Autopsy Room Four

Last updated December 20, 2024

"Autopsy Room Four" is a short story by American writer Stephen King. It was first published in King's limited-edition collection Six Stories in 1997 and appeared in the anthology Robert Bloch's Psychos later the same year. In 2002, it was collected in King's collection Everything's Eventual . It was adapted into a short film in 2003. It was also part of TNT's Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King series in the summer of 2006. On December 11, 2024, Deadline Hollywood announced it was being made into a feature film with British director Ranjeet S. Marwa and veteran Hollywood executive Jon Levin. It is currently in development.

Sources

The plot is based on the set-up of the short story "Breakdown" by Louis Pollock, originally published in Collier's Magazine in 1947, in which the protagonist is paralyzed in an auto accident, and must prove that he is alive. At one point in King's story, the protagonist explicitly thinks about a television adaptation of "Breakdown" which aired on Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1955.

Plot

The story is set in King's fictional town of Derry, Maine.

Howard Cottrell awakes from some form of unconsciousness to find himself laid out in an autopsy room. As the doctors prepare to begin, Howard struggles to come to grips with what is happening.

After realizing that he isn't dead, Howard deduces that he is in a paralysed state. Howard tries to somehow inform the doctors of this fact before they cut into him.

While prepping Cottrell's body, the doctor in charge, Katie Arlen, finds shrapnel wounds around his nether regions. While she is absent-mindedly examining these, another doctor rushes into the room to inform them that Howard is still alive. Katie looks down – to find herself holding Howard's erect penis.

In a humorous afternote, Howard explains that he was possibly bitten by a very rare snake, causing the deathlike paralysis. Another one of the doctors discovered that same snake in his golf bag and was promptly bitten. It's presumed that he will recover. Howard adds that he and Katie dated for a while, but parted due to an embarrassing issue in the boudoir (he was impotent unless she was wearing rubber gloves).

Notes

Supposedly Howard was bitten by a snake called a Peruvian Boomslang. There are no boomslangs in the Americas; the species is native to South Africa and the word means "tree snake" in Afrikaans. In his notes at the end, King says he got the name from Agatha Christie: the snake was featured in one of her Miss Marple books. King said that boomslang was just a word he liked, and that he "doubt[ed] like Hell" that a Peruvian one existed.
A character named Howard Cottrell makes a brief appearance in The Shining , another novel by King, wherein he lends Dick Hallorann a pair of mittens as the latter makes his way to The Overlook Hotel. It is explained that Cottrell has a small amount of "shine", the supernatural ability that allows Danny Torrance and Dick Hallorann to read people's thoughts, among other things.^[1] It is not clear if this character is the same person as the character in Autopsy Room Four.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The story was adapted into a short film in 2003.^[2]
The short story was adapted as an episode of the Turner Network Television mini-series Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King in 2006.^[2]
The music video of Incubus's song "Anna Molly" has a similar plot line.
On December 11, 2024, Deadline Hollywood announced Autopsy Room Four was being made into a feature film with British director Ranjeet S. Marwa and veteran Hollywood executive Jon Levin.^[2]

Related Research Articles

The Shining is a 1977 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is King's third published novel and first hardcover bestseller; its success firmly established King as a preeminent author in the horror genre. The setting and characters are influenced by King's personal experiences, including both his visit to The Stanley Hotel in 1974 and his struggle with alcoholism. The novel was adapted into a 1980 film and a 1997 miniseries. The book was followed by a sequel, Doctor Sleep, published in 2013, which in turn was adapted into a 2019 film Doctor Sleep.

<i>Nightmares & Dreamscapes</i> Short story collection by Stephen King

Nightmares & Dreamscapes is a short story collection by American author Stephen King, published in 1993.

Night Shift is Stephen King's first collection of short stories, first published in 1978. In 1980, Night Shift won the Balrog Award for Best Collection, and in 1979 it was nominated as best collection for the Locus Award and the World Fantasy Award.

"The End of the Whole Mess" is a short science fiction story by American writer Stephen King, first published in Omni Magazine in 1986. It was collected in King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes in 1993 and in Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse in 2008. The story is written in the form of a personal journal, and tells the story of an attempt to cure humanity's aggressive tendencies.

"The Ten O'Clock People" is a short story by American author Stephen King, published in the Nightmares & Dreamscapes collection. Unlike many of King's stories which take place in fictional places like Castle Rock, Maine, "The Ten O'Clock People" takes place in Boston, Massachusetts. A film adaptation has been announced.

"Suffer the Little Children" is a horror short story by American writer Stephen King. It was first published by Cavalier in 1972, and was later collected in King's book Nightmares & Dreamscapes in 1993.

"The Night Flier" is a horror short story by American writer Stephen King, first published in the 1988 anthology Prime Evil: New Stories by the Masters of Modern Horror, and then in King's own 1993 Nightmares & Dreamscapes collection.

<i>The Shining</i> (film) 1980 film by Stanley Kubrick

The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and co-written with novelist Diane Johnson. It is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name and stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. The film presents the descent into insanity of a recovering alcoholic and aspiring novelist (Nicholson) who takes a job as winter caretaker for a haunted resort hotel with his wife (Duvall) and clairvoyant son (Lloyd).

"Cain Rose Up" is a horror short story by American writer Stephen King. It was originally published in the Spring 1968 issue of Ubris magazine, and collected in King's Skeleton Crew in 1985. It deals with a depressed and homicidal college student, Curt Garrish, who goes on a murderous sniper rampage from his dormitory room.

Richard Christian Matheson is an American writer of horror fiction and screenplays, the son of fiction writer and screenwriter Richard Matheson. He is the author of over 100 short stories of psychological horror and magic realism which are gathered in over 150 major anthologies and in his critically hailed hardcover short story collections Scars and Other Distinguishing Marks, Amazon #1 bestseller Dystopia, and Zoopraxis. He is the author of the suspense novel Created By. He also authored a magical realism novella set in Hollywood titled The Ritual of Illusion, and was the editor of the commemorative book Stephen King's Battleground. Matheson also adapted the short story which was made into an iconic episode of the TNT series Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King and won two Emmys.

"Sorry, Right Number" is a teleplay written by author Stephen King for an episode of the horror anthology series Tales from the Darkside. It is the ninth episode of the fourth season. It was later included in King's 1993 short story collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes, and is the only such work that King has included in any of his anthologies. It appears in script format, and begins with an authors' guide for screenplays and abbreviations.

"The Doctor's Case" is a short story by American author Stephen King, originally published in The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a 1987 centennial collection, and reprinted in his collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes.

"The Fifth Quarter" is a short story by American author Stephen King, originally published in the April 1972 issue of Cavalier and later collected in King's 1993 collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes. It was filmed as an episode of the TNT miniseries Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King.

<i>Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King</i> 2006 American anthology television series

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King is an American horror anthology television series that aired on TNT, based on short stories written by American author Stephen King. It debuted on July 12, 2006, and ended its run on August 2, 2006. Although most of the stories are from the book collection of the same title, some are from different collections by King. A trailer confirming a DVD edition of the series was released in October 2006. The series was filmed entirely in Melbourne, Australia.

G.I. Joe is a series of American military science fiction action films based on the toy line of the same name. Development for the first film began in 2003, but when the United States launched the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Hasbro suggested adapting the Transformers instead. In 2009, the first film was released, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. A second film, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, was released in 2013. A third film, centered on Snake Eyes titled Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, also serving as a reboot of the series, was released in 2021, and a fourth film, G.I. Joe: Ever Vigilant, is confirmed to be in active development. A crossover film with the Transformers is also being developed.

Mike Flanagan is an American filmmaker, best known for his horror work. Flanagan wrote, directed, produced, and edited the horror films Absentia (2011), Oculus (2013), Hush, Before I Wake, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Gerald's Game (2017), and Doctor Sleep (2019). He created, wrote, produced, and served as showrunner on the Netflix horror series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), The Midnight Club (2022), and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023), also directing and editing some episodes of each.

<i>Doctor Sleep</i> (2019 film) 2019 film by Mike Flanagan

Doctor Sleep is a 2019 American supernatural horror film written, directed, and edited by Mike Flanagan. It is an adaptation of the 2013 novel of the same name by Stephen King and serves as a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film The Shining. The film stars Ewan McGregor as Dan Torrance, a man with psychic abilities and a drinking problem, who struggles with childhood trauma caused by the horrors at the Overlook Hotel. Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, and Cliff Curtis have supporting roles as new characters: Abra Stone and Billy Freeman team up with Dan to take down Rose the Hat and her gang of followers.

Richard Hallorann is a fictional character created by Stephen King from his 1977 novel The Shining. He has telepathic abilities he called "the shining" and is the head chef at the Overlook Hotel. He meets Danny Torrance, a young boy who is also telepathic, and learns that the evil spirits of the hotel have taken control of Danny's father, Jack.

The Shining is an American supernatural horror media franchise that originated from the 1977 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The novel was later adapted into a 1980 film and a 1997 television miniseries. King later wrote a 2013 sequel novel, Doctor Sleep, which was adapted to film in 2019.

References

↑ King, Stephen (1977). Shining, the. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-12167-9. OCLC 994020964.
1 2 3 Wiseman, Andreas (December 11, 2024). "Stephen King Story 'Autopsy Room Four' Being Made Into A Film With Producer Jon Levin & Director Ranjeet S. Marwa". Deadline Hollywood . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 11, 2024.

External links

Short film Autopsy Room Four at IMDb
Stephen King Short Movies – Autopsy Room Four Trailer

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] King, Stephen (1977). Shining, the. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-12167-9. OCLC 994020964.

[Feature_film-2] 1 2 3 Wiseman, Andreas (December 11, 2024). "Stephen King Story 'Autopsy Room Four' Being Made Into A Film With Producer Jon Levin & Director Ranjeet S. Marwa". Deadline Hollywood . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 11, 2024.

[1]

[2]