Stephen King considers himself a novelist, but he loves a good short story.
There’s something to be said for a shorter, more intense experience. It can be invigorating, sometimes even shocking, like a waltz with a stranger you will never see again, or a kiss in the dark, or a beautiful curio for sale laid out on a cheap blanket at a street bazaar. And, yes, when my stories are collected, I always feel like a street vendor, one who sells only at midnight.
I spread my assortment out, inviting the reader – that’s you – to come and take your pick. But I always add the proper caveat: be careful, my dear, because some of these items are dangerous. They are the ones with bad dreams hidden inside, the ones you can’t stop thinking about when sleep is slow to come and you wonder why the closet door is open, when you know perfectly well that you shut it.
And how! With 2015’s The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, King gets real gritty about the realities of life and death, and some stories are tough pills to swallow. In the second and final episode dedicated to this Bazaar, Losers Dan Caffrey, Michael Roffman, Dan Pfleegor, and Jenn Adams rank their 10 favorites from the collection, most of which stem from this darker side of King.
Stream the episode below and tell us your favorites in the comments. For further adventures, join the Losers’ Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock hundreds of hours of exclusive content in The Barrens (Patreon).
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The post Stephen King Gets Gritty and Nasty In the Best of ‘The Bazaar of Bad Dreams’ [The Losers’ Club Podcast] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.