Night Surf

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"Night Surf"
Short story by Stephen King
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s) Post-apocalyptic, horror, short story
Publication
Published inUbris
Night Shift
Publisher Doubleday
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Publication date 1969

"Night Surf" is a post-apocalyptic short story by Stephen King, first published in the spring 1969 issue of Ubris . In 1978 it was collected in King's book Night Shift .

Contents

Plot summary

On an August night on Anson Beach, New Hampshire, a group of former college students have survived a plague caused by a virus called A6, or "Captain Trips". They believe the virus spread out of Southeast Asia and wiped out most of humanity.

The characters' outlook is grim. They encounter a delirious man dying of the plague and burn him alive on a pyre as a half-serious black magic human sacrifice. The protagonist, Bernie, reflects upon this new world and reminisces about "the time before" when he went to Anson Beach in his youth, years before the plague. All the members of Bernie's group had survived a virus called A2, which supposedly made them immune to A6. But Needles reveals to Bernie that he has contracted A6. Bernie admits to himself that deep down they know that A2 is not a guarantee against A6 and that they will probably all be dead by Christmas. Bernie's girlfriend keeps up the pretense, accepting Bernie's explanation that Needles must have lied about having A2 so the others would not leave him behind.

Publication

"Night Surf" was first published in the spring 1969 issue of Ubris magazine. A heavily revised version was published in the August 1974 issue of Cavalier magazine. [1] In 1978, the story was collected in King's first book of short stories, Night Shift . [2] At eight pages long, it is one of King's shortest short stories. [3]

Adaptations

Writer-director Peter Sullivan adapted "Night Surf" as a short film, produced in 2002. [4] [1] Optioned from King for a dollar, the film is part of the Dollar Baby collection of similar short films. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

This is a list of short fiction works by Stephen King. This includes short stories, novelettes, and novellas, as well as poems. It is arranged chronologically by first publication. Major revisions of previously published pieces are also noted. Stephen King is sometimes credited with "nearly 400 short stories". However, all the known published pieces of short fiction are tabulated below. In all, 218 works are listed. Most of these pieces have been collected in King's seven short story collections: Night Shift (1978), Skeleton Crew (1985), Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993), Everything's Eventual (2002), Just After Sunset (2008), The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015), and You Like It Darker (2024); in King's five novella collections: Different Seasons (1982), Four Past Midnight (1990), Hearts in Atlantis (1999), Full Dark, No Stars (2010), and If It Bleeds (2020); and in the compilation Secret Windows: Essays and Fiction on the Craft of Writing (2000). Some of these pieces, however, remain uncollected.

<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.

<i>Night Shift</i> (short story collection) Book by Stephen King

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.

"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.

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"Rainy Season" is a short horror story by Stephen King, first published in Midnight Graffiti in 1989, and later collected in King's book Nightmares & Dreamscapes in 1993.

Beachworld is a short science fiction story by Stephen King, first published in Weird Tales in 1984, and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.

"I Am the Doorway" is a science fiction short story by American writer Stephen King, first published in the March 1971 issue of Cavalier magazine, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.

"Strawberry Spring" is a horror short story by Stephen King. It was originally published in the Fall 1968 issue of Ubris magazine, then republished in the November 1975 issue of Cavalier magazine, and, heavily revised, collected in King's Night Shift in 1978.

"Gray Matter" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the October 1973 issue of Cavalier magazine, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.

"Sometimes They Come Back" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March 1974 issue of Cavalier and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.

"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.

"I Know What You Need" is a fantasy/horror short story by American writer Stephen King, first published in the September 1976 issue of Cosmopolitan, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.

"The Ledge" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the July 1976 issue of Penthouse, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.

"One for the Road" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March/April 1977 issue of Maine, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.

"The Woman in the Room" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in King's 1978 collection Night Shift. It was adapted as a short film of the same name in 1983, directed by Frank Darabont at the beginning of his career.

"The Road Virus Heads North" is a short story by Stephen King. The story first appeared in 999, an anthology published in 1999 and edited by Al Sarrantonio. In 2002, it was collected in King's Everything's Eventual.

"Luckey Quarter" is a short story by American writer Stephen King, originally published in USA Weekend in 1995.

"That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French” is a horror short story by American writer Stephen King. It was originally published in the June 22, 1998 issue of The New Yorker magazine. In 2002, it was collected in King's collection Everything's Eventual. It focuses on a married woman in a car ride on vacation constantly repeating the same events over and over, each event ending with the same gruesome outcome. In his closing remarks, King suggested that Hell is not "other people," as Sartre claimed, but repetition, enduring the same pain over and over again without end.

"The Reaper's Image" is a horror short story by American writer Stephen King, first published in Startling Mystery Stories in 1969 and collected in Skeleton Crew in 1985. The story is about an antique mirror haunted by the visage of the Grim Reaper, who appears to those who gaze into it.

"Here There Be Tygers" is a short horror story by Stephen King. It was originally published in the Spring 1968 issue of Ubris magazine, and collected in King's Skeleton Crew in 1985.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wood, Rocky (2011). Stephen King: A literary companion. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. p. 132. ISBN   9780786458509.
  2. De Fiuppo, Marsha (1990). "Stephen King: Bibliography". Fantasy & Science Fiction. 79 (6): 56–62. Retrieved June 1, 2024 via Internet Archive.
  3. Reino, Joseph (1988). Stephen King: The first decade, Carrie to Pet Sematary. Boston: Twayne. pp. 50, 104–109. ISBN   0-8057-7512-9.
  4. Bannan, Karen J. (2000). "HOT SHOTS". Hollywood Reporter. Vol. 363, no. 34 (International ed.) via EBSCOHost.