The Crate

Last updated
"The Crate"
Short story by Stephen King
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s) Horror short story
Publication
Published in Gallery
Publisher Magna Publishing Group
Media typePrint
Publication date 1979

"The Crate" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the July 1979 issue of Gallery . [1] In 1982, the story was adapted as a segment in the movie Creepshow , and included in comic-book form in the Creepshow graphic novella. [1]

Contents

Plot

An old wooden crate, marked from an 1834 Arctic expedition, is discovered by a janitor beneath the basement stairs at the zoology department of Horlicks University. He notifies Dexter Stanley, the school's biology professor, and together they open it to discover the crate contains a small yet powerful – and hungry – beast, still alive after 140 years. The creature kills and eats the janitor, as well as Stanley's grad student Charlie Gereson – consuming them entirely, leaving only scraps of clothing behind. In a daze, Stanley flees to the home of his friend, English professor Henry Northrup. He tells Henry the whole story, and Northrup believes him, seeing the crate-dwelling beast as a way to rid himself of his verbally abusive, alcoholic wife, Wilma.

He dopes Stanley's drink, and while Stanley is unconscious Henry writes and leaves a letter for Wilma to find and then drives to the university where he cleans up the blood and remaining scraps from the beast. Wilma meanwhile comes home and finds the letter and after reading it races up to the university. Henry had led her to believe in the note that Stanley had attacked a female grad student earlier and that she was now hiding underneath the stairs and that only Wilma would be able to talk her out. As Wilma peers under the stairs looking for the girl, Henry quickly comes up and pushes her from behind up against the beast's crate and starts screaming for it to come out and feed on her. After an initial delay that sees Wilma start to berate Henry, the beast – Northrup likens it to a Tasmanian devil, albeit possibly having six legs – does indeed appear and eat Wilma completely, then retreats back into its crate.

As Henry carefully loads the crate into another larger crate for disposal, he notes that Wilma's face (and only her face) is still visible in the crate. Northrup drives the crate within a crate to a local quarry and tips the entire cargo into the deep quarry lake.

Upon his return home Stanley wakes up, and the two decide to keep quiet about the entire incident – Stanley has gained a friend, and Northrup has lost his abusive wife, a situation that both are happy with.

Film adaptation

The story was adapted as a segment in the film Creepshow . Although there are numerous small changes, the film version remains essentially faithful to the written source material. The changes include the depiction of the beast as a small ape-like creature with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, and the beast breaking out of the waterlogged crate after being dumped in the 400-foot-deep (120 m) lake.

Production designer Cletus Anderson made three prop crates for this segment. A bloody crate, formerly owned by director George A. Romero, is owned by David Burian, prop collector and film archivist. The other two crates are owned by KNB FX co-owner Greg Nicotero (who purchased it from special effects artist Tom Savini) and Creepshow soundtrack composer John Harrison.

In the end of the episode "The Things In Oakwood's Past" in Creepshow , a news caster at the end of the episode mentions a crate being found at the bottom of Riders Quarry, where the crate had been deposited in the end of the movie.

Publications

"The Crate" has not yet been collected in a Stephen King collection, but it has been printed a few times:

See also

Related Research Articles

There have been many books published about Stephen King and his works.

<i>Apt Pupil</i> (film) 1998 film by Bryan Singer

Apt Pupil is a 1998 American thriller film directed by Bryan Singer and starring Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro. It is based on the 1982 novella of the same name by Stephen King. In the 1980s in southern California, high school student Todd Bowden (Renfro) discovers fugitive Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander (McKellen) living in his neighborhood under the pseudonym Arthur Denker. Bowden, obsessed with Nazism and acts of the Holocaust, persuades Dussander to share his stories, and their relationship stirs malice in each of them.

<i>Skeleton Crew</i> (short story collection) 1985 short story collection by Stephen King

Skeleton Crew is a collection of short fiction by American writer Stephen King, published by Putnam in June 1985. A limited edition of a thousand copies was published by Scream/Press in October 1985 (ISBN 978-0910489126), illustrated by J. K. Potter, containing an additional short story, "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson", which had originally appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, and was later incorporated into King's 1987 novel The Tommyknockers. The original title of this book was Night Moves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramsey Campbell</span> English author (born1946)

Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction writer, editor and critic who has been writing for well over fifty years. He is the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories, many of them winners of literary awards. Three of his novels have been adapted into films.

<i>Carrie</i> (novel) 1974 novel by Stephen King

Carrie is a 1974 horror novel, the first by American author Stephen King. Set in Chamberlain, Maine, the plot revolves around Carrie White, a friendless, bullied high-school girl from an abusive religious household who discovers she has telekinetic powers. Remorseful for picking on Carrie, Sue Snell insists that she go to prom with Sue's boyfriend Tommy Ross, though a revenge prank pulled by one of Carrie's bullies on prom night humiliates Carrie, leading her to destroy the town with her powers out of revenge. An epistolary novel, Carrie deals with themes of ostracization and revenge, with the opening shower scene and the destruction of Chamberlain being pivotal scenes.

<i>The Turn of the Screw</i> 1898 novella by Henry James

The Turn of the Screw is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in Collier's Weekly. In October 1898, it was collected in The Two Magics, published by Macmillan in New York City and Heinemann in London. The novella follows a governess who, caring for two children at a remote country house, becomes convinced that they are haunted. The Turn of the Screw is considered a work of both Gothic and horror fiction.

<i>Creepshow</i> 1982 horror comedy anthology film by George A. Romero

Creepshow is a 1982 American horror comedy anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King, making this film his screenwriting debut. The film's ensemble cast includes Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, Leslie Nielsen, Carrie Nye, E. G. Marshall, and Viveca Lindfors, Ted Danson and Ed Harris, as well as King himself. The film was primarily shot on location in Pittsburgh and its suburbs, including Monroeville, where Romero leased an old boys' academy to build extensive sets for the film.

<i>Needful Things</i> Novel by Stephen King

Needful Things is a 1991 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first novel King wrote after his rehabilitation from drug and alcohol addiction. It was made into a film of the same name in 1993 which was directed by Fraser C. Heston. The story focuses on a shop that sells collectibles and antiques, managed by Leland Gaunt, a new arrival to the town of Castle Rock, Maine, the setting of many King stories. Gaunt often asks customers to perform a prank or mysterious deed in exchange for the item they are drawn to. As time goes by, the many deeds and pranks lead to increasing aggression among the townspeople, as well as chaos and death. A protagonist of the book is Alan Pangborn, previously seen in Stephen King's novel The Dark Half.

<i>Cycle of the Werewolf</i> 1983 novella by Stephen King

Cycle of the Werewolf is a horror novella by American writer Stephen King, featuring illustrations by comic-book artist Bernie Wrightson. Each chapter is a short story unto itself. It tells the story of a werewolf haunting a small town as the moon turns full once every month. It was published as a limited-edition hardcover in 1983 by Land of Enchantment, and in 1985 as a mass-market trade paperback by Signet. King also wrote the screenplay for its film adaptation, Silver Bullet (1985). It is King's shortest novel to date at 127 pages, which makes it technically a novella.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles L. Grant</span> American novelist

Charles Lewis Grant was an American novelist and short story writer specializing in what he called "dark fantasy" and "quiet horror". He also wrote under the pseudonyms of Geoffrey Marsh, Lionel Fenn, Simon Lake, Felicia Andrews, Deborah Lewis, Timothy Boggs, Mark Rivers, and Steven Charles.

<i>The Beast in the Jungle</i> 1903 novella by Henry James

The Beast in the Jungle is a 1903 novella by Henry James, first published as part of the collection The Better Sort. Almost universally considered one of James' finest short narratives, this story treats appropriately universal themes: loneliness, fate, love and death. The parable of John Marcher and his peculiar destiny has spoken to many readers who have speculated on the worth and meaning of human life.

<i>The Great God Pan</i> 1894 novella by Arthur Machen

The Great God Pan is a horror and fantasy novella by Welsh writer Arthur Machen. Machen was inspired to write The Great God Pan by his experiences at the ruins of a pagan temple in Wales. What would become the first chapter of the novella was published in the magazine The Whirlwind in 1890. Machen later extended The Great God Pan and it was published as a book alongside another story, "The Inmost Light", in 1894. The novella begins with an experiment to allow a woman named Mary to see the supernatural world. This is followed by an account of a series of mysterious happenings and deaths over many years surrounding a woman named Helen Vaughan. At the end, the heroes confront Helen and force her to kill herself. She undergoes a series of unearthly transformations before dying and she is revealed to be a supernatural entity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cemetery Dance Publications</span> American specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense

Cemetery Dance Publications is an American specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense. Cemetery Dance was founded by Richard Chizmar, a horror author, while he was in college. It is associated with Cemetery Dance magazine, which was founded in 1988. They began to publish books in 1992. They later expanded to encompass a magazine and website featuring news, interviews, and reviews related to horror literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Hill (writer)</span> American writer (born 1972)

Joseph Hillström King, better known by the pen name Joe Hill, is an American writer. His work includes the novels Heart-Shaped Box (2007), Horns (2010), NOS4A2 (2013), and The Fireman (2016); the short story collections 20th Century Ghosts (2005) and Strange Weather (2017); and the comic book series Locke & Key (2008–2013). He has won awards including Bram Stoker Awards, British Fantasy Awards, and an Eisner Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valerie on the Stairs</span> 8th episode of the 2nd season of Masters of Horror

"Valerie on the Stairs" is the eighth episode of the second season of Masters of Horror. The episode was directed by Mick Garris and is based on the Clive Barker story of the same name.

<i>Creepshow 3</i> 2006 American film

Creepshow 3 is a 2006 American comedy horror film, and a sequel to Stephen King and George A. Romero's horror anthology films Creepshow (1982) and Creepshow 2 (1987). It was directed and produced by Ana Clavell and James Dudelson. The film stars Kris Allen, A. J. Bowen, Emmett McGuire and Stephanie Pettee. Like its predecessors, the film is a collection of tales of light-hearted horror: "Alice", "The Radio", "Call Girl", "The Professor's Wife", and "Haunted Dog", although there is no EC Comics angle this time around. The film was panned by critics.

List of the published work of Bill Pronzini, American writer.

<i>Creepshow</i> (TV series) American horror anthology television series

Creepshow is an American horror anthology television series that was released on Shudder in 2019. The series serves as a continuation of the 1982 film of the same name and features twenty five episodes with two horror stories per episode. The series premiered on September 26, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy Torrance</span> Fictional character

Winnifred "Wendy" Torrance is a fictional character and protagonist of the 1977 horror novel The Shining by the American writer Stephen King. She also appears in the prologue of Doctor Sleep, a 2013 sequel to The Shining.

"Pinfall" is an unpublished short story/film treatment by Stephen King and George A. Romero. It was originally written by King as a segment for the 1987 anthology film Creepshow 2, with Romero developing it into a script in 1984, but was never filmed. In 2016, a comic book adaptation of the story was produced by Jason Mayoh.

References

  1. 1 2 Wood, Rocky (2011). Stephen King: A literary companion. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. pp. 51–52. ISBN   9780786458509.