Cover of Skeleton Crew

Skeleton Crew

  • 1985 first published
  • 573 pages
  • ★ 4.2 (34 ratings)
  • 73 editions

Published in 1985, Skeleton Crew is a horror poetry collection by Stephen King. The story is set in Goat Island and Pacific Ocean, in 1987. Characters include Carl Abersham, John Bensohn and Harley Blood. It deals with nested narrative, Alcoholism, anecdotes and diaries.

Open Library readers give it an average of 4.2 out of 5 from 34 ratings, and 668 more have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 73 editions across 7 languages.

It runs to roughly 573 pages — 10–11 hours of reading at an average pace.

About Skeleton Crew

From the Flap: The Master at his scarifying best! From heart-pounding terror to the eeriest of whimsy--tales from the outer limits of one of the greatest imaginations of our time! Evil that breathes and walks and shrieks, brave new worlds and horror shows, human desperation bursting into deadly menace--such are the themes of these astounding works of fiction. In the tradition of Poe and Stevenson, of Lovecraft and The Twilight Zone, Stephen King has fused images of fear as old as time with the iconography of contemporary American life to create his own special brand of horror--one that has kept millions of readers turning the pages even as they gasp. In the book-length story "The Mist," a supermarket becomes the last bastion of humanity as a peril beyond dimension invades the earth. . . Touch "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands," and say your prayers . . . There are some things in attics which are better left alone, things like "The Monkey" . . . The most sublime woman driver on earth offers a man "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" to paradise . . . A boy's sanity is pushed to the edge when he's left alone with the odious corpse of "Gramma" . . . If you were stunned by Gremlins, the Fornits of "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" will knock your socks off . . .
Description from Open Library

Awards & lists

Themes, setting & tropes

Genres

Tropes

Setting

Era

  • 1987
  • 24th century
  • 1927–1933
  • 1959

Characters

  • Carl Abersham
  • John Bensohn
  • Harley Blood
  • Missy Bowie
  • Russell Bowie
  • Frank Child
  • Al Curry
  • Daniels
  • Freddy Dinsmore
  • George Dinsmore

Subjects

  • American Horror tales
  • Nested narrative
  • Novellas
  • Alcoholism
  • Anecdotes
  • Diaries
  • Heroin
  • Cruise ships
  • Islands
  • Insanity
  • Self-cannibalism
  • Amputation
  • Anesthesia
  • Drooling
  • Free verse poetry
  • Horror

Quick answers

Who wrote Skeleton Crew?

Skeleton Crew was written by Stephen King and first published in 1985.

What genre is Skeleton Crew?

It is usually shelved as Horror.

How long is Skeleton Crew?

The median edition has 573 pages, about 10–11 hours of reading at 250 words per minute.

What books are similar to Skeleton Crew?

Readers who like it often enjoy Dark Forces, Endlessly (Paranormalcy #3) and Good Omens.

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