 | |
| Author | Peter Straub |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Horror |
| Published | 1982, Underwood-Miller |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 515 (first edition hardcover) |
| ISBN | 0-399-12772-0 |
Floating Dragon is a horror novel by American writer Peter Straub, originally published by Underwood-Miller in November 1982 and G.P. Putnam's Sons in February 1983. The novel won the August Derleth Award in 1984. [1] [2]
Set during the spring and summer of 1980, the novel deals with events that befall the affluent suburb of Hampstead, Connecticut. An adulterous housewife named Stony Friedgood picks up a man at a bar, but is brutally murdered by the patron. At the same time, her husband Leo, working with the Department of Defense, is involved in the cover up of DRG-16, a nerve gas that escapes its containment and rushes into the town of Hampstead. Leo works to stop the public from finding out about the gas that leaked, which already killed three men at the lab. When he arrives home, the gas is above Hampstead, causing deaths and hallucinations.
Meanwhile, the descendants of the founders of Hampstead have returned: Richard Allbee, a former child actor turned architect with a wife and child on the way, returns from London and is plagued by dreams and visions of his former co-actor Billy Bentley, who died; Graham Williams, an old historian who murdered a serial killer in his past, and discovered a cycle of evil in the town that arrives every thirty years in the name of a monster named the Dragon; Patsy McCloud, the abused wife of Les McCloud, who has psychic abilities; and Tabby Smithfield, a young child with an alcoholic father, who has similar abilities like Patsy. The four connect with each other and learn from Graham that an older evil has poisoned the town and wreaks havoc, as is happening at that moment.
Several of the locals experience frightening visions they believe was brought on by DRG, but was in fact created by the Dragon. The Dragon, originally businessman Gideon Winter, had bought land from the town centuries ago and killed women and children, was discovered and murdered by the founders, leading to his vendetta against the town and its inhabitants. The Dragon would possess people each cycle to commit atrocities, such as Bates Krell. Williams had confronted Bates Krell years ago and murdered him, after discovering his acts of villainy. Williams then devoted himself to uncover the history which he shares with the other three.
Tabby reluctantly accompanies three teenage robbers on their trip to doctor Wren Van Horne's home, where they are attacked and killed; several children drown themselves on the town beach; policemen murder each other during an annual meeting at a movie theater; a group of firefighters die when they spontaneously combust trying to stop several houses from burning; Leo escapes town but dies in the streets of New York; and local reporter Sarah Spry and her friend Ulick Byrne attempt to uncover the secret of Hampstead.
More evil and terrifying hallucinations brought on by the Dragon destroy the town and send the townsfolk away. The four are no stranger as they watch firsthand the town crumble. As the novel progresses, the Dragon gets more hostile trying to split the group and demotivate them: Les McCloud, Patsy's husband, is killed during a drive after a dog kills itself when it crashed into his car; Richard comes home from his work to see his wife murdered, while pregnant; Tabby's home catches fire, and his father kills his stepmother, and they are consumed by the flames; and Graham visits Kendall Point, a place of terror in town, and nearly falls to his death.
The government discovers the slip and failed coverup of DRG as reporters and news stations discover the events happening in Hampstead. Sarah and Ulick, after investigating, arrive at the home of former killer Bates Krell and are attacked by Wren Van Horne, who became the new host of the Dragon and murdered several locals, including Stony Friedgood. Tabby arrives at Van Horne's manor with Patsy, in an attempt to stop the Dragon single-handedly like Graham previously. They meet one of the surviving thieves, Bruce Norman, who helps them break in. They easily shoot and kill Van Horne, but a celestial form of the Dragon kidnaps Tabby and burns the house down. At the same time, Graham and Richard, figuring out what Tabby planned to do, are attacked by an indestructible dog at Williams' home, but manage to escape with Graham's shotgun.
The two, along with Patsy, journey to Krell's home and are hit with vivid hallucinations, like dead beings emerging from the basement floor and blood inside the basement. They enter a tunnel and several caverns where each individual is tested by the Dragon: Patsy sees the victims of the Dragon in a chamber, in them Sarah, Ulick, and her husband Les; Richard returns to the set of the show he acted in and is attacked by Billy Bentley, but learns to accept his death; and Graham is embarrassed for his infidelity with his wives and accusations of being a communist. They arrive underneath Kendall Point, and rescue Tabby. The Dragon appears, in the form of a literal dragon, and causes an earthquake.
The four enter a large cave created by the Dragon. Patsy unites the group with her powers, and gives them the strength and courage to face the Dragon. Singing “When the Red, Red, Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along”, Richard uses a shotgun which transforms into a sword to stab the Dragon and kill him, seemingly ending the cycle. The four escape Kendall Point before it cracks and falls into the ocean, along with Van Horne’s mansion and a few buildings. The four recoup at Graham’s home where it is fully revealed that the novel was written by Graham on the suggestion of Richard.
The novel ends with Patsy moving with a new boyfriend to New York, then somewhere south, Richard getting a new wife and daughter, adopting Tabby, who goes to college, and Graham publishing Floating Dragon and being promised by Patsy to meet again soon.
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 film of the same name in 2019.
A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology such as extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, such as psychokinesis or teleportation. Although many people believe in psychic abilities, the scientific consensus is that there is no proof of the existence of such powers, and describes the practice as pseudoscience. The word "psychic" is also used as an adjective to describe such abilities.
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
A psychic detective is a person who investigates crimes by using purported paranormal psychic abilities. Examples have included postcognition, psychometry, telepathy, dowsing, clairvoyance, and remote viewing. In murder cases, psychic detectives may purport to be in communication with the spirits of the murder victims.
The Atlanta murders of 1979–1981, sometimes called the Atlanta child murders, are a series of murders committed in Atlanta, Georgia, between July 1979 and May 1981. Over the two-year period, at least 28 children, adolescents, and adults were killed. Wayne Williams, an Atlanta native who was 23 years old at the time of the last murder, was arrested, tried, and convicted of two of the adult murders and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
The Dead Zone, also known as Stephen King's The Dead Zone is a science-fiction drama television series starring Anthony Michael Hall as Johnny Smith, who discovers he has developed psychic abilities after a coma. The show, credited as "based on characters" from Stephen King's 1979 novel of the same name, first aired in 2002, and was produced by Lionsgate Television and Paramount Network Television for the USA Network.
Francis Dolarhyde is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Thomas Harris' 1981 novel Red Dragon, as well as its film adaptations, Manhunter and Red Dragon.
Brandon Stark, also known as Bran, is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, where he is portrayed by English actor Isaac Hempstead Wright. Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, Bran subsequently appears in A Clash of Kings (1998) and A Storm of Swords (2000). He is one of a few prominent characters that are not included in the fourth novel A Feast for Crows (2005), but returned in the fifth novel A Dance with Dragons (2011).
Sadako Yamamura, reimagined as Park Eun-seo (Korean: 박은서) and Samara Morgan for their respective adaptations, is the main antagonist of Koji Suzuki's Ring novel series and the film franchise of the same name. Sadako's fictional history alternates between continuities, but all depict her as the vengeful ghost of a psychic who was murdered and thrown into a well. As a ghost, she uses nensha, her most distinctive power and weapon, to create a cursed video tape. Whoever watches the tape will die exactly one week later unless the tape is copied and shown to another person, who must then repeat the same process.
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation is a 2004 American military science fiction horror film directed by Phil Tippett and starring Richard Burgi, Lawrence Monoson, and Colleen Porch. It is a sequel to Starship Troopers (1997) and the second installment of the Starship Troopers franchise. The film premiered on Encore Action on April 24, 2004, and was released on DVD and VHS on June 1, 2004. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, who criticized the shift from the first film's action to horror, as well as the lack of returning cast from the first film. It was followed by the direct-to-video sequel Starship Troopers 3: Marauder in 2008.
Dr. Frederick Chilton is a fictional character appearing in Thomas Harris' novels Red Dragon (1981) and The Silence of the Lambs (1988), along with the film and television adaptations of Harris's novels.
Red Dragon is a psychological horror novel by American author Thomas Harris, first published in 1981. The story follows former FBI profiler Will Graham, who comes out of retirement to find and apprehend an enigmatic serial killer nicknamed "the Tooth Fairy". The novel introduces the character Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer whom Graham reluctantly turns to for advice and with whom he has a dark past.
The Dead Zone is a science fiction thriller novel by Stephen King published in 1979. The story follows Johnny Smith, who awakens from a coma of nearly five years and, apparently as a result of brain damage, now experiences clairvoyant and precognitive visions triggered by touch. When some information is blocked from his perception, Johnny refers to that information as being trapped in the part of his brain that is permanently damaged, "the dead zone." The novel also follows a serial killer in Castle Rock, and the life of rising politician Greg Stillson, both of whom are evils Johnny must eventually face.
John Smith is a fictional character and the protagonist of Stephen King's 1979 novel The Dead Zone. He possesses psychic abilities that allow him to see moments of the future and past, usually triggered by touching objects or a person related to that future. He is portrayed by Christopher Walken in the 1983 film and Anthony Michael Hall in the 2002 television series. Paste Magazine has ranked Johnny Smith the sixth out of eight creepiest Christopher Walken performances.
The Bone Clocks is a novel by British writer David Mitchell. It was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2014, and called one of the best novels of 2014 by Stephen King. The novel won the 2015 World Fantasy Award.
The Raven Cycle is a series of four contemporary fantasy novels written by American author Maggie Stiefvater. The first novel, The Raven Boys, was published by Scholastic in 2012, and the final book, The Raven King, was published on April 26, 2016.
Will Graham is a fictional character and protagonist of Thomas Harris' 1981 novel Red Dragon. Graham is also the protagonist of two film adaptations of the novel, Manhunter (1986) and Red Dragon (2002), and the television series Hannibal (2013–2015), which adapted various parts of the Hannibal Lecter franchise.
Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons - The Movie is an American direct-to-video adult animated superhero film based on the CW Seed series Deathstroke: Knights & Dragons, produced by Warner Bros. Animation, and distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. It was released digitally on August 4, 2020 and on Blu-ray on August 18.