

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Rainy Season

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Reach, The

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

-Previously published as "Do the Dead Sing?"

Reaper's Image, The

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

The Reploids

1. Night Visions 5 (ed. Douglas Winter)(1988)

--> aka The Skin Trade (paperback)

Rest Stop

-Just After Sunset (2008)

The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson

1. Rolling Stone magazine, in two parts (July 19th and August 2, 1984)

2. Skeleton Crew, Scream/Press version only (1985)

3. I Shudder at Your Touch (ed. Michelle Slung) (1991)

-I'm including this as an "uncollected" due to the scarcity of the Scream/Press edition of Skeleton Crew

Revenge of Lard-Ass Hogan, The

-Different Seasons (1982)

-Exists as a story-within-a-story in "The Body."

Riding the Bullet

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

-Different Seasons (1982)

Road Virus Heads North, The

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

Rush Call

1. Dave's Rag (1960)

2. Secret Windows (2000)

-Dave's Rag was King's brother David's newsletter.

S

Secret Window, Secret Garden

-Four Past Midnight (1990)

"She has gone to sleep while..."

1. Contaband #1 (1971)

-poem; untitled but known by the above first line. Published as by "Stephan King."

Silence

1. Moth (1970)

2. The Devil's Wine (anthology, ed. by Tom Piccirilli) (2004)

poem; originally published as by "Steve King"

Skybar

1. The Do-It-Yourself Bestseller - A Workbook (1982)

-Similar to the original publication of "The Cat From Hell" and the publication of "The Furnace," this exists partially, in this case as only the beginning and the end of the story. Readers are intended to finish the tale.

Slade

1.The Maine Campus (June-August 1970)

-"Slade" was written while King was in college as a serialized Western parody.

Slow Mutants, The

-The Gunslinger (1982)

Sorry, Right Number

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

-teleplay produced for the show Tales from the Darkside

Sneakers

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Something to Tide You Over

-Creepshow (1982)

Sometimes They Come Back

-Night Shift (1978)

Spear, The

1. finished but unpublished

-King describes the story as "a modern-day revision" of Nikolai Gogol's story, "The Ring"; one of two tales ("The Old Dude's Ticker" being the other) that King was unable to sell to men's magazines in the 70s.

Squad D

1. finished but unpublished (late 1970s)

-King wrote this story for Harlan Ellison's Dangerous Visions 3, but the book was never published; Ellison may still have the rights to the story.

The Star Invaders

1. self-published as by Triad, Inc. and Gaslight Books (1964)

-17 pages; typed and mimeographed; King owns the only surviving copy.

Stationary Bike

-Just After Sunset (2008)

Stranger, The

1. People, Places & Things (1960)

-Self-published collection by King and friend Chris Chesley

Strawberry Spring

-Night Shift (1978)

Street Kid's Genesis, The

1. finished but unpublished

-King wrote this piece and sent it to Steve Gould, calling it a "vernacular version of the Book of Genesis." Date and length are unknown.

Stud City

-Different Seasons (1982)

-Exists as a story-within-a-story in "The Body."

Suffer the Little Children

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Sun Dog, The

-Four Past Midnight (1990)

Survivor Type

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

T

Ten O'Clock People

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French

-Everything's Eventual (2002)

They're Creeping Up On You

-Creepshow (1982)

Thing at the Bottom of the Well, The

1. People, Places & Things (1960)

-Self-published collection by King and friend Chris Chesley

Things They Left Behind, The

-Just After Sunset (2008)

Throttle

1. He Is Legend: Celebrating Richard Matheson (2008)

-story based on Richard Matheson's "Duel"; written with King's son, Joseph

Tommy

1. Playboy, March 2010 (poem)

Trucks

-Night Shift (1978)

U

Umney's Last Case

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Uncle Otto's Truck

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Ur -published electronically, exclusively for the Amazon Kindle (2009)

V

Verona Beach

1. unfinished and unpublished (c. 1966-1970)

-incomplete story that eventually became the basis for the novel The Talisman

Very Tight Place, A

-Just After Sunset (2008)

W

Way Station, The

-The Gunslinger (1982)

Wedding Gig, The

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Weeds

1. Cavalier (May 1976)

2. Nugget (April 1979)

-text version of the Creepshow story, "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill."

What Tricks Your Eye

1. unfinished and unpublished (c. 1992-1993)

-incomplete story that became the basis for the novel The Green Mile.

Why We're in Vietnam

-Hearts In Atlantis (1999)

Willa

-Just After Sunset (2008)

Woman in the Room, The

-Night Shift (1978)

-alternate titles for this story were "Time in a Glass That Ran" and "The Last of Her"

Woman With Child

1. Contraband #1 (1971)

-poem; published as by "Stephan King"

Word Processor of the Gods

-Skeleton Crew (1985)

Y

You Know They Got a Hell of a Band

-Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

Poetry

Stephen King seems to have an intermittent interest in poetry. Between 1969 and 1971, he published seven poems, on par with his short story output ... then stopped. King’s attempts at this particular form of writing have been sparse since, despite two poems in 1985’s Skeleton Crew and poems and fragments as by characters in his novels. More recently, King seems to be taking a more keen interest in poetry, with three poems published since 2009. To date, only three poems – “For Owen,” “Paranoid,” and “Brooklyn August” – have been collected in official King anthologies, which is unfortunate (especially since early poems like “The Dark Man” and “The Hardcase Speaks” are direct thematic antecedents to later prose). Whether more poems are forthcoming, or whether the existing ones will be collected at some point, remains to be seen.

Bone Church, The

1. Playboy (October 2009)

Brooklyn August

1. Io #10 (1971)

2. The Unseen King (ed. Tyson Blue, 1989)

3. Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)

The Dark Man

1. Ubris [college literary journal] (1969)

2. The Devil's Wine (ed. by Tom Piccirilli, 2004)

3. The Stephen King Illustrated Companion (ed. Bev Vincent, 2009)

Dino

1. Salt Hill Journal (1994)

2. Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished (ed. Rocky Wood et al, 2006)

-written about Dean Martin

Donovan's Brain

1. Moth (1970)

2. The Devil's Wine (ed. by Tom Piccirilli, 2004)

-based on the movie of the same name

For Owen

1. Skeleton Crew (1985)

The Hardcase Speaks

1. Contraband #2 (1971)

2. The Devil's Wine (ed. by Tom Piccirilli, 2004)

-originally published as by "Stephan King"

"In the key-chords of dawn..."

1. Onan 1971

2. The Devil's Wine (ed. by Tom Piccirilli, 2004)

-untitled but well-known by this first line.

"Jesus watches from the wall..."

1. Carrie (1974)

-untitled poem as by “Carrietta White.”

Leighton Street (poem fragment)

1. The Tommyknockers (1987)

-fragment as by "James Eric Gardener"

Mostly Old Men

1. Tin House (2009)

My Vase

1. Desperation (1996)

-fragment [?] as by “Mary Jackson”

Paranoid: A Chant

1. Skeleton Crew (1985)

"She has gone to sleep while..."

1. Contaband #1 (1971)

-untitled but known by the above first line. Published as by "Stephan King."

Silence

1. Moth (1970)

2. The Devil's Wine (ed. by Tom Piccirilli, 2004)

-originally published as by "Steve King"

Tommy

1. Playboy, March 2010

Woman With Child

1. Contraband #1 (1971)

-published as by "Stephan King"

