The Lawnmower Man

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"The Lawnmower Man"
Short story by Stephen King
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s) Horror, science fiction
Publication
Published in Cavalier , Night Shift
Publication type Periodical
Media typePrint (magazine, book)
Publication date May 1975

"The Lawnmower Man" is a short story by American writer Stephen King, first published in the May 1975 issue of Cavalier and later included in King's 1978 collection Night Shift .

Contents

Plot summary

Harold Parkette is in need of a new lawn mowing service. The summer before, a neighbor's cat was accidentally killed when another neighbor's dog chased it under the mower. Harold has been putting off hiring new help for the summer, but when he sees an ad for a mowing service, he calls. A van reading "Pastoral Greenery" soon pulls up to his home. The man working for the service, a hairy, pot-bellied fellow, is shown the overgrown back lawn and is hired. Harold is enjoying a rest as he reads the paper, wondering about the lawnmower man mentioning Circe, when he hears the lawnmower outside. Startled, he races to the back porch and sees the lawnmower running by itself and the naked lawnmower man following it on all fours and eating the grass. The lawnmower seemingly deliberately chases and kills a mole, causing Harold to vomit into a flower bed and faint.

When Harold revives, the lawnmower man explains that this new method, introduced by his boss, grants substantial benefits, and that he makes sacrificial victims of customers who cannot appreciate the process. Harold, though unnerved, allows the lawnmower man to return to work. As soon as the man is out of sight, Harold desperately calls the police, but is interrupted by the lawnmower man, who reveals his boss's name: the ancient god Pan. The lawnmower briefly chases Harold through his living room before brutally slaughtering him.

When the police arrive, they conclude that Harold was murdered by a schizophrenic sex maniac. As they leave, the scent of freshly cut grass hangs strongly in the air.

Adaptations

See also

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References

  1. "Bizarre Adventures #29 - The Lawnmower Man (Issue)". Comic Vine. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  2. "IDW Announces John Buscema Silver Surfer, Walt Simonson Manhunter Artist's Editions, Stephen King & Simonson Lawnmower Man Portfolio - Bleeding Cool News And Rumors". Bleedingcool.com. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  3. IDW Publishing [@IDWPublishing] (12 September 2014). "Walter Simonson's Lawnmower Man: Artist's Edition Portfolio is available!" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  4. "Stephen King suing producers", The Prescott Courier, 29 May 1992. retrieved on April 18, 2010
  5. Davidson, Casey (1994-04-22). "Stephen King wins lawsuit". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 2015-11-22. Retrieved 2022-02-03.