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The Jar
A man gains stature in his small town when he acquires an exhibit from a carnival.
15 pages, Unknown Binding
First published November 1, 1944
298 people want to read
About the author
Ray Bradbury
2,411Ìýbooks24.2kÌýfollowersRay Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 14, 2017
I read in Stephen King’s masterpiece, It: �The assistant editor adds a short note which calls (The Dark) ‘the best damned horror story since Ray Bradbury’s The Jar��. I rushed to my computer to find that story. The atmosphere is lugubrious, some interpretations of what’s in the jar are blood-curdling, but I was left disappointed� Did Stephen King really think that it was a great horror story or was it just the opinion of a fictitious assistant editor in King's imaginary world?
May 16, 2022
Would have given it a higher rating, if it weren't for animal cruelty. 😓
April 4, 2021
“It was one of those things they keep in a jar in the tent of a sideshow on the outskirts of a little, drowsy town. One of those pale things drifting in alcohol plasma, forever dreaming and circling, with its peeled, dead eyes staring out at you and never seeing you.�
A poor farmer Charlie purchases a weird specimen in a jar from a carnival sideshow, hoping to gain some respect in the town. The Jar soon becomes the conversation piece of the town. However his whore wife begins to realize that she cannot stand the jar or him and threatens to reveal that the creature is a fake.
This is the first of Bradbury's macabre writing that I have read and unti now had thought he only done Science Fiction esq novels. It is one of the many so-called “carnival stories� that appear in The October Country which I have to track down and read. It has that AHS feel to it and reading it for as short as it is still transported me to that old mid 1900s carnival freak shows that you see on many old tv shows. The Jar to me is a representation of reflective evil as each person sees something or feels something different when looking at it, causing people from miles around come to his shack to sit, stare, and philosophize over his jar.
A poor farmer Charlie purchases a weird specimen in a jar from a carnival sideshow, hoping to gain some respect in the town. The Jar soon becomes the conversation piece of the town. However his whore wife begins to realize that she cannot stand the jar or him and threatens to reveal that the creature is a fake.
This is the first of Bradbury's macabre writing that I have read and unti now had thought he only done Science Fiction esq novels. It is one of the many so-called “carnival stories� that appear in The October Country which I have to track down and read. It has that AHS feel to it and reading it for as short as it is still transported me to that old mid 1900s carnival freak shows that you see on many old tv shows. The Jar to me is a representation of reflective evil as each person sees something or feels something different when looking at it, causing people from miles around come to his shack to sit, stare, and philosophize over his jar.
August 3, 2022
This story is also very short, Ray does not mince words when he doesn't need to. In fact I dare say he cuts them short and chops them down like a man destroying a forest. Bradbury has a talent, but as this is possibly the fifth or sixth story of his that I've read, I've begun to notice the pattern.
No this isn't awful nor is it a hatchet and a burial for Bradbury. Every Rider has their niche, that one thing they write a lot of and it seems to go on and on and on in their books. There are many romance writers who write the same thing over and over again for example. In Bradbury's case, he really likes to write bad wives.
It feels very hard to find a loving wife among all of these books by him every husband is tormented by his awful wife who has an awful perspective on him. And while this is becoming predictable and a little bit boring I can see how it lends itself to the horror.
This one is a little bit of a letdown however. We never really learned the evil, much like most of his books, but a lot of the time it seems like the evil is just in their heads and they're all going crazy in a room. It's hard to figure out what is going on by the end of this book besides the wife has met most wives' fates in a Ray Bradbury book.
No this isn't awful nor is it a hatchet and a burial for Bradbury. Every Rider has their niche, that one thing they write a lot of and it seems to go on and on and on in their books. There are many romance writers who write the same thing over and over again for example. In Bradbury's case, he really likes to write bad wives.
It feels very hard to find a loving wife among all of these books by him every husband is tormented by his awful wife who has an awful perspective on him. And while this is becoming predictable and a little bit boring I can see how it lends itself to the horror.
This one is a little bit of a letdown however. We never really learned the evil, much like most of his books, but a lot of the time it seems like the evil is just in their heads and they're all going crazy in a room. It's hard to figure out what is going on by the end of this book besides the wife has met most wives' fates in a Ray Bradbury book.
July 16, 2021
I have a thing for creepy short stories. Is it Ray Bradbury's best one? No, but it's entertaining and Bradbury's prose has something addictive about it.
This story is set in a small dusty town near a swamp. Charlie is fascinated by a mysterious jar with mysterious contents that he sees at a carnival (we sure love a good Bradburian carnival) and decides to bring it home...
And I can't say much else without begining to spoil it, it's quite a short story. I didn't know this was part of a larger book, so I will add that to my To-Read pile now.
This story is set in a small dusty town near a swamp. Charlie is fascinated by a mysterious jar with mysterious contents that he sees at a carnival (we sure love a good Bradburian carnival) and decides to bring it home...
And I can't say much else without begining to spoil it, it's quite a short story. I didn't know this was part of a larger book, so I will add that to my To-Read pile now.
September 15, 2018
Audio version was interesting.
October 14, 2021
Just read this after seeing it mentioned it in It. Like many old horror stories, The Jar is not dripping with blood and ghosts, but with suggestions. It's not a scary tale, but it is a haunting tale, as much about human curiosity and fear of the unknown as about the darkest parts of our nature.
April 7, 2018
Rather bland, if you ask me. I love many stories by Ray Bradbury, but this one was rather predictable, and drags a bit. If you are expecting something bizarre, or even supernatural, look elsewhere. It feels like a bait-and-switch. The story mislead me into thinking there was some fantastic element to be discovered by the end, but the story is mostly mundane.
January 27, 2018
A sharp eye for detail and some chilling passages describing the jar, but it just kind of ends with no real resolution. I was let down when it ended.
October 24, 2019
Eh. So everyone sees something different in the jar.
June 12, 2020
Pretty good. Don’t feel bad for the wife.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2021
Creepy but cool little tale as only Ray Bradbury could write it. So much impact in such a short story. Adapted for the Alfred Hitchcock hour.
November 14, 2022
Jarring.
November 24, 2023
i found this one boring and annoying and repetitive and far too long, even for a short story.
October 11, 2024
A creepy carnival side show jar where everybody sees there own fears.
October 17, 2024
Everyone sees something different in the jar. Their loved ones, fears, past traumas � people will assign value to anything.
October 31, 2024
This one's creepy and strange as the carnival paraphernalia it's referencing, and describes well their morbid appeal.
June 21, 2023
Excelente libró
September 5, 2016
This was a fun and creepy little story, with Bradbury's sharp eye for detail and character.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
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