| "The Little Green God of Agony" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story by Stephen King | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Genre(s) | Horror short story | ||
| Publication | |||
| Published in | A Book of Horrors | ||
| Publisher | Jo Fletcher Books | ||
| Media type | |||
| Publication date | 2011 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| |||
"The Little Green God of Agony" is a short story by Stephen King. It was originally published in 2011 as part of the anthology A Book of Horrors.
Vermont billionaire Andrew Newsome, the world's sixth richest man, has been bedridden with chronic pain since a plane crash two years prior. Newsome is attended by a private nurse, Kat MacDonald, who privately believes that Newsome is too cowardly to undergo the necessary pain to rehabilitate himself but says nothing as she is being paid a handsome salary. Newsome receives a visit from Reverend Rideout, who claims that his pain is caused by a "demon god". Rideout offers to expel the demon god–a process that will place his life at risk–in return for a fee of $750,000 (equivalent to $1,016,000in 2023), which he intends to use to rebuild his church in Titusville, Arkansas, which has burned down.
After Newsome accepts Rideout's offer, a frustrated Kat accuses Newsome of being lazy and Rideout of being a fraud. Newsome initially fires her, but Rideout persuades him to allow her to watch the expulsion of the demon god, suggesting that Kat has become complacent to the suffering of her patients due to never having experienced severe pain herself. Rideout gives Kat a broom and Newsome's assistant Jensen a canister of pepper spray, instructing them to stun the creature and capture it in a specimen jar. The expulsion is also witnessed by Melissa, Newsome's housekeeper, and Tonya, Newsome's cook.
Rideout begins the expulsion, and a small, spikey, "bladderlike" green creature (which Kat likens to a Koosh ball) is expelled from Newsome, whose pain immediately ends. The strain of carrying out the exorcism gives Rideout a fatal heart attack. As the creature emerges from Newsome's mouth, a power cut throws the room into darkness before a backup generator activates; Jensen accidentally pepper sprays his own eyes, while Kat misses the creature with the broom. The creature attaches itself to Melissa's eye, causing her agonizing pain until Kat hits it with the broom and stamps on it. The story ends with the generator failing, plunging the room into darkness, with Kat then feeling the creature crawl onto her hand. [1]
According to King, "The Little Green God of Agony" is an attempt to provide closure in respect of lingering pain from his 1999 automotive accident. [2] King has also described the story as "a tribute to the classic monster and old dark house stories." [3] The story was originally published in 2011 as part of the anthology A Book of Horrors. In 2012, it was reprinted in the horror anthology The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Four . In 2015, it was reprinted in King's short fiction collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams . [4]
Rocky King described "The Little Green God of Agony" as "a rollicking tale which picks up pace rapidly towards the end and has a satisfyingly creepy ending." [3] Stephen Spignesi described the story as "superb". [5] In 2012, the story was nominated for the Locus Award for Best Novella. [6]
In October 2012, "The Little Green God of Agony" was adapted into a serial webcomic by artist Dennis Calero. [7]
In August 2020, it was announced that Lionsgate was developing a film adaptation of "The Little Green God of Agony", with the script being written by Ian B. Goldberg and Richard Naing. [8]
There have been many books published about Stephen King and his works.
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.
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.
Robert Lawrence Stine, known by his pen name R.L. Stine, is an American novelist. He is the writer of Goosebumps, a horror fiction novel series which has sold over 400 million copies globally in 35 languages, becoming the second-best-selling book series in history. The series spawned a media franchise including two television series, a video game series, a comic series, and two feature films. Stine has been referred to as the "Stephen King of children's literature".
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.
"Never Look Behind You" is a short story by Chris Chesley and Stephen King. It was self-published by Chesley and King in 1960 as part of the collection People, Places and Things.
"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.
Ray Russell was an American editor and writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. Russell is best known for his horror fiction, although he also wrote mystery and science fiction stories.
"It Grows on You" is a short story by American writer Stephen King, originally published in Marshroots in 1973. It was nominated for the 1983 Locus Award for "Best Short Story".
Robert Edward Weinberg was an American author, editor, publisher, and collector of science fiction. His work spans several genres including non-fiction, science fiction, horror, and comic books.
Dennis Calero is an American comic book artist and illustrator, known for his work on titles such as X-Men Noir, Spider-Man Noir, X Factor, Legion of Superheroes, and Kolchak.
Lisa Morton is an American horror author and screenwriter.
The Australian Shadows Awards, also known as the Australasian Shadows Awards, are annual literary awards established by the Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) in 2005 to honour the best published works of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian/New Zealand/Oceania resident in the previous calendar year.
The Best Horror of the Year: Volume Four (ISBN 978-1-59780-399-1) is a horror fiction anthology edited by Ellen Datlow that was published on May 1, 2012. It is the fourth in The Best Horror of the Year series.
Flight or Fright is a horror anthology edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent, published by Cemetery Dance Publications on September 4, 2018. All of the stories within the anthology are about flight-based horrors.
"Cookie Jar" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the spring 2016 issue of the Virginia Quarterly Review.
"The Turbulence Expert" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the 2018 horror anthology Flight or Fright. It was collected in King's 2024 collection You Like It Darker.
"The Night of the Tiger" is a short story by Stephen King. Originally written in the 1960s, it was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in February 1978.
"I Was a Teenage Grave Robber" is a short story by Stephen King. It was first published in the fanzine Comics Review in 1965; a rewritten version was published in 1966 under the title "In a Half-World of Terror". It was King's first independently published story.
People, Places and Things is a short story collection by Chris Chesley and Stephen King, self-published in 1960.
