The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands

Last updated
"The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands"
Short story by Stephen King
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s) Fantasy, short story
Publication
Published in Shadows 4 (1st release),
Skeleton Crew
Publication type Anthology
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Publication date 1982

"The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands" is a short story by American writer Stephen King, first published in the 1982 horror anthology Shadows 4 , edited by Charles L. Grant. It was collected in Skeleton Crew in 1985.

Contents

Plot summary

At a private club in Manhattan, an elderly man named George Gregson recounts a card game he played many years ago where he met an odd man named Henry Brower who refused to touch anyone, recoiling from contact in fear. After Brower wins the game, another player, Jason Davidson, leaps up and shakes his hand enthusiastically, causing Brower to scream and bolt from the room. Gregson then makes it his mission to find him and give him his winnings. It's revealed shortly thereafter that Davidson had died of a brain aneurysm. Gregson speaks with an old associate of the man, who tells him that Brower was cursed by an Indian shaman after an unfortunate incident in Bombay in which he accidentally caused the death of a boy. From that moment on, Brower has been cursed to cause the death of any living thing he touches. Gregson then attempts to track down Brower and meets an innkeeper who tells him that he discovered Brower dead in the inn, one hand firmly clasped in the other.

Relation to other works

Like the novella "The Breathing Method" from King's collection Different Seasons , the story takes the form of a nested narrative told in a strange 'club' in Manhattan.

Adaptations

"The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands" started principal photography on June 3, 2022, from Capital B Films. The screenplay was adapted from the Stephen King short story by Nicholas Bromund, who also directs, and co-written by Guthrie Roy Hartford. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen King</span> American writer (born 1947)

Stephen Edwin King is an American author. Called the "King of Horror", he has also explored other genres, among them suspense, crime, science-fiction, fantasy and mystery. Though known primarily for his novels, he has written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in collections.

<i>The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger</i> A fantasy novel by American author Stephen King

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger is a dark-fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first volume in his Dark Tower series. The Gunslinger was first published in 1982 as a fix-up novel, joining five short stories that had been published between 1978 and 1981. King substantially revised the novel in 2003; this version has remained in print ever since, with the subtitle "RESUMPTION". The story centers Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, who has been chasing his adversary, "the man in black," for many years. The novel fuses Western fiction with fantasy, science fiction, and horror, following Roland's trek through a vast desert and beyond in search of the man in black. Roland meets several people along his journey, including a boy named Jake, who travels with him part of the way.

<i>The Body</i> (King novella) 1982 coming-of-age story novella by Stephen King

The Body is a novella by American writer Stephen King. The Body was published in King's 1982 collection Different Seasons and later adapted into the 1986 film Stand by Me.

<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.

The Breathing Method is a novella by American writer Stephen King, originally released as part of his Different Seasons collection in 1982. It is placed in the section entitled "A Winter's Tale".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyrfing</span> Legendary sword from Norse mythology

Tyrfing, also rendered as Tirfing or Tyrving, was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which features in the Tyrfing Cycle, which includes a poem from the Poetic Edda called Hervararkviða, and the Hervarar saga. The name is also used in the saga to denote the Goths.

"Quitters, Inc." is a short story by Stephen King published as part of his 1978 short story collection Night Shift. Unlike most other stories in this book, "Quitters, Inc." had been previously unpublished until February 1978 under Doubleday Publishing. It was featured in Edward D. Hoch's 1979 ‘Best detective stories of the year’ collection. The plot follows Dick Morrison's discovery of the brutal enforcement methods used by Quitters, Inc., the firm which he enlists to aid him quit smoking. Like much of Stephen King's work, this short story exhibits elements of horror fiction and satire. The tale was adapted in the 1985 American anthology horror film Cat’s Eye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadows (anthology)</span>

Shadows was a series of horror anthologies edited by Charles L. Grant, published by Doubleday from 1978 to 1991. Grant, a proponent of "quiet horror", initiated the series in order to offer readers a showcase of this kind of fiction. The short stories appearing in the Shadows largely dispensed with traditional Gothic settings, and had very little physical violence. Instead, they featured slow accumulations of dread through subtle omens, mostly taking place in everyday settings. While Grant himself was very adept at this kind of fiction, he contributed no stories to the anthologies, writing only the introductions and author profiles. The first volume in the series won the World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology.

"The Man in the Black Suit" is a horror short story by American writer Stephen King. It was originally published in the October 31, 1994 issue of The New Yorker magazine.

"The Monkey" is a short story by Stephen King, first published as a booklet included in Gallery magazine in 1980. It was significantly revised and published in King's collection Skeleton Crew in 1985.

"The Moving Finger" is a horror short story by American writer Stephen King. It was first published in December 1990 in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and three years later in 1993 was included in King's collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes.

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fair at Sorochyntsi (short story)</span> Short story by Russian writer Nikolai Gogol

"The Fair at Sorochyntsi" is the first story in the collection Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka by Ukrainian writer Nikolai Gogol. Later in the 19th century the story was adapted as an opera of the same name by Modest Mussorgsky.

"Weeds" is a darkly humorous short story by Stephen King. It was first published in Cavalier magazine in May 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Good Man Is Hard to Find (short story)</span> Short story by Flannery OConnor

"A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is a Southern gothic short story first published in 1953 by author Flannery O'Connor who, in her own words, described it as "the story of a family of six which, on its way driving to Florida [from Georgia], is slaughtered by an escaped convict who calls himself the Misfit".

The Gunslinger is a fantasy novella by American writer Stephen King, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October 1978. In 1982, "The Gunslinger" was collected with four other stories King published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction as The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger. "The Gunslinger" formed the first chapter of the book, and was slightly revised for the inclusion.

The Slow Mutants is a fantasy novella by American writer Stephen King, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in July 1981. In 1982, "The Slow Mutants" was collected with four other stories King published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction as The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger. "The Slow Mutants" formed the fourth chapter of the book, and was slightly revised for the inclusion.

According to books by Tyson Blue, Stephen J. Spignesi, and Rocky Wood et al., there are numerous unpublished works by Stephen King that have come to light throughout King's career. These allegedly include novels and short stories, most of which remain unfinished. Most are stored among Stephen King's papers in the special collections of the Raymond H. Fogler Library at the University of Maine, some of which are freely accessible to the library's visitors. However, others require King's permission to read. Additionally, there are a number of uncollected short stories, published throughout King's long career in various anthologies and periodicals, that have never been published in a King collection.

<i>The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole</i> Novel by Stephen King

The Dark Tower: The Wind Through the Keyhole is a 2012 fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. As part of the Dark Tower series, it is the eighth novel, but it is set chronologically between volumes four and five. First mentioned by King in 2009, after the controversial ending of the seventh novel in 2004, the book was officially announced on King's official website on March 10, 2011.

<i>In the Tall Grass</i> (film) 2019 Canadian supernatural horror film by Vincenzo Natali

In the Tall Grass is a 2019 Canadian supernatural horror drama film written and directed by Vincenzo Natali. It is based on Stephen King and Joe Hill's 2012 novella of the same name. It stars Harrison Gilbertson, Laysla De Oliveira, Avery Whitted, Will Buie Jr., Rachel Wilson, and Patrick Wilson.

References

  1. Bromund, Nicholas, The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands (Short, Drama, Thriller), Capital B Films, retrieved 2022-04-29