Stephen King is one of modern literature’s most prolific writers but even he occasionally decides a manuscript does not meet his strict standards. Here is a list of unfinished or unpublished novels and short stories with brief synopses from the master of horror.
Hunger at 25,000 Feet
Jack Harlow was late for his flight so he didn’t have time to eat before boarding. Instead, he purchased a wrap at a Hudson News. One hour in, Jack realizes he put the wrap in his carry-on instead of his backpack. And the carry-on is tucked behind three bags in the overhead. And someone’s getting hungry.
Pet Seminary
Gail Rudebaker thought adopting a dog from a house of retired Jesuits would be a good idea. But when the dog starts to wet the floor every time he lies to his mother about going to church or he rolls his eyes at an overly Christian Instagram caption, Gail begins to think he may have made a terrible mistake.
Thrall of the Damned
Otis Maychild has been accused of murdering 20 children over ten years. And Adam Valance has been selected to be on the jury two weeks before his first trip to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. The clock is ticking, and Adam needs this case wrapped up if he has any hope of finally seeing Cirque du Soleil.
Bound in Blood
This three-part collection of novellas contains the story of a prison guard forced to decide between mutation or mutilation when a demon is sentenced, a tale from Ghana about a mysterious gemstone that causes a cannibalistic hunger in all who find it, and a play-by-play recap of the 1986 Boston Red Sox season, complete with King’s own depth charts that he would have used in the World Series.
Darlene
Barney MacQuillan and his best friend Erin Northrup find a toaster at a yard sale that Barney becomes fascinated by. “Darlene,” as he begins to refer to it, seems to have an otherworldly hold on the boy who refuses to eat anything that hasn’t been lightly toasted. When Darlene burns Erin’s toast, the boy starts to wonder if Darlene may be having a sinister influence on his friend.
Unequal Split
Jennie Marist is a struggling grad student who can only afford to go out to eat with her friends every once in a while. But tonight, when the check is brought to the table, one diner suggests they split the bill equally, even though Jennie only had a caesar salad with no chicken and one glass of house red. Jennie has to find a way to split the bill based on items purchased without seeming annoying or cheap, and she’ll manipulate those closest to her to do so.
Oh No! Monsters!
Oh no! Look out, it’s monsters! They’re all over! Ah! Get away from them! Here they come out of the sewer, or maybe the trash! But they’re here, and they’re hungry! Or they want to just kill for sport, or fun. Yes they want to kill for fun because it’s their culture! Ah! Go! Oh, disgusting, these ones are hard to describe, they are so monstrous! Run this way, and meet up with this group of friends. Monsters don’t like team-ups but don’t get too comfortable because the monsters could be hiding behind THOSE HYDRANGEAS!
Dread House
Sweethearts Abel Landsmith and Cort Palbidaski decide to go on a historical haunted house tour in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. After some initial frights with actors dressed as ghoulish Civil War soldiers, the couple finds themselves alone in a small room with a historical reenactor, rocking in her chair. As she begins to explain the history of how cotton hats were manufactured en masse, the couple realizes that this tour is more historical than haunted. With the two-hour tour package already purchased, the young lovers must survive seven more information sessions about the Civil War before they can leave. And with each passing lesson, the chances of them having a complete romantic meltdown are growing and growing.
The Maladjusted Sponge
The sponge on the sink of the Tinkleman household is different from other sponges. Dr. Tinkleman thinks there’s something wrong with it. He thinks it may be… maladjusted. The sponge, he believes, has not adjusted well. And when he comes home one day, he finds his teenage son, Harley, with his face completely scrubbed off. Dr. Tinkleman is in a race against time to find out just how maladjusted his sponge is and the longer he takes, the more scrubbed-off faces are going to be found.
Do-Over
Struggling oboist Angela Zantelli stumbles across a TikTok video that appears to have supernatural powers. The figure in the video offers Angela the chance to return to March 1, 2020, with all the knowledge that she possesses but warns that the changes she makes will affect her life as she knows it. Angela declines the offer, not wishing to ever repeat the last two-and-a-half years and decides that struggling to make money as a musician is actually not all that bad considering. The rest of the manuscript becomes a romantic comedy as Angela falls in love and fights her way to the Philharmonic Orchestra.
