Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished - Revised & Expanded Edition

by Rocky Wood

  Sleepwalkers, also known as Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers, attracts only a 4.5 rating out of a possible 10 from the members of www.imdb.com but deserves better. Mick Garris directed, the first time he had done so for a King production. He would go on to helm the mini-series of The Stand and of The Shining, as well as Quicksilver Highway, Riding the Bullet and Desperation.

  The actors were Brian Krause as Charles Brady; Madchen Amick (who also appeared in the cult show Twin Peaks) as Tanya Robertson; and Alice Krige (who played the Borg Queen to perfection in Star Trek: First Contact) as Mary Brady. There were a number of cameos, including that of the director’s wife Cynthia Garris as Laurie Travis; Animal House director John Landis as a Lab Tech; Gremlins director Joe Dante as a Lab Assistant; Stephen King as a Cemetery Caretaker; and horror writer Clive Barker and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre director Tobe Hooper as Forensic Techs. The movie was first released on DVD in 2000.

  This chapter was compiled from the Sixth Draft of the original screenplay, dated 20 March 1991. That draft is 107 pages in length. An earlier draft appears in a Journal originally held in Box 2702 at the Special Collections Unit of the Raymond H. Fogler Library at the University of Maine, Orono but since moved to a Restricted Box, 1010. That draft appears under the title, Tania’s Suitor.

  In this America Under Siege script incestuous and ancient creatures face their mortal enemies. Sleepwalkers had evolved from cats and in their true form had reptilian and feline features. They fed upon the life force of humans and modern cats were their mortal enemies.

  Carl and Martha Brodie had lived in Bodega Bay, California (apparently the same town in which Alfred Hitchcock’s classic The Birds was set) before being attacked by local cats, which had discovered that Sleepwalkers were in their midst. The mother and son barely escaped with their lives and moved to Travis, Indiana. Settling into this new town as the Bradys, Charles enrolled at the local high school and set his sights on the attractive 17-year-old Tanya Robertson, an all-round American girl, who also worked part time at the town’s only movie theater.

  Seducing Tanya, Charles attacked her in Homeland Cemetery but she fought back and Clovis, a local cat, seriously wounded him. While fleeing, Charles passed a speed trap and was pursued by a local Deputy Sheriff, who saw him transforming into his true shape. Charles then shot and killed the police officer and returned home, critically injured.

  Clovis and a gang of cats from Travis and nearby Castle Rock now targeted the Brady house as the police, alerted by Tanya, also moved in. Mary Brady fought back, killing a number of police and kidnapping Tanya to provide Charles the life force he needed to recover.

  However, the cats outsmarted her and gained entry to the house, saving Tanya’s life. The script tells us:

  Charles battles on until he reaches Mary and one by one throws off the marauding cats. And at last he takes Mary in his arms, the two of them ancient destroyed creatures, burning alive on the pyre of their own bodies. Slowly, like tallow, they begin to melt and fuse together. And together they HOWL their final note. A LONG, ULULATING CRY that is as old as their race on earth. It echoes and fades with the only dignity this cursed kind knows.

  Sleepwalkers is a genuinely original tale in which King introduces creatures never before seen in horror fiction. In their true form Sleepwalkers have reptilian and feline features. They evolved from cats and were an ancient race, feeding upon the life force of humans. Modern cats were their mortal enemies and would seek out Sleepwalkers and, if possible, kill them. Although Mary Brady believed there were others of their kind still alive Charles doubted her. King has not returned to these creatures since, so Mary and Charles may indeed have been the last. Sleepwalkers have an ability to make themselves “dim,” in fact Mary Brady used this exact word to describe the act. This is a skill Randall Flagg and certain other characters in King stories display (particularly those with the initials “R.F.”).

  The dimming ability is another example of King enjoying the linking of his screenplays to his other fiction and the making of small in-jokes for the benefit of Constant Readers and long-time fans. In this case there are a number of other examples. For instance, one of Tanya Robertson’s classmates was a girl named Carrie!

  For some reason this screenplay/movie was set in Indiana. The town of Castle Rock, Indiana is close to Travis, as Sheriff Ira of Travis called for help from Castle Rock; and cats were even able to get from it to Travis for the final confrontation with the Bradys. Castle Rock, Indiana is strangely similar to Castle Rock, Maine. For instance, in the script someone called Pangborn was the Sheriff of Castle Rock, Indiana. In The Sun Dog, The Dark Half, Gerald’s Game and Needful Things, Alan Pangborn was Sheriff of Castle Rock, Maine. He is also mentioned in Bag of Bones. There is a Mellow Tiger bar in Castle Rock, Indiana. There was also a Mellow Tiger bar in Castle Rock, Maine in The Body, Needful Things, Bag of Bones, Cujo and The Sun Dog; and a Mellow Tiger bar in Castle County, Maine in The Dark Half. None of this is coincidental and the only question is why King felt obligated to move a town so closely associated with his work to another state for this tale?

  Travis is described as having a “…certain Norman Rockwellesque charm.” The Bradys lived at 66 Wicker Street, which Charles Brady claimed sounded like the address in an “old horror movie.” The cemetery in which Charles attacked Tanya was the Homeland Cemetery, almost the archetypal location for a writer so skilled at describing these places of the dead and using them in his fiction. The word “Homeland” appeared in rusted ornamental ironwork arches over the front gate. It was surrounded by rock walls that had crumbled and broken and the surrounding woods had overgrown the back wall. Inside the walls it was old and overgrown and consequently served as a local make-out spot.

  While no timelines are given in the script the events in Travis must occur after the release of the movie, Misery in the United States on 30 November 1990 as the Aero movie theater in Travis, Indiana was showing that movie when the Bradys tried to abduct Tanya Robertson. The script mentions that the movie is “Stephen King’s Misery.” This is a relatively rare mention by King of himself in his fiction. King also appears in The King Family and the Wicked Witch and is referred to but not named in The Leprechaun. He is a horror author mentioned by Ardelia Lortz in The Library Policeman; and is also mentioned as an author in the Prime Evil version of The Night Flier, Thinner and Slade; mentioned as the narrator of The Blue Air Compressor; and notably as a character in The Dark Tower cycle.

  George Beahm115 relates King’s inspiration for the story. Apparently Stephen and Tabitha King’s son, Joe116 had a crush on the popcorn girl at the Bangor Hoyt’s Cinema:

  …one night when we were at the movies, he was talking to her and I could see why he was attracted to her. She was just this beautiful, vital girl who played a lot of sports and had this kind of healthy, wholesome glow about her … And it made me think of a guy wanting to ask the popcorn girl out for all the wrong reasons, and the story just followed that burst of inspiration.

  In retrospect this is an interesting tale, introducing a new species native to our planet, which preys on humans much as vampires are said to do, in this case sucking out our life force rather than our blood. There are strong sexual overtones in the script – the Bradys are physically incestuous and both Charles and Tanya display teenage physical lust toward each other. Somehow, the power of the tale and the interaction fail to come across on screen. Perhaps the budget simply wasn’t there to allow the sort of movie the script would have allowed.

  The screenplay pretty much ends with Tanya saying, “Let them sleep together. Forever.” And: “Is she relieved of the horror or does she remember the pilgrim soul she loved for a moment? Suddenly she pulls out of Ira’s arms and rushes forward. Is she going to Charles? Hell no, just to pick up Clovis who watches solemnly from the sidewalk.”

  The Last Of The Sleepwalkers

  In their true form Sleepwalkers have reptilian and feline features. They evolved from cats and were an ancient race upon the earth, fee
ding upon the life force of humans. Modern cats were their mortal enemies and would seek out Sleepwalkers and, if possible, kill them. Although Mary Brady believed there were others of their kind still alive, Charles Brady doubted her. King has not returned to these creatures since, so Mary and Charles may indeed have been the last. Sleepwalkers have an ability to make themselves “dim,” in fact Mary Brady used this exact word to describe the act.

  Mary Brady (Martha Brodie)

  Mary was the mother of Charles. They are Sleepwalkers and incestuous. She had lived in Bodega Bay, California under the name Martha Brodie before moving to Travis, Indiana. She was slim, pretty and young looking. After Charles was seriously hurt by a cat, Clovis she kidnapped Tanya Robertson, intending to give her to Charles to feed upon her life force. An army of cats, led by Clovis, entered the house and tore Mary and Charles apart, causing them to catch fire and die.

  Charles Brady (Carl Brodie)

  Mary’s son and possibly the last male of his race, when in Sleepwalker form his eyes are green. He had lived in Bodega Bay, California under the name Carl Brodie. He was very good looking and appeared to be about 18. He registered as a student of Travis High School and attracted Tanya Robertson with the aim of feeding on her life force. When he attacked Tanya she fought back and injured him. When Deputy Sheriff Simpson chased him after the attack he saw Charles metamorphosing but Charles shot him dead. Simpson’s cat, Clovis then seriously wounded Charles, forcing him to leave Tanya. He made it home but his wounds caused a reversion to his Sleepwalker form. He again tried to feed on Tanya when Mary brought her home but Tanya attacked him once more, and an army of cats, lead by Clovis, tore Charles and his mother apart.

  Clovis The Attack Cat

  Clovis belonged to Travis Deputy Sheriff Andy Simpson. He was a large, sleek, green-eyed tomcat, with a green velvet collar to which was attached a silver tag reading, “Clovis the Attack Cat.” After Charles Brady killed Simpson, Clovis attacked Charles and seriously wounded him. Clovis later led an army of cats to the Brady House where they attacked and killed both Bradys and saved Tanya Robertson’s life.

  115 The Stephen King Story, George Beahm, p.223-224

  116 Joseph Hillstrom King, now the Award-winning and best-selling horror writer, Joe Hill

  Something Wicked This Way Comes (1970s)

  The screenplay of Something Wicked This Way Comes is held in Box 1010 at the Special Collections Unit of the Raymond H. Fogler Library at the University of Maine, Orono. Written permission from King is required to access this work. There is no indication when the screenplay was written but a film adaptation of the book was released in 1983.

  In an interview with David Chute (published in Take One for January 1979 and reproduced in Feast of Fear117) King talks of having written this script, saying: “…I felt more divorced from the source material. I loved the book, and I think that of all the screenplays I’ve done, that was the best. But in spite of loving it I was a little divorced from it, where I wasn’t with my own book.” The date of this interview indicates the script was completed no later than 1978.

  A note on the Folder holding the screenplay at the Library states “Incomplete – Pages Missing.” Of the 81 pages those missing are pages 5, 9-13, 16, 33-36 and 39-40, for a total of 13 missing, leaving 68 extant.

  The screenplay is of Ray Bradbury’s novel of the same title. Published in 1962, it is regarded as a classic in both the fantasy and horror genres. Noted King expert Stanley Wiater describes it as a “…masterpiece of modern Gothic literature’” Bradbury is also the author of the magnificent anti-censorship novel, Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles and that collection’s short story, Mars Is Heaven (more of which later), among over five hundred works of fiction. Both Bradbury and King are recipients of the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

  Due to the release of the 1983 film with Bradbury himself as the scriptwriter it would seem most unlikely that King’s screenplay will ever be produced. It is also certain that it will never be published or be made available for public reading, as King has chosen to place it in a Restricted Box at the Fogler Library. The best solution for readers who have not had the pleasure of being exposed to this story is to read Bradbury’s novel or to rent the video/DVD of the film.

  King writes extensively of the novel in Chapter 9, section 6 of Danse Macabre. The amount of space King used to comment on the tale is a clear indication of how important he considers its impact to be in the horror genre. He says,“‘…I believe that Something Wicked This Way Comes, a darkly poetic tale set in the half-real, half-mythical community of Green Town, Illinois, is probably Bradbury’s best work…’” King quotes Bradbury’s re-telling of the story’s inspirations saying it,“‘…began as a short story in Weird Tales called‘“Black Ferrs”’ in May 1948…’” Bradbury then turned that short story into a movie outline called Dark Carnival that he pitched to Gene Kelly, who loved it but could not raise the finance. Bradbury said,“‘…to hell with it and sat down and spent two years, on and off, finishing Something Wicked…’” as a novel.

  King’s analysis of Bradbury’s writing and the novel itself is superb and readers should take the time to read this section of 1981’s Danse Macabre, in which King makes no mention of his own screenplay. If you have read the novel, it will enhance your understanding. If not, you will be unable to resist by the time Big Steve is finished.

  In this screenplay, which is part of the America Under SiegeRreality, a carnival comes to Green Town, Illinois. Cooger and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show suddenly appeared in the small mid-Western town on 23 October 1962 and set up in Rolfe’s Meadow. Shortly after the Show’s arrival a hunched old man with wild gray hair (known in the script only as“‘The Drummr’”) gave a local boy, Jim Nightshade, a lightning rod to place on his house. Apparently the carnival denizens had done something evil to this old man but we do not discover what it was.

  When Nightshade visited the carnival with his friend Will Halloway they realzsed something was very wrong. Their reaction somehow alerted Cooger, Dark and their cohorts, including the“‘Dust-With’.” The carnival had strange attractions, including a Mirror-Maze reflecting different ages of the viewer, and a carousel that could increase or decrease the rider’s age.

  Cooger used the carousel to take himself back to twelve years of age. He then went to the house of a local teacher, Miss Foley and confused her by introducing himself as Robert, her nephew. However, Nightshade and Halloway interrupted his plan to rob her. Cooger then tried to set the boys up as the ones who had stolen her jewellery.

  That night Dark and the Dust-Witch sought the boys, presumably to kill them. The Dust-Witch was an ancient, withered crone in gypsy clothes. She was blind and her eyes were sewn up but she could somehow sense using her fingers. She floated over the town in a balloon, using the fingers to seek the boys, and threw a bucket of silvery-stuff onto the shingled roof of the Nightshade house to mark it. Nightshade and Will Halloway washed the slimy stuff off with a garden hose. Later, Halloway shot the balloon down from the roof of an abandoned house, the Redman place, using a bow and arrow.

  The next day the Cooger and Dark carnival paraded down Main Street, where Nightshade and Halloway were hiding from Dark and his followers. After being alerted to the danger by the boys Bill Halloway, Will’s librarian father, researched the history of the carnival’s visits to Green Town. Speculating it could be hundreds of years old, he also came to the realzsation that the evil could be laughed away.

  About 9pm that night Dark, the Dust-Witch and the carnival’s Dwarf succeeded in capturing the two boys at the Town Library. When Bill Halloway (strangely King changes the father’s name from the original Charles) challenged Dark using a Bible, Dark claimed that it could not hurt him“‘…nor could silver bullets or dawn’s early ligh.’” Bill Halloway then followed the kidnappers to the carnival, intending to rescue the boys. However, Jim Nightshade was tempted by the chance to grow a little olde
r and took a ride on the carousel as it turned forwards. Will Halloway jumped on to the infernal device to remove him, aging a year in the process. Jim had aged two years and appeared to be dead when taken off the carousel. However, the two Halloways were able to laugh and dance him back to life.

  Bill Halloway then laughed the Dust-Witch to death. Although Dark had used the carousel to disguise himself as a nine year old boy Bill saw through the ruse, seized this version of Dark, as he would not have been able to hold the man, and“‘lovingly laughed him to deah’.” The carousel and carnival then both self-destructed.

  The carnival moved on, leaving a poster advertising Cooger and Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show’s visit to Dallas, Texas for“‘one day ony’” on November 22, 1963. That is, of course, the date of John F Kennedy’s assassination in that very city.

  Among the things we learn of the Cooger and Dark Show is that it had visited Green Town in the Octobers of 1846 and 1860, on 12 October 1888 and in October of 1910, the year Bill Halloway was born.

  The two boys are our heroes in the piece (although it is Bill Halloway who turns out to be the real hero, rescuing the boys and killing Dark and the Dust Witch). The boys were born only minutes apart, Will Halloway at 11.59pm on 30 October 1948 (All Hallow’s Eve); and Jim Nightshade at 12.01am the following day. It is obvious that Bradbury took great care in naming the boys, who would turn fourteen a week after the carnival’s visit.