Every year when Halloween looms on the horizon, I find myself in the mood for scary stuff. In past Octobers, I’ve made a point of watching horror movies, playing horror-themed boardgames, or reading spooky books.

This year, I find myself in a nostalgic mood, so I’m going to spend some of my October reading and reflecting on short stories by Stephen King. I spent a lot of time in college reading King, and although I loved many of his novels, I have always felt that his short stories represent his most interesting and entertaining work. I would go so far as to say that King’s short stories are some of the most memorable tales I read in all of my youth. I’ll be putting those fond memories to the test as I make my way through some of his stories, chosen semi-randomly and in no particular order (but with a bias toward his 1990s-and-earlier stories).

I’m no Stephen King expert, and I claim no special insight or exhaustive knowledge of his writings. I’m just a guy reading some stories and talking about them.

I’ll try to give you some advance notice of the story I’m reading next just in case you want to read it with me. If there are tattered copies of Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, or other King short story collections gathering dust on your bookshelf, dig ’em out and let’s pay them a visit!

First up (tomorrow) is “You Know They Got a Hell of a Band,” from the 1993 short story collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes. Read it with me!

Update: Here’s a list of what I’ve covered so far:

1. You Know They Got a Hell of a Band
2. Jerusalem’s Lot
3. Fair Extension
4. Word Processor of the Gods
5. The Moving Finger
6. The Raft
7. Trucks
8. The Road Virus Heads North
9. The Doctor’s Case
10. The Man in the Black Suit
11. Strawberry Spring
12. Sorry, Right Number
13. The Monkey
14. The Lawnmower Man
15. That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French
16. Beachworld
17. The End of the Whole Mess
18. Sometimes They Come Back
19. Survivor Type
20. Popsy
21. Rainy Season
22. In the Deathroom
23. Children of the Corn
24. Crouch End
25. Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut
26. Graveyard Shift
27. I Am the Doorway
28. The Fifth Quarter

[Image from this nice blog post about King’s short story collection Night Shift.]

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