The Mist is a novella first published in 1980 and also included in the short story collection Skeleton Crew.   It is a horror story complete with horrific creatures, exciting encounters, savage killings, and a desperate attempt to escape.    Characters are well-developed (though most don’t survive).

Stephen King is adept at setting up the “What if” scenario in which he inserts a variety of characters.   As fear and horror develop, conflicts arise, in this case between the people trapped inside the grocery store.    We have seen this type of psychological horror story for 30 years in books like Under the Dome, The Stand, Dr. Sleep, Misery, It, and a number of short stories.

This novel stands alone since we do have a full explanation of the Mist and its denizens, nor do we find an ending that comes full circle, but those elements may be the story’s strength.    The experience of reading the story is like a Lovercraftian fever-dream.

“When rationality begins to break down, the circuits of the human brain can overload. Axons grow bright and feverish. Hallucinations turn real: the quicksilver puddle at the point where perspective makes parallel lines seem to intersect is really there; the dead walk and talk; a rose begins to sing.”

This novel has is a combination of science fiction and psychological horror, with the pace of a thriller.   It is an exciting read, but a disturbing one too.   Classic Stephen King and recommended – 4.5 out of 5.0 stars4.5

An audiobook excerpt is included with this review.    It is read by Will Patton, the best of the Stephen King audiobook readers: