Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished - Revised & Expanded Edition
Page 4
The Dark Tower itself is in End-World, a geographical location from which Jack Sawyer and Tyler Marshall rescued hundreds of kidnapped children, returning them to our world (Black House). Ted Brautigan and other “Breakers,” toiling under the slavery of the Crimson King, were reluctantly hard at work there, trying to break the Beams that secure all Universes and Realities to the Dark Tower.
In her Concordance to the Dark Tower11 Robin Furth defines the Dark Tower itself as:
…a looming gray-black edifice which is simultaneously the center of all universes and the linchpin of the time/space continuum. All worlds and all realities are contained within its many levels … The line of Eld, of which Roland is the last, is sworn to protect the Tower. Yet a terrible illness affects this structure, one that is often compared to cancer … The Tower is held together by a network of magical magnetic forces – rays, known as Beams … the Beams, Portals and mechanical Guardians are breaking down. If the weakening Beams collapse and the Tower falls, all creation will blink out of existence.
King’s original inspiration, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came is reproduced as an Appendix to this chapter.
Maine Street Horror
The most comfortable setting for a King story is his home state of Maine, in the beautiful New England region of the northeastern United States. King’s deep love of the land, lakes, sea, islands, people and culture of Maine is a keynote to his body of work. Maine Street Horror Reality stories are largely set in the state of Maine and exist in our world’s physical existence and (mostly) in our timeline.
In addition to using real towns and cities such as Pownal, Bridgton, Portland, Bangor, Brewer, Durham (King’s later childhood was spent there), Augusta, Mechanic Falls, Fryeburg, Old Orchard Beach or Lewiston/Auburn, King took early to creating a fictional Maine. This Maine is so well portrayed that a visitor to the state can almost expect to turn the corner of some country road and actually find one of the towns King has created.
From a Constant Reader’s point of view the favorite fictional town is likely to be either Castle Rock or Derry. Among other fictional creations are: Harlow (the Rock’s neighbor), the vampire-infested Jerusalem’s Lot, Haven(past home of The Tommyknockers), Ludlow and its deadly Route 15, Little Tall Island (where Dolores Claiborne lived and which suffered the Storm of the Century), the zombie-targeted Gennesault Island, Goat Island and its nearby Reach, Blainesville, Johnny Smith’s Cleaves Mills, Carietta White’s Chamberlain, Gates Falls (with its ubiquitous mill), Huffman, Willow (with its Rainy Season), Chester’s Mill, Weathersfield, the Jefferson Tract (recently visited by aliens), Tarker’s Mills (once home to a werewolf), the haunted TR90 and Dark Score Lake, Motton, and Kashwakamak.
The sheer breadth and depth of these towns and their residents, cut wholly from the cloth by King, is testament to his descriptive powers. To the reader, most of these towns feel so real it can be a shock (if a comforting one, at times) to discover they do not, in fact, actually exist.
Many stories involve Stephen and Tabitha King’s alma mater, the University of Maine at Orono (“UMO”) and dozens of King’s characters attended it or one of the other UMaine campuses. Among these are: Jo Arlen and Mike Noonan (Bag of Bones), Pete Riley, Carol Gerber, and Stokely Jones (Hearts in Atlantis), Stephanie Stepanek and David Drayton (The Mist), Amy Lauder (The Stand), Michael Anderson (Storm of the Century), Joe St. George, Jr. (Dolores Claiborne), Gordon Lachance (The Body), John Smith and Sarah Bracknell (The Dead Zone), Victor Pascow (Pet Sematary), Alan Parker (Riding the Bullet), and young Gary (The Man in the Black Suit). Among those teaching at the University was Thad Beaumont (The Dark Half) and Dr. Louis Creed worked in the infirmary there before losing his family and his mind (Pet Sematary). Jim Gardener was once a poet in residence (The Tommyknockers).
A less happy place for the characters to visit has been Shawshank Prison, host to: Red and Andy Dufresne (Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption), George Footman (Bag of Bones), Richard Macklin (It), Nat Copeland (Needful Things), and Ace Merrill (The Sun Dog), among others. Those with mental health problems were more likely to end up at Juniper Hill, near Augusta. Among inmates there have been: Raymond Joubert (Gerald’s Game), Henry Bowers (It), Nettie Cobb, and Bill Keeton (Needful Things).
One should take care when hitchhiking the highways and back roads of Maine, but while doing so, one just might catch a passing view of Ophelia Todd (Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut) or George Staub (Riding the Bullet).
Castle Rock is probably the most famous of King’s fictional towns. He has sketched its history and the doings of its denizens since its initial appearance in The Dead Zone (published in 1979). “The Rock” has been the site of many strange and mysterious events, including the Castle Rock Strangler murders (1970 to 1975); killings by a rabid dog in Cujo (1980); the destruction of much of the downtown by explosives in Needful Things (1991); and a series of lesser, more human, but often tragic events. Castle Rock is the County seat of Maine’s smallest county, Castle County and last featured prominently in Bag of Bones, Premium Harmony, and Under the Dome.
Among interesting parts of Castle Rock are: Castle Falls, the Castle River, the GS&WM railroad trestle, Castle Heights (near the bridge to neighboring Harlow), Castle Hill (on which Red’s wife crashed, leading to his imprisonment in Shawshank), Castle Lake, the Castle Stream, the Bandstand and Town Common, Southwest Bend, Castle View and the Homeland Cemetery (George Stark was “buried” there in The Dark Half). Out on Town Road #3 one might find the old Camber place (Cujo) or one might drive down Maple Sugar Road to the Birches Cemetery (Gramma), or one could cruise the Black Henry Road past George McCutcheon’s old Cresswell truck sitting in Otto Schenck’s meadow (Uncle Otto’s Truck).
Around 1900 Sara Tidwell and Jared Devore may have walked the town’s streets (Bag of Bones) and, in the summer of 1914, the Devil may have visited the banks of Castle Stream (The Man in the Black Suit). In 1960 four young boys set out from Castle Rock in search of a body and discovered much more (The Body). A teenager who harassed them at the time would be responsible for much of the devastation of the town three decades later (Needful Things). A creature that emerged from a Polaroid camera killed the same man’s uncle. (The Sun Dog). An inadvertent psychic attended the town at the behest of Sheriff George Bannerman and flushed out local deputy, Frank Dodd, a serial killer (The Dead Zone); but, not five years later, a rabid dog killed Bannerman (Cujo). The Beaumonts had a home near town that was visited by Thad Beaumont’s alter ego and burned down in a subsequent fire (The Dark Half).
The Sheriffs of Castle Rock make many appearances across the stories in this Reality, from the late Bannerman to the more fortunate (if somewhat traumatized) Alan Pangborn, to the Barney Fife-like Norris Ridgewick.
The following are the important Castle Rock stories. We suggest readers follow the order of publication in reading them to achieve the full benefit of discovering Castle Rock and its history.
The Dead Zone (1979)
Cujo (1981)
The Body (1982)
Uncle Otto’s Truck (1983, collected in Skeleton Crew, 1985)
Gramma (1984, collected in Skeleton Crew, 1985)
Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut (1984, collected in Skeleton Crew, 1985)
Nona (first published as a Castle Rock story in 1985)
The Dark Half (1989)
The Sun Dog (1990)
Needful Things (1991)
It Grows on You (first published as a Castle Rock story in 1993)
The Man in the Black Suit (1994, collected in Everything’s Eventual, 2002)
Bag of Bones (1998)
Premium Harmony (2009)
Derry, a town near Bangor has an even more troubled past than Castle Rock. Derry was first mentioned in The Bird and the Album (published in 1981 and reviewed in another chapter of this book, Stories Swallowed by Monsters). In 1741 the town’s entire population disappeared without trace; and 67 people died when the water tower collapsed in 1985. Derry appears to suffer a form of collective memory l
oss, considering the rampage against its children by a monster, often masquerading as a clown, every quarter century or so, most recently in 1957/58 and 1984/85 (It). During the interludes between Pennywise/It’s appearances, Derry has also been the site of a political killing in Insomnia (1993) and individual human tragedy. As recently as 2001 there was further evidence that Pennywise, the clown/monster survives (Dreamcatcher).
Among residents of note over the years were Ralph Roberts (Insomnia), Mike and Johanna Arlen Noonan (Bag of Bones), Richard Kinnell (The Road Virus Heads North, Morton Rainey of Secret Window, Secret Garden (Noonan, Kinnell and Rainey were all successful writers), Henry Devlin, Gary Jones, Joe Clarendon, Pete Moore and Duddits Cavell (Dreamcatcher), and a group who called themselves “The Losers’ Club” (It).
Interesting geographical features of the town include The Barrens, The Standpipe, and the Kissing Bridge (the latter two were destroyed in 1985). Cruising Up-Mile Hill one will pass a Rite-Aid, outside which Jo Noonan died one hot August day in 1994; and perhaps come to Secondhand Rose, Secondhand Clothes (Insomnia). One would pass the old Tracker Brothers depot (It, Dreamcatcher) if driving Kansas Street or the site of the old Rainey home, and if the road is followed far enough out of town, one would reach Richard Kinnell’s house, perhaps to see a Trans Am parked outside. While cruising Neibolt Street avoid number 29. However, the Derry Home Hospital does have an excellent reputation. And, never, never go into the sewers!
The following are the important Derry stories. Again, we suggest readers follow the order of publication in reading them to achieve the full benefit of discovering Derry and its history.
The Bird and the Album (1981, revised and later included in It)
It (1986)
Secret Window, Secret Garden (1990)
Insomnia (1994)
Autopsy Room Four (1997, collected in Everything’s Eventual, 2002)
Bag of Bones (1998)
Dreamcatcher (2001)
Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine, having been the earlier site of devil-worship and the disappearance of its entire populace in 1789, was taken over by a colony of vampires and effectively abandoned again by the living in 1975. Despite the town’s destruction by fire in 1976 vampires were known to be in the area as late as 1977. Jerusalem’s Lot’s history may be read and discovered in the following order: Jerusalem’s Lot, ‘Salem’s Lot, One for the Road and parts of The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla.
One of the latest Maine Street Horror tales was the outstanding TV series, Kingdom Hospital, set at the Kingdom Hospital in Lewiston (although probably not in our reality).
The following is a full list of the works we define as part of the Maine Street Horror Reality. The list includes unpublished works. Each is listed with their primary geographical settings.
Story: Primary Settings:
Autopsy Room Four Derry
Bag of Bones Dark Score Lake/TR90/Derry/Castle Rock
The Bird and the Album Derry
Blaze Cumberland County
The Blue Air Compressor Shore Road
The Body Castle Rock
But Only Darkness Loves Me Ledge Cove
Carrie Chamberlain
Chinga (Unnamed Town)
The Colorado Kid Moose-Lookit Island
Comb Dump Augusta
Cujo and its Unproduced Castle Rock
Screenplay
Cycle of the Werewolf Tarker’s Mills
The Dark Half Castle Rock/Ludlow
The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Jerusalem’s Lot/East Stoneham
Calla
The Dark Tower VI: Song of East Stoneham/Bridgton
Susannah
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark East Stoneham/Lovell
Tower
The Dead Zone and its Unproduced Castle Rock/Cleaves Mills/Pownal
Screenplay
Do the Dead Sing? Goat Island
Dolores Claiborne Little Tall Island
Dreamcatcher The Jefferson Tract/Derry
The Fifth Quarter Carmen’s Folly
Gerald’s Game Kashwakamak Lake/Dark Score Lake
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon The Backwoods
Gramma Castle View
Graveyard Shift Gates Falls
Gray Matter Near Bangor
Hearts in Atlantis The University of Maine
Home Delivery Gennesault Island
I Know What You Need (Various)
Insomnia Derry
It Derry
It Grows on You (Marshroots/
Weird Tales and Whispers versions) Harlow
It Grows on You (Nightmares &
Dreamscapes version) Castle Rock
Jerusalem’s Lot Jerusalem’s Lot
Kingdom Hospital Lewiston
The King Family and the Wicked
Witch Bridgton
The Langoliers Bangor
The Leprechaun (Owen King’s home)
The Lonesome Death of Jordy
Verrill Near Castle Rock
The Long Walk (On the Road)
The Man in the Black Suit Castle Stream/Motton
The Mist Bridgton
Molly Ammas Beach
The Monkey Casco
The Monster in the Closet (Tad Trenton’s bedroom)
Movie Show Harlow/Lewiston
Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut Castle Rock and roads to Bangor
Needful Things Castle Rock
Night Shift (Unproduced Screenplay) Weathersfield
Nona (Shadows) Blainesville
Nona (Skeleton Crew) Castle Rock
One for the Road Falmouth, near Jerusalem’s Lot
Pet Sematary Ludlow
Premium Harmony Castle Rock
Rage Placerville
Rainy Season Willow
The Reach Goat Island
The Revelations of ‘Becka Paulson Haven
The Revenge of Lardass Hogan Gates Falls
Riding the Bullet Gates Falls/Harlow
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank
Redemption Shawshank Prison
The Road Virus Heads North Wells/Derry
‘Salem’s Lot Jerusalem’s Lot
Secret Window, Secret Garden Derry/Tashmore Glen
Silver Bullet Tarker’s Mills
Squad D Castle Rock
Storm of the Century Little Tall Island
Strawberry Spring (Ubris version) Wiscassett College
Stud City Auburn/Lewiston
Suffer the Little Children
(Nightmares & Dreamscapes
version) Summer Street School
The Sun Dog Castle Rock
Sword in the Darkness Gates Falls
Thinner Bangor/Boothbay Harbor
The Tommyknockers Haven
Uncle Otto’s Truck Castle Rock
Under the Dome Chester’s Mill
Untitled (The Huffman Story) Huffman
Untitled Screenplay (Radio Station) WOKY, Western Maine
The Woman in the Room Central Maine Hospital
The Stand
Stories in The Stand Reality relate to the fundamental change to our world following a devastating superflu epidemic. As many Maine Street Horror, America Under Siege and even Dark Tower events in our world occur after the varying superflu strike dates (1980 in the original version; 1985 in certain paperback editions of the original version and King’s unproduced movie script; or 1990 in the Complete and Uncut version) it follows that The Stand Reality is in fact an alternate reality/timeline to that in which we exist.
Apart from the variations of The Stand itself, the Night Surf stories are part of this Reality, linked as they are by the same epidemic, Captain Trips. In The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass Roland and his ka-tet (King defines this term as, “those bound by destiny”12 ), along with Flagg, briefly visit another world, strangely like ours but clearly not our reality, which has also been devastated by Captain Trips.
The Stand Reality crosses America with large cities (New York) and small towns (Ogunquit, Arnette, Stovington, May, Pratt, Hemingford
Home, Woodsville) equally devastated. Survivors are drawn to the “dark side” (if readers will excuse the reference to a very different mythology) in Las Vegas or to the side (literally) of a religious, old black woman in Boulder.
One hopes King will one day revisit this Reality, if for no reason other than to bring Constant Readers up-to-date with the doings in Maine of our friends, Stu Redman and Fran Goldsmith and their son, Peter.
The following is a full list of the works that fall within The Stand Reality. The list includes unpublished works.
Primary Setting:
Night Surf
The Stand (Original, Uncut, Unproduced Movie Screenplay and Mini-Series Screenplay)
Secondary Setting:
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
America Under Siege
Unfortunately, living outside the state of Maine is not enough for characters to avoid the depredations of King and his fertile imagination. King stories are in fact set all over America and also, rarely, in overseas locations (for instance, England in the case of Crouch End and Wimsey; an unnamed South American country for In the Deathroom; and a deserted island, possibly in the Caribbean, for Survivor Type). Perhaps the most significant overseas country for both setting and impact upon characters and events is Vietnam (see in particular the latter four stories in the Hearts in Atlantis collection; Squad D, Autopsy Room Four, The Old Dude’s Ticker, Children of the Corn, The Dead Zone, The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three, Desperation, Firestarter, and ‘Salem’s Lot).