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Skeleton Crew #1
The Mist
It's a hot, lazy day, perfect for a cookout, until you see those strange dark clouds. Suddenly a violent storm sweeps across the lake and ends as abruptly and unexpectedly as it had begun. Then comes the mist... creeping slowly, inexorably into town, where it settles and waits, trapping you in the supermarket with dozens of others, cut off from your families and the world.
The mist is alive, seething with unearthly sounds and movements. What unleashed this terror? Was it the Arrowhead Project—the top secret government operation that everyone has noticed but no one quite understands?
And what happens when the provisions have run out and you're forced to make your escape, edging blindly through the dim light?
The mist is alive, seething with unearthly sounds and movements. What unleashed this terror? Was it the Arrowhead Project—the top secret government operation that everyone has noticed but no one quite understands?
And what happens when the provisions have run out and you're forced to make your escape, edging blindly through the dim light?
176 pages, Paperback
First published August 29, 1980
2,913 people are currently reading
104k people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,571books870kfollowersStephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 7,078 reviews
May 9, 2023
“The Mist� by Stephen King is one of those short stories that I’ve yet to read but always had my eye on it for many years now. I remember seeing clips of the movie adaptation here and there but never in its entirety but do know a ton of Constant Readers love this short story. I knew I’d eventually get to it and my goodness, I’m beyond glad I finally did.
Now, before I begin my review, I have a few trigger warnings for everyone in case you haven’t read “The Mist� yet. There are situations involving a man hitting a woman and suicide. I won’t ruin anything for you but if either subject triggers you, please do not read this.
Moving along, the intro painted a nice picture to start things off and I immediately knew that it wouldn’t be long until King does what he does best and hit me with some genuinely frightening horror. Sure enough, King didn’t disappoint as this whole situation with the mist was really horrific. I think it even hits home more now due to the pandemic that hit in 2020 where I can honestly see what happened in this short story happening in real life.
I’ll never forget the panic people had, how everyone was rushing to hoard food, products, toilet paper, and letting paranoia sink in to start turning on each other. The hysteria of the pandemic was real and in “The Mist� I got all those vibes again. Besides that, the super creepy moments in this short story were incredible as I especially loved the tension leading to the ending. I had no idea how this would end as the buildup was absolutely incredible. It was such a crazy ride 80% in and I couldn’t put this down at all deep into the night because it was that great.
I was on the edge of my seat to see how this would all end and of course, King delivered in a way I didn’t expect. It was exhilarating and once it was over, I was left in awe. It just makes you think, wonder, and encourage a ton of conversations about this ending. This totally reminded me of how King ended “The Colorado Kid� and I loved it since I can’t wait to talk to my fellow Constant Readers about this one in greater detail.
I give “The Mist� by Stephen King a perfect 5/5 as it was a powerhouse of short story horror read. The characters, story, twists, and sheer terror here are all top-notch. It still holds up decades later with another brilliant short story written by the greatest horror author to ever do it. I also thought King’s descriptions of the horror that takes place in “The Mist� were so brilliant, you actually feel what these characters felt and went through in gory detail. Just another mind-blowing, scary, amazing read and if you’ve yet to read this, please learn from me. Don’t wait so long to finally read this masterpiece, it’s awesome and highly recommended. Arrowhead Project was here.
Now, before I begin my review, I have a few trigger warnings for everyone in case you haven’t read “The Mist� yet. There are situations involving a man hitting a woman and suicide. I won’t ruin anything for you but if either subject triggers you, please do not read this.
Moving along, the intro painted a nice picture to start things off and I immediately knew that it wouldn’t be long until King does what he does best and hit me with some genuinely frightening horror. Sure enough, King didn’t disappoint as this whole situation with the mist was really horrific. I think it even hits home more now due to the pandemic that hit in 2020 where I can honestly see what happened in this short story happening in real life.
I’ll never forget the panic people had, how everyone was rushing to hoard food, products, toilet paper, and letting paranoia sink in to start turning on each other. The hysteria of the pandemic was real and in “The Mist� I got all those vibes again. Besides that, the super creepy moments in this short story were incredible as I especially loved the tension leading to the ending. I had no idea how this would end as the buildup was absolutely incredible. It was such a crazy ride 80% in and I couldn’t put this down at all deep into the night because it was that great.
I was on the edge of my seat to see how this would all end and of course, King delivered in a way I didn’t expect. It was exhilarating and once it was over, I was left in awe. It just makes you think, wonder, and encourage a ton of conversations about this ending. This totally reminded me of how King ended “The Colorado Kid� and I loved it since I can’t wait to talk to my fellow Constant Readers about this one in greater detail.
I give “The Mist� by Stephen King a perfect 5/5 as it was a powerhouse of short story horror read. The characters, story, twists, and sheer terror here are all top-notch. It still holds up decades later with another brilliant short story written by the greatest horror author to ever do it. I also thought King’s descriptions of the horror that takes place in “The Mist� were so brilliant, you actually feel what these characters felt and went through in gory detail. Just another mind-blowing, scary, amazing read and if you’ve yet to read this, please learn from me. Don’t wait so long to finally read this masterpiece, it’s awesome and highly recommended. Arrowhead Project was here.
February 20, 2024
I admit to very few conscious influences in my writing, but I definitely read a lot of King at the time I was starting to get serious about putting stories together, and for a couple of years my prose had (even to me) a distinctly Kingian flavour to it. The literati can be very sniffy about King, but he's top notch. I feel most of their disdain owes to the fact he's eye-deep in cash, and they like sniffing.
I read this a long time ago and saw the film many years later (twice, because it's a good film).
It's a novella that was wrapped up in a book of other King stories, and was one of the best.
Like all King novels / novellas it's about people. And to investigate his people King always tightens the vise on them, squeezing until the pips squeak, because people are more interesting under stress, and if you're writing about people not under stress, you're almost always writing literary fiction.
In this particular story the screws are tightened swiftly and all the way. The world breaks down in swift order and our main character is stuck in a supermarket with his loved ones and a bunch of random folk while all manner of nastiness tries to find its way in.
It turns into a scenario, with the supermarket filling in for the island on which the original stranding takes place. Factions are formed, scapegoats are hunted, people revert to type, and religion becomes a stick to beat others with.
Eventually scapegoats become escapegoats and a bid for freedom is made against overwhelming odds.
It's an imaginative, well-written, and unflinching story, tightly focused on its narrative whilst at the same time not feeling rushed.
I'm not sure why I originally gave it 4*, but I'm slapping up an extra * now I've finally come to write a review.
..
I read this a long time ago and saw the film many years later (twice, because it's a good film).
It's a novella that was wrapped up in a book of other King stories, and was one of the best.
Like all King novels / novellas it's about people. And to investigate his people King always tightens the vise on them, squeezing until the pips squeak, because people are more interesting under stress, and if you're writing about people not under stress, you're almost always writing literary fiction.
In this particular story the screws are tightened swiftly and all the way. The world breaks down in swift order and our main character is stuck in a supermarket with his loved ones and a bunch of random folk while all manner of nastiness tries to find its way in.
It turns into a scenario, with the supermarket filling in for the island on which the original stranding takes place. Factions are formed, scapegoats are hunted, people revert to type, and religion becomes a stick to beat others with.
Eventually scapegoats become escapegoats and a bid for freedom is made against overwhelming odds.
It's an imaginative, well-written, and unflinching story, tightly focused on its narrative whilst at the same time not feeling rushed.
I'm not sure why I originally gave it 4*, but I'm slapping up an extra * now I've finally come to write a review.
..
February 16, 2025
I'm just goin' to the store, to the store, I'm just goin' to the store / You might not see me anymore, anymore (Store � Carly Rae Jepson).
I’m always so late to things it’s not even fashionable anymore. Would you believe it if I told you that I just started listening to Chappell Roan this week? Seriously, I’m out here stopping people in the street saying shit like, �Hey everybody! Have you heard of this little jam called “Red Wine Supernova?� It’s the best!� Yeah well, this is my way of saying that it seems almost entirely redundant for me to even be writing a book review for a Stephen King novel of all things! Because it’s like� duh, of course it’s good. Everybody's already read this book, and now I'm just playing catch-up. Nonetheless, Hey everybody! Have you heard of this gem of a book called The Mist? It turns out that the very popular book, The Mist, is actually really good! It's just as frightening, existential, and downright delectable as everybody said it would be. Who would have thought? Anyway, I read this coming off the back of watching the movie recently, and other than seasonal obligation, I had an intense urge to check out the source material. The story that started it all, let’s go! The only reason I’m making a point of bringing this tidbit up is because Stephen King has always been one of those authors whose work has felt almost too intimidating for me to really sink my teeth into, and yet a large majority of the stories that he’s created are ones that I’m intimately familiar with. For example, Stand by Me is one of my favorite movies and never fails to get me feeling all the feels, and on the flip-side, Tim Curry’s Pennywise the Clown haunted all my childhood nightmares. So, in many ways, Stephen King is responsible for both my early life’s greatest fears as well as its comforts. Talk about multifaceted! Another reason why I’ve stayed away from his stuff until now is that I’ve heard criticisms that his books tend to veer heavy on the wordy side. We’re talking, “takes three pages to describe a medicine cabinet� kind of wordy, so that image in my head has always put a bit of a damper on any initial enthusiasm I might have had. And while I had a blast reading this book, I do have to concede on the fact that, yep, there sure is quite a bit of descriptive language used for pretty much every character that shows up, no matter how small the role. I mean, I knew what everybody was wearing, the color of everyone’s hair, who still had hair, their jobs, who they were married to, every little thing, I knew. Hell, by the time I finished the book I’m pretty sure I could tell you who was and wasn’t circumcised. Really though, I'm not criticizing at all, because I actually really enjoyed this “procedural� prose, as it works well to juxtapose against the unknowable monsters that exist out there. Besides, this style of writing also allowed us to gain important insight into David’s mindset, as I interpreted his incessant "daily life" descriptions of all the little mundane details as a coping mechanism, a way of grasping at some kind of normalcy as it helped tether himself to reality against the increasingly absurd backdrop of the mist.
Let’s see� what else? Oh yeah, the book is better than the movie. I know the movie has an infamously bleak ending that Stephen King himself said improved greatly upon his original work, but I really couldn’t disagree more. Ugh, it’s really hard to talk about this because I kind of want to spoil the ending. But I’ll try to keep it vague, don’t worry. The thing is, I was spoiled on both version’s endings at various points in my life, but I've got to say that it’s never really deterred me from wanting to read it for myself. When it comes to spoilers, I know I'm in the minority, but I’ve never really minded them all that much. If someone were to tell me right now, beat by beat, what happens in a book or a movie I was about watch or read, not only would I probably forget by the time I get to them, but it wouldn’t affect my opinion on the work whatsoever. I’m generally of the mind that if a story can be so easily ruined by a spoiler, then it’s probably not all that good in the first place. Incoming Hater Rant: Why do you think Marvel Studios are so cagey about their scripts, being so deathly paranoid that their precious cameos will be spoiled to the public that they don’t even give the actors acting in their movies the full context of what they’re doing in any given scene? It’s because there’s nothing tangible enough to engage with without the surprise of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire walking through an ugly CGI portal. There’s no soul, no meaning other than to get its audiences exited for the next thing to consume. Okay, End of Hater Rant, I do still watch Marvel movies, so I'm not a complete hater. Anyway, my point is that knowing the ending to the movie version of The Mist beforehand wasn't why I didn't like it. It wasn't even that it was overly depressing, my problem was the fact that it was just kind of� silly. In fact, I found it to be less scary than the book because it answers too many questions and puts a nice little bow on the whole "mist" thing. Like, in a "well, that settles it" kind of way. Sure, the book ends on a more positive note and doesn’t have anybody screaming to the heavens at the terrible deeds they were forced to commit, but we’re already given enough clues to still be skeptical with David and his group’s chances, so leaving their fates unknown will always be a million times more daunting. It’s open-ended, and I think it’s cool how Stephen King had enough respect in the reader’s intelligence and that he understood that we are able to come to our own conclusions. And my final conclusion is that there’s a good reason why this book is still looked back on as fondly as it is. It’s haunting, disturbing, and most importantly, it’s written in a way that makes us, the reader, wonder what we would do were we in the same shoes as David. Like, I like to see myself as a rational dude, but if I were stuck in a grocery store in the middle of a mist with a billion man-hungry creatures out there� sheesh, who knows? I mean, I was already ready to convert after watching the hot priest from Midnight Mass for eight episodes, I'd fold so quick (oh yeah, I’d fold right over a table for Father Paul), so it’s very possible that I be right there singing the old testament gospel alongside Mrs. Carmody. Preach girl! Seriously though, this was a great book, and I know I’m going to be looking at any looming fogs a lot differently now. Hm, I guess Stephen King’s works will be haunting my adult nightmares too. He can't keep getting away with it!
"The horrors of the Inquisition are nothing compared to the fates your mind can imagine for your loved ones."
I’m always so late to things it’s not even fashionable anymore. Would you believe it if I told you that I just started listening to Chappell Roan this week? Seriously, I’m out here stopping people in the street saying shit like, �Hey everybody! Have you heard of this little jam called “Red Wine Supernova?� It’s the best!� Yeah well, this is my way of saying that it seems almost entirely redundant for me to even be writing a book review for a Stephen King novel of all things! Because it’s like� duh, of course it’s good. Everybody's already read this book, and now I'm just playing catch-up. Nonetheless, Hey everybody! Have you heard of this gem of a book called The Mist? It turns out that the very popular book, The Mist, is actually really good! It's just as frightening, existential, and downright delectable as everybody said it would be. Who would have thought? Anyway, I read this coming off the back of watching the movie recently, and other than seasonal obligation, I had an intense urge to check out the source material. The story that started it all, let’s go! The only reason I’m making a point of bringing this tidbit up is because Stephen King has always been one of those authors whose work has felt almost too intimidating for me to really sink my teeth into, and yet a large majority of the stories that he’s created are ones that I’m intimately familiar with. For example, Stand by Me is one of my favorite movies and never fails to get me feeling all the feels, and on the flip-side, Tim Curry’s Pennywise the Clown haunted all my childhood nightmares. So, in many ways, Stephen King is responsible for both my early life’s greatest fears as well as its comforts. Talk about multifaceted! Another reason why I’ve stayed away from his stuff until now is that I’ve heard criticisms that his books tend to veer heavy on the wordy side. We’re talking, “takes three pages to describe a medicine cabinet� kind of wordy, so that image in my head has always put a bit of a damper on any initial enthusiasm I might have had. And while I had a blast reading this book, I do have to concede on the fact that, yep, there sure is quite a bit of descriptive language used for pretty much every character that shows up, no matter how small the role. I mean, I knew what everybody was wearing, the color of everyone’s hair, who still had hair, their jobs, who they were married to, every little thing, I knew. Hell, by the time I finished the book I’m pretty sure I could tell you who was and wasn’t circumcised. Really though, I'm not criticizing at all, because I actually really enjoyed this “procedural� prose, as it works well to juxtapose against the unknowable monsters that exist out there. Besides, this style of writing also allowed us to gain important insight into David’s mindset, as I interpreted his incessant "daily life" descriptions of all the little mundane details as a coping mechanism, a way of grasping at some kind of normalcy as it helped tether himself to reality against the increasingly absurd backdrop of the mist.
Let’s see� what else? Oh yeah, the book is better than the movie. I know the movie has an infamously bleak ending that Stephen King himself said improved greatly upon his original work, but I really couldn’t disagree more. Ugh, it’s really hard to talk about this because I kind of want to spoil the ending. But I’ll try to keep it vague, don’t worry. The thing is, I was spoiled on both version’s endings at various points in my life, but I've got to say that it’s never really deterred me from wanting to read it for myself. When it comes to spoilers, I know I'm in the minority, but I’ve never really minded them all that much. If someone were to tell me right now, beat by beat, what happens in a book or a movie I was about watch or read, not only would I probably forget by the time I get to them, but it wouldn’t affect my opinion on the work whatsoever. I’m generally of the mind that if a story can be so easily ruined by a spoiler, then it’s probably not all that good in the first place. Incoming Hater Rant: Why do you think Marvel Studios are so cagey about their scripts, being so deathly paranoid that their precious cameos will be spoiled to the public that they don’t even give the actors acting in their movies the full context of what they’re doing in any given scene? It’s because there’s nothing tangible enough to engage with without the surprise of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire walking through an ugly CGI portal. There’s no soul, no meaning other than to get its audiences exited for the next thing to consume. Okay, End of Hater Rant, I do still watch Marvel movies, so I'm not a complete hater. Anyway, my point is that knowing the ending to the movie version of The Mist beforehand wasn't why I didn't like it. It wasn't even that it was overly depressing, my problem was the fact that it was just kind of� silly. In fact, I found it to be less scary than the book because it answers too many questions and puts a nice little bow on the whole "mist" thing. Like, in a "well, that settles it" kind of way. Sure, the book ends on a more positive note and doesn’t have anybody screaming to the heavens at the terrible deeds they were forced to commit, but we’re already given enough clues to still be skeptical with David and his group’s chances, so leaving their fates unknown will always be a million times more daunting. It’s open-ended, and I think it’s cool how Stephen King had enough respect in the reader’s intelligence and that he understood that we are able to come to our own conclusions. And my final conclusion is that there’s a good reason why this book is still looked back on as fondly as it is. It’s haunting, disturbing, and most importantly, it’s written in a way that makes us, the reader, wonder what we would do were we in the same shoes as David. Like, I like to see myself as a rational dude, but if I were stuck in a grocery store in the middle of a mist with a billion man-hungry creatures out there� sheesh, who knows? I mean, I was already ready to convert after watching the hot priest from Midnight Mass for eight episodes, I'd fold so quick (oh yeah, I’d fold right over a table for Father Paul), so it’s very possible that I be right there singing the old testament gospel alongside Mrs. Carmody. Preach girl! Seriously though, this was a great book, and I know I’m going to be looking at any looming fogs a lot differently now. Hm, I guess Stephen King’s works will be haunting my adult nightmares too. He can't keep getting away with it!
"The horrors of the Inquisition are nothing compared to the fates your mind can imagine for your loved ones."
December 5, 2021
The Mist, Stephen King
The Mist is a horror novel by the American author Stephen King, in which the small town of Bridgton, Maine is suddenly enveloped in an unnatural mist that conceals otherworldly monsters.
The morning after a violent thunderstorm, a thick, unnatural mist quickly spreads across the small town of Bridgton, Maine, reducing visibility to near zero and concealing numerous species of bizarre creatures, which viciously attack anyone and anything that dares venture into the open.
تاریخ خوانش سال1999میلادی
عنوان: مه؛ نویسنده: استیفن کینگ؛ تهران، پندار قلم؛ سال2018میلادی؛ در124ص؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده20م
پس از یک روز طوفانی شدید، غباری غلیظ، و غیر طبیعی، به سرعت، در سراسر شهر کوچک «برایتون ماین»، گسترش مییابد، و دید اشخاص را، به صفر میرساند، و گونه های بیشماری، از موجودات عجیب و غریب را، پنهان میکند، که به هر کسی، و هر چیزی، یورش میبرند؛ داستان، حول محور مردی است، که پسرش را، برای خرید، در یک مرکز خرید، همراهی میکند، و در آنجاست، که مه آغاز میشود، تا جاییکه، مکان را در بر میگیرد، و بینایی و دیدن را، از همگان باز میستاند؛ و مرد و پسرش، در کنار هم، در جای خود میمانند، درهای بازار قفل میشوند، و آنها در انتظار ناپدید شدن ابرها هستند، اما میبینند، که حشرات و حیوانات عجیب و غریب، وجود دارند، که هر کس را، که سعی در ترک فروشگاه کرده، میکشند، و یک زن، نقش واعظ را بر دوش میگیرد و...؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 12/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 13/09/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
The Mist is a horror novel by the American author Stephen King, in which the small town of Bridgton, Maine is suddenly enveloped in an unnatural mist that conceals otherworldly monsters.
The morning after a violent thunderstorm, a thick, unnatural mist quickly spreads across the small town of Bridgton, Maine, reducing visibility to near zero and concealing numerous species of bizarre creatures, which viciously attack anyone and anything that dares venture into the open.
تاریخ خوانش سال1999میلادی
عنوان: مه؛ نویسنده: استیفن کینگ؛ تهران، پندار قلم؛ سال2018میلادی؛ در124ص؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده20م
پس از یک روز طوفانی شدید، غباری غلیظ، و غیر طبیعی، به سرعت، در سراسر شهر کوچک «برایتون ماین»، گسترش مییابد، و دید اشخاص را، به صفر میرساند، و گونه های بیشماری، از موجودات عجیب و غریب را، پنهان میکند، که به هر کسی، و هر چیزی، یورش میبرند؛ داستان، حول محور مردی است، که پسرش را، برای خرید، در یک مرکز خرید، همراهی میکند، و در آنجاست، که مه آغاز میشود، تا جاییکه، مکان را در بر میگیرد، و بینایی و دیدن را، از همگان باز میستاند؛ و مرد و پسرش، در کنار هم، در جای خود میمانند، درهای بازار قفل میشوند، و آنها در انتظار ناپدید شدن ابرها هستند، اما میبینند، که حشرات و حیوانات عجیب و غریب، وجود دارند، که هر کس را، که سعی در ترک فروشگاه کرده، میکشند، و یک زن، نقش واعظ را بر دوش میگیرد و...؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 12/11/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 13/09/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
January 11, 2025
for such a short read, it���s packed in the way king’s stuff typically is. some concepts are dated (namely the unnecessary affair), but the imagery and stakes are still super eerie. probably a 2.5 but i love stephen so i’ll round it up
February 14, 2020
David and his son Billy go out to get grocery store to get supplies after a bad storm has hit town. Before leaving David had noticed a thick mist forming, and started to feel an apprehension building. Figuring it was nothing David and Billy went for supplies but end up sequestered inside the grocery store after someone comes in screaming about the things in the mist. The town is near a military base, where rumor has it nuclear testing is being conducted, and everyone in the store becomes unsure about how to proceed. Wondering about whether or not someone is coming to save them, decisions have to be made about the best course of action.
I recently read The Thing and hated it but this one went over much better. The suspense was built up much better here and I got pretty on edge waiting to see if they would all make it. I haven't seen any of the TV or movie adaptions of this though so I came in this without any idea about the plot line. I also did like how it left off but someone told me the movie ending is a lot better. I just sometimes feel like Stephen King seems to really take his time when writing and maybe he should try to cut down on the details not related to the scary shit happening which is what I want to read about you know.
I recently read The Thing and hated it but this one went over much better. The suspense was built up much better here and I got pretty on edge waiting to see if they would all make it. I haven't seen any of the TV or movie adaptions of this though so I came in this without any idea about the plot line. I also did like how it left off but someone told me the movie ending is a lot better. I just sometimes feel like Stephen King seems to really take his time when writing and maybe he should try to cut down on the details not related to the scary shit happening which is what I want to read about you know.
June 1, 2015
My 100th read book this year. And also, a damn good one. King surely knows how to write characters you want to strangle, and then feel happy about it.
Even though I really liked the book I need to say one thing. Since I've seen the movie before I read the book, I gotta say that, even though ending of the book was interesting, ending of the movie was done so much better and it literally left me speechless.
But never mind that, I couldn't give this book any less than 5 stars, because I honestly think that it deserves every single star. From page 1 it grabbed my attention and it didn't let go 'till I turned the last page. King is the king (ha-ha!) at writing stories that you can't stop reading, and with every book of his that I read, I gain more respect for the man.
Even though I really liked the book I need to say one thing. Since I've seen the movie before I read the book, I gotta say that, even though ending of the book was interesting, ending of the movie was done so much better and it literally left me speechless.
But never mind that, I couldn't give this book any less than 5 stars, because I honestly think that it deserves every single star. From page 1 it grabbed my attention and it didn't let go 'till I turned the last page. King is the king (ha-ha!) at writing stories that you can't stop reading, and with every book of his that I read, I gain more respect for the man.
June 18, 2021
This is probably my third horror book, the first being the Shining. I enjoy horror movies that deal with the supernatural such as ghosts, however, if it was something obviously out of this world like giant insects, aliens, and the like, I wouldn't watch it. Not my type. Doesn't scare me at all.
The book started well, the characters were likable enough and there was something eerie from the start and I didn't know anything about it except that the mist is bad news. The chilly vibes continued till I discovered what actually there's in the mist and then slowly began to lose my enthusiasm. It was kind of underwhelming.
Since I am a newbie to this genre, for some reason I never read horror books, I did not know what to expect. Now I'm going to dismiss a fair share of Stephen King books because they are simply not for me. I liked the Shining and Mr. Mercedes and loved the Green Mile. I will stick to books similar to those.
No matter, I did not rate this book 2 stars because of it. No, I had more serious problems with this novella. If you're expecting a resolution, guess what, you'll find none. You consider this a spoiler? In my case, if the book doesn't have an ending that answers the important questions, then it is not worth it. I'm not reading for school where I should imagine my own sort of ending. I'd rather not read this book at all for I feel like it's a waste of time.
On the other hand, the story was never worth 5 stars to me as a whole, so -1 the rating should've been 3/5.
Then we have the characters. I liked Ollie, he was my favorite. David wasn't bad but he had many questionable moments, for example, he thought to himself if he was "the proprietor" of those green eyes (of a pretty woman).
Overall. it was a quick read, I wasn't bored. However, the book had some issues that I couldn't overlook. I now know better how to pick my Stephen King books -and horror in general. Yeah, I'm never going to read IT.
The book started well, the characters were likable enough and there was something eerie from the start and I didn't know anything about it except that the mist is bad news. The chilly vibes continued till I discovered what actually there's in the mist and then slowly began to lose my enthusiasm. It was kind of underwhelming.
Since I am a newbie to this genre, for some reason I never read horror books, I did not know what to expect. Now I'm going to dismiss a fair share of Stephen King books because they are simply not for me. I liked the Shining and Mr. Mercedes and loved the Green Mile. I will stick to books similar to those.
No matter, I did not rate this book 2 stars because of it. No, I had more serious problems with this novella. If you're expecting a resolution, guess what, you'll find none. You consider this a spoiler? In my case, if the book doesn't have an ending that answers the important questions, then it is not worth it. I'm not reading for school where I should imagine my own sort of ending. I'd rather not read this book at all for I feel like it's a waste of time.
On the other hand, the story was never worth 5 stars to me as a whole, so -1 the rating should've been 3/5.
Then we have the characters. I liked Ollie, he was my favorite. David wasn't bad but he had many questionable moments, for example, he thought to himself if he was "the proprietor" of those green eyes (of a pretty woman).
Overall. it was a quick read, I wasn't bored. However, the book had some issues that I couldn't overlook. I now know better how to pick my Stephen King books -and horror in general. Yeah, I'm never going to read IT.
October 8, 2019
A very unusual freak storm hits a small Maine town causing a lot of damage. In its aftermath, many of the townsfolk head to the local grocery store to stock up on supplies and food. While there, a thick enveloping heavy mist like no one has ever seen settles around the store. Soon the people discover that something is out there in the mist. But what exactly could it be?
This was an extremely entertaining horror story. I really enjoyed the vivid cast of characters and the different ways they reacted to their situation while stranded in the store...nerves wearing thin, arguments, choosing sides. The story itself was very atmospheric, with such a sense of foreboding, and I loved the grocery store setting. And what was out there in the mist was pretty wild. Creepy, scary, and a lot of fun. It held my attention throughout.
This was an extremely entertaining horror story. I really enjoyed the vivid cast of characters and the different ways they reacted to their situation while stranded in the store...nerves wearing thin, arguments, choosing sides. The story itself was very atmospheric, with such a sense of foreboding, and I loved the grocery store setting. And what was out there in the mist was pretty wild. Creepy, scary, and a lot of fun. It held my attention throughout.
October 15, 2016
I don't know, I liked the movie more than the book on this one. Although, when I had the book on tape a million years ago it about scared me to death with all of the sound effects! I think I would like to get a narrated version of it again!
It's been a really long time since I saw the movie but I just remember that it freaked me clean out and the book . . . not so much. I'm not sure if it was because the things in the mist were more surreal seeing them than imagining them. I don't know, who cares! I still love Mr. King's books. Well, most of them!
I also remember after this I never wanted to go out in the fog again!!!!!!
May 24, 2020
This is the novella from the short story collection 'Skeleton Crew' by Stephen King. it's one of my favorite stories King has published. He has written some amazing novellas and this is one of my favorites.
I still recall the chills this story gave me. It started out in the woods with a dude cutting wood and I didn't know where it was going and then we end up inside a grocery story with the world going crazy. It's a brilliant story. it has stuck with me for more than 20 years and I still think of this story.
This story delivers, in my opinion. I use to own all of Stephens books up to 2005, everything. I had a great paperback collection. When I moved I gave them all away and I do wish I still had this story so I could go back and read it again. There are many books in the collection I wish I had kept. Oh well. Hopefully the library opens soon and maybe I can borrow it.
I still recall the chills this story gave me. It started out in the woods with a dude cutting wood and I didn't know where it was going and then we end up inside a grocery story with the world going crazy. It's a brilliant story. it has stuck with me for more than 20 years and I still think of this story.
This story delivers, in my opinion. I use to own all of Stephens books up to 2005, everything. I had a great paperback collection. When I moved I gave them all away and I do wish I still had this story so I could go back and read it again. There are many books in the collection I wish I had kept. Oh well. Hopefully the library opens soon and maybe I can borrow it.
September 8, 2019
4.5 stars.
Just another example of King's mesmerizing storytelling ability. Got me gripped from page 1 until the final sentence. Although being the size of a novella and originally published as a short story, this book has enough to spooke you with all the creeps and chills.
The way King builds up the atmosphere for this is brilliant. The book wastes no time setting itself up and diving into the story, and also doesn’t spend too much time exploring the whys and the whats, it just gets into it all, which is fantastic.
While The Mist is terrifying with its creatures seeking human flesh in the grayness, its real fear comes from the gray of human nature. It revolves around how people react to the terror and each other. That’s the real horror here.
My only complain would be that there isn't much explanation about why the mist has suddenly appeared. Also there is a totally unnecessary sex scene in the book. A lot of people don't like the ending, but I quite like it.
Overall, The Mist is a pretty damn good short, quick read if you are interested, and has monster horror to keep you going. It knows what it is and it goes for it, no mincing about. It is well written and barrels along, definitely worth the read.
Just another example of King's mesmerizing storytelling ability. Got me gripped from page 1 until the final sentence. Although being the size of a novella and originally published as a short story, this book has enough to spooke you with all the creeps and chills.
The way King builds up the atmosphere for this is brilliant. The book wastes no time setting itself up and diving into the story, and also doesn’t spend too much time exploring the whys and the whats, it just gets into it all, which is fantastic.
While The Mist is terrifying with its creatures seeking human flesh in the grayness, its real fear comes from the gray of human nature. It revolves around how people react to the terror and each other. That’s the real horror here.
My only complain would be that there isn't much explanation about why the mist has suddenly appeared. Also there is a totally unnecessary sex scene in the book. A lot of people don't like the ending, but I quite like it.
Overall, The Mist is a pretty damn good short, quick read if you are interested, and has monster horror to keep you going. It knows what it is and it goes for it, no mincing about. It is well written and barrels along, definitely worth the read.
May 19, 2015
21W.758 - based on first 20 pages, if I didn't have to read this I'd've already returned it to the freaking library.
admittedly only 25% into it:
So this is my first King novel. I've read one short story by him which I liked.
Does he always foreshadow with a sledgehammer? And is it him being all snark-snark-me-big-strong-man-protect-small-hot-wife, or is it the narrator? Because I can't tell, but I know I want to punch the narrator any time he says anything about his wife or any other women - it's all got this snobby air of protective superiority, and it's skeeving me out.
Also, five-year-olds do not talk like that. Seriously, they don't. Nor does everyone say each other's names in dialogue all the time - they sound like a crowd of news anchors. "I don't know, Norton, let's go to Steff with the weather." Blah.
end:
SO LAME. CLOUD FULL OF DINOSAURS. SO. LAME.
So I understand that King is all into the Everyman as Hero thing - characters are easy to relate to (or they're supposed to be; I found it hard to relate to sexist upper-middle-class-white-male artist), their thoughts are all narrated and up-front, narration itself is in plain English, nothing fancy. Except that makes it so boring - plain, bland sentence structure, littered with cliches, utterly toneless.
Another apparent trademark is the Juxtaposition of Everyday Details And Anecdotes In Midst Of Horrifying Experience thing - and he flubs it here. We'll be getting up to some monster attack and there is some semblance of tension and then it just flatlines as the narrator pauses to describe the action with some simile that takes three times as many words as it needs to. Or there'll be some emotionally-fraught scene of potential character growth and the narrator will be off and running with some story about his hot wife and the futility of art. And I DID NOT CARE.
That was the worst thing about this - King really wanted me to care about these characters, and he kept throwing in details to manipulate me into liking them, and it was so obvious. At the end I was left with Billy, and he was boring, too.
I viscerally hated the narrator by page 125 (emphasis mine): "If I were her husband and proprietor of those green eyes and that full figure, I might not travel so much."
PROPRIETOR. EXCUSE MY RAGE, BUT WHAT. THE FUCK. IS THAT.
At that point, I was like, yeah, whatever, you could totally get eaten right now and I would not even care.
So yes: lame-ass plot (THE MIST WAS COMING) with half-assed non-explanation (ARROWHEAD PROJECT. MAYBE) and awful characters (I AM MAN, HEAR ME MAN) that tried to manipulate me into liking them (LOOK I'M HUMAN LOOK HOW HUMAN I AM HERE'S A STORY FROM MY HUMAN LIFE) couched in hideously boring prose.
Fail all around, basically. I'll enjoy having a rant about this.
admittedly only 25% into it:
So this is my first King novel. I've read one short story by him which I liked.
Does he always foreshadow with a sledgehammer? And is it him being all snark-snark-me-big-strong-man-protect-small-hot-wife, or is it the narrator? Because I can't tell, but I know I want to punch the narrator any time he says anything about his wife or any other women - it's all got this snobby air of protective superiority, and it's skeeving me out.
Also, five-year-olds do not talk like that. Seriously, they don't. Nor does everyone say each other's names in dialogue all the time - they sound like a crowd of news anchors. "I don't know, Norton, let's go to Steff with the weather." Blah.
end:
SO LAME. CLOUD FULL OF DINOSAURS. SO. LAME.
So I understand that King is all into the Everyman as Hero thing - characters are easy to relate to (or they're supposed to be; I found it hard to relate to sexist upper-middle-class-white-male artist), their thoughts are all narrated and up-front, narration itself is in plain English, nothing fancy. Except that makes it so boring - plain, bland sentence structure, littered with cliches, utterly toneless.
Another apparent trademark is the Juxtaposition of Everyday Details And Anecdotes In Midst Of Horrifying Experience thing - and he flubs it here. We'll be getting up to some monster attack and there is some semblance of tension and then it just flatlines as the narrator pauses to describe the action with some simile that takes three times as many words as it needs to. Or there'll be some emotionally-fraught scene of potential character growth and the narrator will be off and running with some story about his hot wife and the futility of art. And I DID NOT CARE.
That was the worst thing about this - King really wanted me to care about these characters, and he kept throwing in details to manipulate me into liking them, and it was so obvious. At the end I was left with Billy, and he was boring, too.
I viscerally hated the narrator by page 125 (emphasis mine): "If I were her husband and proprietor of those green eyes and that full figure, I might not travel so much."
PROPRIETOR. EXCUSE MY RAGE, BUT WHAT. THE FUCK. IS THAT.
At that point, I was like, yeah, whatever, you could totally get eaten right now and I would not even care.
So yes: lame-ass plot (THE MIST WAS COMING) with half-assed non-explanation (ARROWHEAD PROJECT. MAYBE) and awful characters (I AM MAN, HEAR ME MAN) that tried to manipulate me into liking them (LOOK I'M HUMAN LOOK HOW HUMAN I AM HERE'S A STORY FROM MY HUMAN LIFE) couched in hideously boring prose.
Fail all around, basically. I'll enjoy having a rant about this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 25, 2020
I have always found that Stephen King can pull a reader in with his writing, no matter the length. I needed something to fill my time and turned to this novella, which showcases some of the greatness I have come to expect from the author. David Drayton and his family live in rural Maine, watching as a storm rolls across the sky, closer to them. The fork lightning excites young Billy, who wants to stay up as things seem to be falling apart around him. In the morning, the storm’s destruction is apparent, with felled power lines and trees having smashed into houses and vehicles alike. David is tasked with getting some things at the store, an activity that he and Billy will do together. However, before they depart, both notice an odd mist hovering over the water, something David can only surmise must be an odd meteorological aberration. As they make their way to town, Billy and David review the list given to them, noticing that the mist seems to be here as well. Once inside, it would seem others had the same idea about grabbing a few things, as David and Billy queue up with other townsfolk. The mist thickens, almost enveloping the store, as many ask about it and what it could mean. Some venture outside, not seen again, but their piercing screams fill the air. Worried now, David and some others try to determine what this mist could be, witnessing a grotesque tentacle emerge and pull someone into its centre. This is no longer a low cloud, but something with a mind of its own. How anyone will get out is left to be seen in this King classic novella. Sharp, with a mix of spine-chilling actions, Stephen King keeps the reader on edge throughout. Recommended to those who enjoy the work of Stephen King, as well as those readers who find pleasure in stories about the weather.
I find that Stephen King is able to come up with some many varied ideas in his writing, pulling from his vast experiences. This piece, which begins as a simple nighttime storm, soon becomes a horrifying story about a seemingly innocuous weather system. David Drayton plays the wonderful protagonist in this piece, mixing a laidback nature with a passion to get to the root of the issue. He leads his family in being as safe as possible, but tries to downplay some of the worries his wife exhibits throughout the story. When it comes down to it, David exerts a leadership role that the reader will discover throughout, particularly when things get especially problematic within the store. Other characters offer interesting flavouring to an already hyped-up story, giving King much to work with as he spins this tale effectively. The piece itself is full of wonderful imagery, from the powerful storm to this sinister ‘thing� floating over the water, which will eventually eject its slimy arms to pull unsuspecting people inside it, as though feeding off the fear that the townspeople have of what’s going on. King never shies away from this detail, which is balanced out by some of the climactic writing that divides the chapters. Anyone looking for some suspenseful work with not too much in the way of gory description need look no further. At a time when some feel they are ‘living in a Stephen King� novel, I am left to wonder if I would prefer isolation from COVID-19, or from this mist!
Kudos, Mr. King, for a wonderful short piece that kept my heart pumping throughout. I will keep finding and devouring these great stories of yours.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: /group/show/...
I find that Stephen King is able to come up with some many varied ideas in his writing, pulling from his vast experiences. This piece, which begins as a simple nighttime storm, soon becomes a horrifying story about a seemingly innocuous weather system. David Drayton plays the wonderful protagonist in this piece, mixing a laidback nature with a passion to get to the root of the issue. He leads his family in being as safe as possible, but tries to downplay some of the worries his wife exhibits throughout the story. When it comes down to it, David exerts a leadership role that the reader will discover throughout, particularly when things get especially problematic within the store. Other characters offer interesting flavouring to an already hyped-up story, giving King much to work with as he spins this tale effectively. The piece itself is full of wonderful imagery, from the powerful storm to this sinister ‘thing� floating over the water, which will eventually eject its slimy arms to pull unsuspecting people inside it, as though feeding off the fear that the townspeople have of what’s going on. King never shies away from this detail, which is balanced out by some of the climactic writing that divides the chapters. Anyone looking for some suspenseful work with not too much in the way of gory description need look no further. At a time when some feel they are ‘living in a Stephen King� novel, I am left to wonder if I would prefer isolation from COVID-19, or from this mist!
Kudos, Mr. King, for a wonderful short piece that kept my heart pumping throughout. I will keep finding and devouring these great stories of yours.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: /group/show/...
June 19, 2018
3.5 Stars
One of my friend's Dad used to throw a number of inspirational quotes all around to provide us with insight and direction to life and stuff. One of his favorites was: Don't be afraid to go into the mist, be excited because you don't know where you will end up.
Clearly, he never had a chance to read The Mist.
This dream belongs to David, our narrator/ family man who finds himself living in his own dreadful nightmare. It all began after a destructive storm and when a thick unnatural mist started rolling in. David and his young son Billy were in a crowded supermarket when the mist enveloped the building, effectively creating a prison for the people inside the market, guarded by things no man has ever seen.
How bad is it? Let's just say stepping out to the mist is equivalent to signing your own death sentence.
The Mist is an interesting novella with a very creepy premise. King plays with the horror of the unknown in the opening act and gradually raises the curtain to reveal the main attraction throughout the narration. It's a classic horror structure, and King does it quite well.
Unfortunately, I had watched the 2007 movie adaptation of the story many times while I was in uni. It was one of gang's favorite movie and we always had conversations which went like: "Dude, remember The Mist's ending? That was crazy". For me, the movie is the reason I'm rating this lower. While The Mist has a "Hitchcock" style ending (Not my words), the movie had a definite one, and in this case, I'll take the definite one.
Yet, The Mist is the glorious source material and it is really well written. One another thing King nails here is the mob mentality and the way people act under the pressure of horrors. If you're looking for a short SK story, this is the one to pick!
Afterthought
For some reason, I kept on thinking a scenario where The Mist finds its way to Derry during the reign of IT. Imagine you're running, and BOOM, IT comes out of the damn smoke.
That would be a killer tale.
One of my friend's Dad used to throw a number of inspirational quotes all around to provide us with insight and direction to life and stuff. One of his favorites was: Don't be afraid to go into the mist, be excited because you don't know where you will end up.
Clearly, he never had a chance to read The Mist.
� In the dream I could hear the rending crack and splinter of breaking trees as God stamped the woods into the shape of His footsteps. He was circling the lake, coming toward the Bridgton side, toward us, and all the houses and cottages and summer places were bursting into purple-white flame like lightning, and soon the smoke covered everything. The smoke covered everything like a mist.�
This dream belongs to David, our narrator/ family man who finds himself living in his own dreadful nightmare. It all began after a destructive storm and when a thick unnatural mist started rolling in. David and his young son Billy were in a crowded supermarket when the mist enveloped the building, effectively creating a prison for the people inside the market, guarded by things no man has ever seen.
How bad is it? Let's just say stepping out to the mist is equivalent to signing your own death sentence.
The Mist is an interesting novella with a very creepy premise. King plays with the horror of the unknown in the opening act and gradually raises the curtain to reveal the main attraction throughout the narration. It's a classic horror structure, and King does it quite well.
Unfortunately, I had watched the 2007 movie adaptation of the story many times while I was in uni. It was one of gang's favorite movie and we always had conversations which went like: "Dude, remember The Mist's ending? That was crazy". For me, the movie is the reason I'm rating this lower. While The Mist has a "Hitchcock" style ending (Not my words), the movie had a definite one, and in this case, I'll take the definite one.
Yet, The Mist is the glorious source material and it is really well written. One another thing King nails here is the mob mentality and the way people act under the pressure of horrors. If you're looking for a short SK story, this is the one to pick!
Afterthought
For some reason, I kept on thinking a scenario where The Mist finds its way to Derry during the reign of IT. Imagine you're running, and BOOM, IT comes out of the damn smoke.
That would be a killer tale.
December 4, 2022
أهوال محاكم التفتيش لا تقارن بالمصائر التي يمكن لعقلك أن يتخيلها لأحبائك
June 25, 2018
This slip cased hardcover book is numbered 458 of 500 and is signed by artist Herbert Brandmeier on the title page.
Nebel is the German word for fog. This is the First World Hard cover separate edition of the book, which I purchased at Forbidden Planet book shop, while on a business trip to London, England in 1986.
Shortly after publication, Mr. King had customs officials destroy most copies for copyright infringement. It was first published as the first and longest story of the 1980 horror anthology Dark Forces. A slightly edited version was included in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.
Nebel is the German word for fog. This is the First World Hard cover separate edition of the book, which I purchased at Forbidden Planet book shop, while on a business trip to London, England in 1986.
Shortly after publication, Mr. King had customs officials destroy most copies for copyright infringement. It was first published as the first and longest story of the 1980 horror anthology Dark Forces. A slightly edited version was included in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.
August 7, 2020
5 Stars
I mean this is one of my favorite short stories ever written I remember reading this twice in one day because I loved it that much and I think I have gone on to read this around 5 times now (which is a lot for me). This one never gets old for me and the ENDING one of my favorite endings of a story EVER!
If you haven't seen the film yet - you should defiantly go and watch that too! You won't be disappointed - this is the book that proves Stephen king is one of the best short story authors EVER!
“Dreams, after all, are insubstantial things, like mist itself.�
“One of those terrible visions came to me - I think they are reserved exclusively for husbands and fathers - of the picture window blowing in with a low hard coughing sound and sending jagged arrows of glass into my wife's bare stomach, into my boy's face and neck. The horrors of the Inquisition are nothing compared to the fates your mind can imagine for your loved ones.�
This book is full of horror mystery and the unknown! Just PERFECT!
I mean this is one of my favorite short stories ever written I remember reading this twice in one day because I loved it that much and I think I have gone on to read this around 5 times now (which is a lot for me). This one never gets old for me and the ENDING one of my favorite endings of a story EVER!
If you haven't seen the film yet - you should defiantly go and watch that too! You won't be disappointed - this is the book that proves Stephen king is one of the best short story authors EVER!
“Dreams, after all, are insubstantial things, like mist itself.�
“One of those terrible visions came to me - I think they are reserved exclusively for husbands and fathers - of the picture window blowing in with a low hard coughing sound and sending jagged arrows of glass into my wife's bare stomach, into my boy's face and neck. The horrors of the Inquisition are nothing compared to the fates your mind can imagine for your loved ones.�
This book is full of horror mystery and the unknown! Just PERFECT!
August 24, 2017
3.5 Misty Stars
The Mist was my first read by Stephen King. Well I loved the writing. It keeps you read it uninterrupted. Even though the idea of it wasn’t new, it was something that I watched on movies, but the writing is in such a a way that I couldn’t get enough of it! but I hated its ending! I really didn’t expect the author ends it like that! And by that I meant so open!
The story is about a man, named David, that after a hurricane with his son and his neighbor goes to a supermarket and leaves his wife at home. But when they are at the supermarket, there is a weird fog everywhere. Something is wrong with this fog! Something really creepy and scary!
The story is told in David’s POV, 1st person. It’s well-written and fast-paced. It’s a stand-alone novel. All in all, I enjoyed it (except the ending) hope you like it more than me!
The Mist was my first read by Stephen King. Well I loved the writing. It keeps you read it uninterrupted. Even though the idea of it wasn’t new, it was something that I watched on movies, but the writing is in such a a way that I couldn’t get enough of it! but I hated its ending! I really didn’t expect the author ends it like that! And by that I meant so open!
The story is about a man, named David, that after a hurricane with his son and his neighbor goes to a supermarket and leaves his wife at home. But when they are at the supermarket, there is a weird fog everywhere. Something is wrong with this fog! Something really creepy and scary!
The story is told in David’s POV, 1st person. It’s well-written and fast-paced. It’s a stand-alone novel. All in all, I enjoyed it (except the ending) hope you like it more than me!
September 30, 2023
4/4.5 stars
MVP goes to Mrs. Reppler.
Without this badass bitch, things would be very different with a few characters and the shenanigans that went down in the Federal market.
Stephen King once again writes another fantastic character to hate, Mrs. Carmody. I hope when the sh!t is going down, I’ll never have this type of character in my vicinity.
The Mist was super entertaining, tense, gory and stressful.
I really loved this one!
MVP goes to Mrs. Reppler.
Without this badass bitch, things would be very different with a few characters and the shenanigans that went down in the Federal market.
Stephen King once again writes another fantastic character to hate, Mrs. Carmody. I hope when the sh!t is going down, I’ll never have this type of character in my vicinity.
The Mist was super entertaining, tense, gory and stressful.
I really loved this one!
February 10, 2025
„Мъглата� е отлична хорър новела! Стивън Кинг умело е съчетал свръхестествени и реалистични ужаси, разказвайки въздействаща драматична история. Според мен, религиозният фанатизъм в книгата е много по-зловеща заплаха от мъглата и тайнствените чудовища, също както в „То� обществените нрави са доста по-страховити от самия Пениуайз. Баща и син отиват до супермаркета, където се оказват изолирани с останалите хора там, тъй като навън се е спуснала загадъчна непрогледна мъгла. Впоследствие се опитват да намерят изход от ситуацията и напрежението значително се повишава...
„Знает� ли какво всъщност е талантът? Проклятието на очакването. Още като дете трябва да се бориш с него, да го победиш по някакъв начин. Ако умееш да пишеш, си въобразяваш, че господ те е пратил на тази земя, за да засенчиш Шекспир.�
„Знает� ли какво всъщност е талантът? Проклятието на очакването. Още като дете трябва да се бориш с него, да го победиш по някакъв начин. Ако умееш да пишеш, си въобразяваш, че господ те е пратил на тази земя, за да засенчиш Шекспир.�
October 8, 2024
i feel like i deserve some kind of compensation for being put through this awful man's pov for the entire book
October 1, 2016
Starting off this year's October (horror month) with a classic author for when you want to shiver: Stephen King.
I already know the story because I watched the movie adaptation many moons ago so I knew I would like it.
The story is that after a massive storm the titular mist closes in on a community in Maine, but it is no ordinary mist and with it come unspeakable horrors, trapping a number of people in a supermarket.
Stephen King managed to make the supermarket very chilly and claustrophic, giving this novella a wonderfully haunting atmosphere. The characters were somewhat authentic. I say somewhat because a certain yellow-clad old lady was almost too over the top (on the other hand, I've seen some American preachers in tents and weird congregations that would be utterly unthinkable here so maybe my European mind just doesn't allow to take it seriously). And as usual, the story is an exploration of the human mind and heart more than it is a story about monsters (unless we call the humans monsters, then we'd be right).
What didn't sit right with me at all was . Moreover, much like the author, I think the mind-fuck at the end of the movie was better than the ending of the novella (although this ending wasn't too bad either). It's funny, actually. I would have expected this kind of ending to be typically Hollywood and the movie's ending to be typically King.
There were three very powerful realizations in this story, two of which I have already mentioned in my status updates: the horrible things that we imagine can happen to our loved ones, people following even the most bat-shit-insane person if they offer them the solution (no matter how unrealistic) to a bad situation, and finally when - extremely haunting.
Anyone looking for an atmospheric and creepy read will get exactly that (plus a character study that drives you up the walls but that is pretty "standard" King ;P).
I already know the story because I watched the movie adaptation many moons ago so I knew I would like it.
The story is that after a massive storm the titular mist closes in on a community in Maine, but it is no ordinary mist and with it come unspeakable horrors, trapping a number of people in a supermarket.
Stephen King managed to make the supermarket very chilly and claustrophic, giving this novella a wonderfully haunting atmosphere. The characters were somewhat authentic. I say somewhat because a certain yellow-clad old lady was almost too over the top (on the other hand, I've seen some American preachers in tents and weird congregations that would be utterly unthinkable here so maybe my European mind just doesn't allow to take it seriously). And as usual, the story is an exploration of the human mind and heart more than it is a story about monsters (unless we call the humans monsters, then we'd be right).
What didn't sit right with me at all was . Moreover, much like the author, I think the mind-fuck at the end of the movie was better than the ending of the novella (although this ending wasn't too bad either). It's funny, actually. I would have expected this kind of ending to be typically Hollywood and the movie's ending to be typically King.
There were three very powerful realizations in this story, two of which I have already mentioned in my status updates: the horrible things that we imagine can happen to our loved ones, people following even the most bat-shit-insane person if they offer them the solution (no matter how unrealistic) to a bad situation, and finally when - extremely haunting.
Anyone looking for an atmospheric and creepy read will get exactly that (plus a character study that drives you up the walls but that is pretty "standard" King ;P).
October 9, 2021
maybe it’s because my expectations were too high but this was like extremely boring not to mention David, was really boring AND annoying
July 6, 2022
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐�
Genre: Horror
The Mist is one of the short stories by Stephen King that was released in his book Skeleton Crew. This is a standalone edition. The story is narrated from the protagonist’s perspective (David). David is heading with his son and neighbor to the supermarket to buy some groceries after a big stormy night. But there they will all get trapped in the supermarket as a strange mist surround them and with the mist comes horrific things that nobody has experienced before.
If you have not watched the movie adaptation yet, then you are in for many surprises. But if you already watched the movie then you know most of the story but will be experiencing it in a different way. To be trapped somewhere isolated from the world with horror coming from outside and inside is one of my favorite tropes. This trope works for me most of the time. With Stephen King’s masterful storytelling, The Mist was not an exception. This short story is everything I want from such a trope.
King got some fantastic characters built in less than 200 pages. Mrs. Carmody is such a unique character, she is a force of terror from the inside. Actually, sometimes I felt that a few of the characters were more afraid of her than of the creatures! In the book, she is an old lady which makes a lot of sense. King has given her some very distinctive physical features. Marcia Gay Harden played her in the film and although it is the wrong casting if the age factor is looked at, Harden has given such a powerful performance that leaves a very strong impact on you.
Stephen King has kept the ending ambiguous. The book has an open ending left to the reader’s imagination. It depicts hope and at the same time uncertainty. The movie has more of a Hollywoodish ending that King liked too. I like them both. I think both worked very well for the story. This was a fun read with lots of tension building. I’m planning to watch the TV series adaptation now that I have read the book even though I heard not good things about it.
Note: The Mist is a part of my reading of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. This is Book No.9 of 24 books I am going to read for this series.
Genre: Horror
The Mist is one of the short stories by Stephen King that was released in his book Skeleton Crew. This is a standalone edition. The story is narrated from the protagonist’s perspective (David). David is heading with his son and neighbor to the supermarket to buy some groceries after a big stormy night. But there they will all get trapped in the supermarket as a strange mist surround them and with the mist comes horrific things that nobody has experienced before.
If you have not watched the movie adaptation yet, then you are in for many surprises. But if you already watched the movie then you know most of the story but will be experiencing it in a different way. To be trapped somewhere isolated from the world with horror coming from outside and inside is one of my favorite tropes. This trope works for me most of the time. With Stephen King’s masterful storytelling, The Mist was not an exception. This short story is everything I want from such a trope.
King got some fantastic characters built in less than 200 pages. Mrs. Carmody is such a unique character, she is a force of terror from the inside. Actually, sometimes I felt that a few of the characters were more afraid of her than of the creatures! In the book, she is an old lady which makes a lot of sense. King has given her some very distinctive physical features. Marcia Gay Harden played her in the film and although it is the wrong casting if the age factor is looked at, Harden has given such a powerful performance that leaves a very strong impact on you.
Stephen King has kept the ending ambiguous. The book has an open ending left to the reader’s imagination. It depicts hope and at the same time uncertainty. The movie has more of a Hollywoodish ending that King liked too. I like them both. I think both worked very well for the story. This was a fun read with lots of tension building. I’m planning to watch the TV series adaptation now that I have read the book even though I heard not good things about it.
Note: The Mist is a part of my reading of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. This is Book No.9 of 24 books I am going to read for this series.
February 13, 2017
I saw the movie; I hated the movie. Just now getting to the novella, I'm relieved that it's better and isn't cursed with the horrible celluloid ending.
One of the best perks is I didn't have to listen to as much detaield spiel from that religious woman, who goes down as one of the most annoying characters in horror movie history.
The characters are fine - child is cute and convincing, the MC strong enough although he does distract himself with carnal cravings, and there's the fun disbonding groups do when they face trouble together.
Creepy mist is creepy - there are some nightmarish monsters out there, especially horrible for those like me who detest spiders. As awful as the other creatures were, I'd take them any day over the horrible spiders in this story. *shudder*
It flies by pretty quickly, not only because it's a novella but because it's not weighed down with excessive prose. It sticks to the point and sets the creepy ambience well.
It's not perfect just because I was only half interested in the storyline (I already knew it going in), but it's a horror novella worth reading, especially this time of the year.
One of the best perks is I didn't have to listen to as much detaield spiel from that religious woman, who goes down as one of the most annoying characters in horror movie history.
The characters are fine - child is cute and convincing, the MC strong enough although he does distract himself with carnal cravings, and there's the fun disbonding groups do when they face trouble together.
Creepy mist is creepy - there are some nightmarish monsters out there, especially horrible for those like me who detest spiders. As awful as the other creatures were, I'd take them any day over the horrible spiders in this story. *shudder*
It flies by pretty quickly, not only because it's a novella but because it's not weighed down with excessive prose. It sticks to the point and sets the creepy ambience well.
It's not perfect just because I was only half interested in the storyline (I already knew it going in), but it's a horror novella worth reading, especially this time of the year.
April 5, 2021
Read it the first time in 2019. The mist is about, well a mist. That traps a group of people in a grocery store as it creeps into a town wreaking havoc. It's get into a religious place, as one of the traps believes they need to sacrifice one of them to please God and stop the mist and two groups form, one for and one against. Not one of King's best but an enjoyable and entertaining look at human behaviour. It's not very scary but it's atmospheric and eerie and a good book to spend some time with.
April 3, 2018
Nunca lograré comprender como Stephen King tiene la capacidad de inventar tantas historias, a tan buen ritmo y que todas resulten frescas y nuevas. La versión que leí de La niebla, que se puede entender como una novela completa por su tamaño, incluye a demás dos relatos cortos. El mono y El atajo de la señora Todd.
Sobre La niebla diré que ya conocía esta archiconocida historia. Principalmente gracias a sus adaptaciones cinematográficas. Llevaba tiempo queriendo animarme a leerla, pero sentía que quizás podía decepcionarme, por conocer con anterioridad toda la trama. No fue así. Es una historia que se disfruta de principio a fin. Como siempre con King. Incluso el final en este caso, me pareció bastante satisfactorio y realista. Dentro de lo sobrenatural de la historia.
En segundo lugar nos encontramos con El mono. Este relato me confirma que este hombre es un genio. Coge un mono de juguete, un mono de esos con sonrisa gigante y dos platillos y ya tiene una historia espeluznante. Y lo consigue con cualquier cosa. No volveré a mirar a un mono de juguete de la misma manera.
Por último, nos encontramos con El atajo de la señora Todd. Si bien al principio, pueda parecer menor en comparación con los otros dos, ya que en este caso no se nos presenta un relato de terror, no lo es en absoluto. Dos hombres en un banco. Uno de ellos relata la historia de una mujer que desapareció. Una mujer que no olvida. Una desaparición misteriosa. Una lástima que sea tan corta. Hubiera disfrutado una novela de larga duración de esta historia.
En resumen, King no defrauda.
Sobre La niebla diré que ya conocía esta archiconocida historia. Principalmente gracias a sus adaptaciones cinematográficas. Llevaba tiempo queriendo animarme a leerla, pero sentía que quizás podía decepcionarme, por conocer con anterioridad toda la trama. No fue así. Es una historia que se disfruta de principio a fin. Como siempre con King. Incluso el final en este caso, me pareció bastante satisfactorio y realista. Dentro de lo sobrenatural de la historia.
En segundo lugar nos encontramos con El mono. Este relato me confirma que este hombre es un genio. Coge un mono de juguete, un mono de esos con sonrisa gigante y dos platillos y ya tiene una historia espeluznante. Y lo consigue con cualquier cosa. No volveré a mirar a un mono de juguete de la misma manera.
Por último, nos encontramos con El atajo de la señora Todd. Si bien al principio, pueda parecer menor en comparación con los otros dos, ya que en este caso no se nos presenta un relato de terror, no lo es en absoluto. Dos hombres en un banco. Uno de ellos relata la historia de una mujer que desapareció. Una mujer que no olvida. Una desaparición misteriosa. Una lástima que sea tan corta. Hubiera disfrutado una novela de larga duración de esta historia.
En resumen, King no defrauda.
June 17, 2022
I’ve only ever read a few Stephen King books. I’ve loved the ones I’ve read. They creeped me out. Made me feel unsafe in my own home. Yes, I know that sounds so wrong that I enjoyed it.
The Mist was terrifying and horrific. The imagery of people being ripped apart made me sick to my stomach. It’s the imagery that not only sets the scene but creates a character out of the scenery. The little town overrun by monsters from another dimension (readers assume that’s where they are from - a government project gone wrong) is a frightening place. The fact that the human characters are cut off from their loved ones and the rest of the world while stuck in a grocery store adds to the suspense. The imagery and the mood really make this novel a very worthy read.
Dave, his wife Steffi and their son Billy are an ideal middle American family. Many of the characters in the town (townies and out-of-towners alike) are very normal. They could be you or me or your neighbor down the street. So when the excrement hits the fan, it’s awful to see how these normal people respond to the threat of death. King explores how people deal with life and death situations, often turning on one another in order to survive.
The ending is ambiguous, which adds another layer to King’s themes. Dave, the narrator, even says that it’s one of those Hitchcock endings where you aren’t quite sure if it’s all going to turn out okay or not. Isn’t that like life though? It feels like the most natural of endings for this piece. I really enjoyed being scared and haunted by this one!
The Mist was terrifying and horrific. The imagery of people being ripped apart made me sick to my stomach. It’s the imagery that not only sets the scene but creates a character out of the scenery. The little town overrun by monsters from another dimension (readers assume that’s where they are from - a government project gone wrong) is a frightening place. The fact that the human characters are cut off from their loved ones and the rest of the world while stuck in a grocery store adds to the suspense. The imagery and the mood really make this novel a very worthy read.
Dave, his wife Steffi and their son Billy are an ideal middle American family. Many of the characters in the town (townies and out-of-towners alike) are very normal. They could be you or me or your neighbor down the street. So when the excrement hits the fan, it’s awful to see how these normal people respond to the threat of death. King explores how people deal with life and death situations, often turning on one another in order to survive.
The ending is ambiguous, which adds another layer to King’s themes. Dave, the narrator, even says that it’s one of those Hitchcock endings where you aren’t quite sure if it’s all going to turn out okay or not. Isn’t that like life though? It feels like the most natural of endings for this piece. I really enjoyed being scared and haunted by this one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2024
This review is apart of my goal to read & review all of King~~~ Welcome to The Mist!
A creature feature with a lot more going on than you might first expect, The Mist is an isolated novella that manages to make the human terrors more frightening than the Lovecraftian monsters.
Surprising no one more than myself, this is now tied with Pet Sematary (my all time favorite) for the most times reread. The reason for this isn’t what you’d expect.
The Mist opens on the eve of a storm on Long Lake, somewhere near Bridgton, Maine. From the first paragraph King sets us up to understand that unprecedented events are about to unfold. “This is what happened. On the night that the worst heat wave in northern New England history finally broke� the entire western Maine region was lashed with the most vicious thunderstorms I have ever seen.�
The story is written from the perspective of David Drayton, son of a famous artist, and long time town resident. On the evening before the catastrophe, David has a cold dinner with his wife, Steff, and his five year old son Billy. From the start David can sense something is off. The weather has been unprecedented this year, and the storm coming from the far side of the lake gives him bad vibes.
What follows is a mean summer storm. The next day, after hunkering down, they wake to a tree smashed through their picture window, and utter devastation outside. Live lines are down, hissing in the yard. Faced with a long clean up, they need food and supplies. Steff decides to stay home and tend to the destruction, while David, Billy, and their erstwhile frenemie and neighbor Norton, head into town to pick up some groceries. We spend a sizable chunk of the novel in this BEFORE, it is 44 pages before the mist reaches the market.
I LOVE the opening sequence. I am a fan of most of Stephen Kings openings (We will talk about his endings later�.), but The Mist is possibly one of my favorites from a writing standpoint. Reading the opening of The Mist is like reading a really great, mundane short story. It could end with the characters coming home from the market, having a day of eating bologna sandwiches, cleaning up wreckage, and playing among the reeds and I’d be satisfied. King has managed to create the perfect small town atmosphere here.
This is the reason I’ve read The Mist so many times; Whenever we get the first heatwave, followed by a thunderstorm, a cooling mist creeps through the breeze and settles in for a day or two, and I can’t help but want to read the opening of The Mist.
I grew up in a not as idyllic, but possibly as small, neighborhood myself, and we had many a storm that knocked us off the grid for days at a time. (See the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak), so I could relate to this feeling of being completely disconnected following a major weather event.
When the mist comes, heralded by the sound of a police car screaming into the distance and the wail of the towns fire siren, there are a lot of people in the market. Some decide to go out and see what’s going on. They are never seen again. Some screams are heard, and thuds like earthquakes are felt. Once isolated In the market conditions quickly begin to deteriorate
I really loved the way King went about setting this up. The isolation, the hysteria, the problem solving among those in the market, all felt realistic. There are a few times that David mentions he feels like a character in one of the adventure comics he's illustrated in the past, and King really nails it with this feeling. The cover of this edition evokes that feel too; it's all groping in the dark with flashlights, searching for hope but also hoping nothing reaches back. This is a masterclass in building tension.
"There was a sound. A soft sliding sound. It stopped, then started again with a stealthy little bump. Everything inside me went loose. I regressed magically to four years of age. That sound wasn't coming from the market. It was coming from behind me. From outside. Where the mist was. Something that was slipping and sliding and scraping all over the cinder blocks. And, maybe, looking for a way in. Or maybe it was already in, and it was looking for me."
While our survivors have to contend with how to deal with the horrors in the mist, they also have to worry about the other people trapped with them.
For a novella under 200 pages, King manages to craft a cast of characters that MOSTLY feel distinct and memorable. (Sorry Bud Brown and Buddy Eagleton, but King did ya’ll dirty with similar names.)
David is distinctly the EVERY Man, stand in for Stephen King. He’s the fancy artist type, and a local.
Norton is the previously mentioned frenemy and an out of towner. King does a lot here with the local vs vacationer, famous artist vs commoner, and I had to wonder if King has had some experiences similar to David—ya know, without the tentacle monsters.
Billy is another one of the fabled Bill, Billy’s, and Big Bill’s of King fame. He’s five, and honestly now that I have a son reading about a kid missing his mommy is gut wrenching. Fatherhood is a surprising theme in a story like this, but King has gone on record saying he had the idea for the mist while at the store with his son.
Mrs. Carmody is one of King’s greatest villains, because she is just a flesh and blood woman with dark ideas and a convincing tongue. King sets this up from the beginning too. Before the mist no one in town really takes her seriously. She’s an eccentric lady that seems to have an uncanny affinity for a distinctly menacing shade of yellow and decrepit antiquities; she's also very religious and superstitious. This is one of those characters you can kind of see existing in real life. The kind of person that uses her beliefs to wield hysteria and power; the kind of person that cherry picks from religious texts to fit their own agenda� You know the type.
After they become trapped in the mist, Mrs. Carmody offers a solution, and so when faced with the alternative, some begin to drink her sermons like communal wine. She’s definitely an archetype constant readers will be familiar with too, in the same class of characters as classics like Margaret White and The Dead Zone’s Vera Smith.
On Carmody: "She grinned, skull-like above her canary outfit. 'It's the end, I tell you. The end of everything. It's the Last Times. The moving finger has writ, not in fire, but in lines of mist." I'm sorry but if this line doesn't make you want to read The Mist I can't help you!! It gives me goosebumps.
A major theme in the novel is what happens when humanity starts to break down: you see factions appear, reality seems to shift and logic is defeated by those who speak the loudest with the most conviction. And sometimes, logic and reason are defeated by people that stick there heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge reality (the flat earth society are a perfect example of this).
The inciting incident is climate related, and this sets up a really divisive thematic element all through the story. There’s talk about eco-terrorism, and the thought that the mist could be toxic to breathe. There is this through line of the natural world vs the supernatural, cosmic vs heavenly, science vs religion, whatever you want to call it.
Now, that ending. I don’t like the ending of the mist. In fact this is really up there as one of my least favorite of his endings. That being said, this is the rare instance where the movie is better than the book! Do yourself a favor and read the book first, then watch the movie. The inverse leaves one set up for disappointment.
Some of my favorite lines:
"Candles are funny things, you know. You lay them by every spring knowing that a summer storm may knock out the power. And when the time comes, they hide."
Carrying a candle, carrying the fire, was a very big deal for him. It helped him forget about being afraid."
I stayed awake for another half hour with one lit candle for company, listening to the thunder walk and talk outside."
The obviously perfect, If I was King writing this I'd give myself a pat on the back: “I had a dream that I saw God walking across Harrison on the far side of the lake, a God so gigantic that above the waist He was lost in a clear blue sky. In the dream I could hear the rending crack and splinter of breaking trees as God stamped the woods into the shape of His footsteps. He was circling the lake, coming toward the Bridgton side, toward us, and all the houses and cottages and summer places were bursting into purple-white flame like lightning, and soon the smoke covered everything. The smoke covered everything like a mist.�
“It took me twenty years of living with my father to accept the idea that being good could be good enough.
You know what talent is? The curse of expectation. As a kid you have to deal with that, beat it somehow. If you can write, you think God put you on earth to blow Shakespeare away. Or if you can paint, maybe you think - I did - that God put you on earth to blow your father away.�
Connections to the Kingverse
No direct connections, though I’m sure many would argue the monsters in the mist are related/the same as things from the Dark Tower, and much could be made of arguing that The Arrowhead Project is an offshoot of The Shop fromThe Langoliers/Firestarter, ETC.
I have seen some things about the Tommyknockers mentioning The Arrowhead Project but as I haven’t read that I will leave that for a future me to discover. :)
A creature feature with a lot more going on than you might first expect, The Mist is an isolated novella that manages to make the human terrors more frightening than the Lovecraftian monsters.
Surprising no one more than myself, this is now tied with Pet Sematary (my all time favorite) for the most times reread. The reason for this isn’t what you’d expect.
The Mist opens on the eve of a storm on Long Lake, somewhere near Bridgton, Maine. From the first paragraph King sets us up to understand that unprecedented events are about to unfold. “This is what happened. On the night that the worst heat wave in northern New England history finally broke� the entire western Maine region was lashed with the most vicious thunderstorms I have ever seen.�
The story is written from the perspective of David Drayton, son of a famous artist, and long time town resident. On the evening before the catastrophe, David has a cold dinner with his wife, Steff, and his five year old son Billy. From the start David can sense something is off. The weather has been unprecedented this year, and the storm coming from the far side of the lake gives him bad vibes.
What follows is a mean summer storm. The next day, after hunkering down, they wake to a tree smashed through their picture window, and utter devastation outside. Live lines are down, hissing in the yard. Faced with a long clean up, they need food and supplies. Steff decides to stay home and tend to the destruction, while David, Billy, and their erstwhile frenemie and neighbor Norton, head into town to pick up some groceries. We spend a sizable chunk of the novel in this BEFORE, it is 44 pages before the mist reaches the market.
I LOVE the opening sequence. I am a fan of most of Stephen Kings openings (We will talk about his endings later�.), but The Mist is possibly one of my favorites from a writing standpoint. Reading the opening of The Mist is like reading a really great, mundane short story. It could end with the characters coming home from the market, having a day of eating bologna sandwiches, cleaning up wreckage, and playing among the reeds and I’d be satisfied. King has managed to create the perfect small town atmosphere here.
This is the reason I’ve read The Mist so many times; Whenever we get the first heatwave, followed by a thunderstorm, a cooling mist creeps through the breeze and settles in for a day or two, and I can’t help but want to read the opening of The Mist.
I grew up in a not as idyllic, but possibly as small, neighborhood myself, and we had many a storm that knocked us off the grid for days at a time. (See the April 27, 2011 tornado outbreak), so I could relate to this feeling of being completely disconnected following a major weather event.
When the mist comes, heralded by the sound of a police car screaming into the distance and the wail of the towns fire siren, there are a lot of people in the market. Some decide to go out and see what’s going on. They are never seen again. Some screams are heard, and thuds like earthquakes are felt. Once isolated In the market conditions quickly begin to deteriorate
I really loved the way King went about setting this up. The isolation, the hysteria, the problem solving among those in the market, all felt realistic. There are a few times that David mentions he feels like a character in one of the adventure comics he's illustrated in the past, and King really nails it with this feeling. The cover of this edition evokes that feel too; it's all groping in the dark with flashlights, searching for hope but also hoping nothing reaches back. This is a masterclass in building tension.
"There was a sound. A soft sliding sound. It stopped, then started again with a stealthy little bump. Everything inside me went loose. I regressed magically to four years of age. That sound wasn't coming from the market. It was coming from behind me. From outside. Where the mist was. Something that was slipping and sliding and scraping all over the cinder blocks. And, maybe, looking for a way in. Or maybe it was already in, and it was looking for me."
While our survivors have to contend with how to deal with the horrors in the mist, they also have to worry about the other people trapped with them.
For a novella under 200 pages, King manages to craft a cast of characters that MOSTLY feel distinct and memorable. (Sorry Bud Brown and Buddy Eagleton, but King did ya’ll dirty with similar names.)
David is distinctly the EVERY Man, stand in for Stephen King. He’s the fancy artist type, and a local.
Norton is the previously mentioned frenemy and an out of towner. King does a lot here with the local vs vacationer, famous artist vs commoner, and I had to wonder if King has had some experiences similar to David—ya know, without the tentacle monsters.
Billy is another one of the fabled Bill, Billy’s, and Big Bill’s of King fame. He’s five, and honestly now that I have a son reading about a kid missing his mommy is gut wrenching. Fatherhood is a surprising theme in a story like this, but King has gone on record saying he had the idea for the mist while at the store with his son.
Mrs. Carmody is one of King’s greatest villains, because she is just a flesh and blood woman with dark ideas and a convincing tongue. King sets this up from the beginning too. Before the mist no one in town really takes her seriously. She’s an eccentric lady that seems to have an uncanny affinity for a distinctly menacing shade of yellow and decrepit antiquities; she's also very religious and superstitious. This is one of those characters you can kind of see existing in real life. The kind of person that uses her beliefs to wield hysteria and power; the kind of person that cherry picks from religious texts to fit their own agenda� You know the type.
After they become trapped in the mist, Mrs. Carmody offers a solution, and so when faced with the alternative, some begin to drink her sermons like communal wine. She’s definitely an archetype constant readers will be familiar with too, in the same class of characters as classics like Margaret White and The Dead Zone’s Vera Smith.
On Carmody: "She grinned, skull-like above her canary outfit. 'It's the end, I tell you. The end of everything. It's the Last Times. The moving finger has writ, not in fire, but in lines of mist." I'm sorry but if this line doesn't make you want to read The Mist I can't help you!! It gives me goosebumps.
A major theme in the novel is what happens when humanity starts to break down: you see factions appear, reality seems to shift and logic is defeated by those who speak the loudest with the most conviction. And sometimes, logic and reason are defeated by people that stick there heads in the sand and refuse to acknowledge reality (the flat earth society are a perfect example of this).
The inciting incident is climate related, and this sets up a really divisive thematic element all through the story. There’s talk about eco-terrorism, and the thought that the mist could be toxic to breathe. There is this through line of the natural world vs the supernatural, cosmic vs heavenly, science vs religion, whatever you want to call it.
Now, that ending. I don’t like the ending of the mist. In fact this is really up there as one of my least favorite of his endings. That being said, this is the rare instance where the movie is better than the book! Do yourself a favor and read the book first, then watch the movie. The inverse leaves one set up for disappointment.
Some of my favorite lines:
"Candles are funny things, you know. You lay them by every spring knowing that a summer storm may knock out the power. And when the time comes, they hide."
Carrying a candle, carrying the fire, was a very big deal for him. It helped him forget about being afraid."
I stayed awake for another half hour with one lit candle for company, listening to the thunder walk and talk outside."
The obviously perfect, If I was King writing this I'd give myself a pat on the back: “I had a dream that I saw God walking across Harrison on the far side of the lake, a God so gigantic that above the waist He was lost in a clear blue sky. In the dream I could hear the rending crack and splinter of breaking trees as God stamped the woods into the shape of His footsteps. He was circling the lake, coming toward the Bridgton side, toward us, and all the houses and cottages and summer places were bursting into purple-white flame like lightning, and soon the smoke covered everything. The smoke covered everything like a mist.�
“It took me twenty years of living with my father to accept the idea that being good could be good enough.
You know what talent is? The curse of expectation. As a kid you have to deal with that, beat it somehow. If you can write, you think God put you on earth to blow Shakespeare away. Or if you can paint, maybe you think - I did - that God put you on earth to blow your father away.�
Connections to the Kingverse
No direct connections, though I’m sure many would argue the monsters in the mist are related/the same as things from the Dark Tower, and much could be made of arguing that The Arrowhead Project is an offshoot of The Shop fromThe Langoliers/Firestarter, ETC.
I have seen some things about the Tommyknockers mentioning The Arrowhead Project but as I haven’t read that I will leave that for a future me to discover. :)
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