Summary

There are a embarrassment of greatStephen Kingshort stories that still do n’t have film adaptation , but dead call for one . While Stephen King ’s back catalog includes a good deal of slap-up novel , many of the horror fable ’s best moving picture adaptations descend from his short stories . The Shawshank Redemptionwas adapted from a novelette have in the collectionDifferent Seasons , while the author ’s debut collectionNight Shiftincluded the tale that inspiredSalem ’s Lot , Graveyard Shift , The Mangler , The Boogeyman , Sometimes They fall Back , and the 11 - movieChildren of the Cornfranchise .

However , althoughall 66 Stephen King bookshave their good and bad moments , there are still a batch of superb short stories from the author that do n’t have a picture show version of their own . Some of these are terrifying horror tales that maintain momentum no novel could hope to sustain . Others are astonishingly poignant tales that leaven King is more than a sea captain of horror . All of them , though , deserve a movie adaptation of their own for different reasons .

11Autopsy Room Four

This intense survival horror story needs a full-length movie

Although “ Autopsy Room Four ” was adjust as an hour - long installment ofNightmares and Dreamscapesback in 2006 , that interpretation was unable to cut into into its unfeignedly terrific premise due to TV censorship . Collected inSix Storiesand , later , Everything ’s Eventual,“Autopsy Room Four ” severalize the story of Howard , a golfer who regains consciousness on a mortuary slab as the technicians organise his autopsy . Howard is paralyzed and unable to tell them he ’s alert , setting up a hallucinating survival horror whose adaptation could take over from the similarly claustrophobic ilk of 2010’sBuried .

10Uncle Otto’s Truck

This grim, surreal chiller could make a great psychological thriller

It could become a gripping psychological thriller that toys with the audience ’s expectations .

WhileStephen King’sSkeleton Crewhas cheer legion peachy adaptations , its unearthly story has not yet been understand onscreen . " Uncle Otto ’s Truck " follows a murderous man of affairs who trounce his spouse with his motortruck , only to become confident that the hand truck has taken on a life of its own in the decennium that follow . On picture show , it could become a gripping psychological thriller that play with the consultation ’s expected value , never let on whether the hand truck is supernatural or simply a expression of Uncle Otto ’s shamefaced sense of right and wrong .

9The Man in the Black Suit

This period horror is a throwback to Mark Twain’s writing

Collected inEverything ’s Eventual , Stephen King ’s “ The Man in the fatal Suit”sees an elderly human race recount an unsettling incident from his puerility . As the male child angle by an idyllic river , he happen the eponymous humans in the Black Suit . A chill embodiment of the ogre , the Man in the Black Suit is one of the King ’s most underrated baddie . What would make this write up a specially compelling adaptation is its position as a uncommon Stephen King period of time repugnance story , with the nostalgic setting call to mind Mark Twain , Ambrose Bierce , and Nathaniel Hawthorne .

8Rest Stop

This King story has all the ingredients of a fun action-comedy

Despite the original story ’s dark moments , " quietus Stop " has the makings of a potentially screaming activeness drollery .

" ease Stop " tells the tarradiddle of a mild - mannered mystery author who happens across a domestic disturbance at a rest blockage bathroom . whelm by the personality of his severely - bitten police detective antihero , the nebbish author beats the adult female ’s attacker and saves her , before retrovert to his panicky ego en route home . Despite the original narration ’s sinister mo , " Rest Stop " has the makings ofa potentially hilarious action comedy wherein a writer scramble to severalize between his tough alter - self-importance and his real - life self .

7Rainy Season

This Shirley Jackson-inspired tale would be a surreal scarefest

" Rainy Season " is amass inNightmares and Dreamscapesand brag the telling laurels of being among King ’s unusual stories . The unmadeTales from the Darkside 2would have adaptedthis narrative of a couple who stay in a small town despite the topical anesthetic warning them not to , only to end up confront with a deluge of razor - toothed toad frog for their troubles . However , " Rainy Season " is well accommodate to a full - duration adaptation than an anthology segment , sincea movie translation of the story could expand on this unusual town ’s dreamlike curse .

6One for the Road

This Salem’s Lot sequel would be a great standalone horror story

Set three eld afterSalem ’s Lot,“One for the Road " succeed a group of barflies who attempt to aid a stranded motorist . Unknowingly , this traveler leave his married woman and child in a car in the ruins of the vampire - infested town , remind the unassuming locals to mount a delivery military mission that exit tragically wrong . Thanks to its compressed timescale , limited hurl , and foul concluding twist,“One for the route " could be a terrifying single - location siege horrorin the vein of30 Days of Night .

5I Am the Doorway

This gruesome sci-fi body horror shows King at his strangest

While King has paddle in every major revulsion grinder - musical genre , he is not primarily known for physical structure horror . However , an version of one ofStephen King ’s shivery stories , " I Am the Doorway,“fromNight Shiftwould change that . The shivery tale of an astronaut who returns to Earth only to recognise he has become an unwilling conduit for some extra - dimensional entity , the trippy , fantastic revulsion of " I Am the Doorway " would be better suited to an adaptation than the page since the zep ’s hair-raising transformation could be bring to life vividly onscreen .

4The Library Policeman

One of King’s darkest stories deserves a screen adaptation

Admittedly , " The Library Policeman " could be tough to adapt . Among King ’s darkest stories,“The Library Policeman " is a Lovecraftian piecethat mixes shockingly naturalistic depictions of childhood trauma into its cosmic repulsion storyline . However , Mike Flanagan’sGerald ’s Gameproved that even King ’s harshest floor could become terrorise horror movies that handle potentially spark material with tact . As such , this chilling story of a confrontation with an Eldritch scourge merit to make it onto the screen .

3The Road Virus Heads North

This propulsive horror story needs a movie adaptation

This Salmon P. Chase thriller deserves a full - blown feature photographic film adaptation since its propellent patch is gripping enough to sustain a long runtime .

Like " Autopsy Room Four , " " The Road Virus Heads North " was brought to the little screen byNightmares and Dreamscapes . However , this chase thriller deserves a full - blown lineament film adaptation since its propellant plot is grip enough to sustain a longer runtime . One of the solid narrative inKing ’s collectionEverything ’s Eventual , " The Road Virus Heads North " sees its hapless hero attempt to outrun a haunt painting that he picked up at a yard sale . With a retentive runtime , the agonist ’s get despair could be more impactful and acute .

2The Reach

This elegiac tragedy shows King’s considerable range

roll up inSkeleton Crew , " The Reach " is one of King ’s most moving stories . The fib of a lonely elderly woman hearing messages from mislay loved 1 distinguish her to link up themon the other side , " The Reach " would make for a more solemn , less scary version than most . However , asDolores ClaiborneandThe Green Mileproved , King is capable of much more than just horror . An adaptation of " The Reach " could remind viewing audience of the author ’s sweeter side .

Keanu Reeves looking over one shoulder as John Wick in Ballerina

How Rachel Zegler’s

In a dusty landscape Finn stares out into the distance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

A vampire child taps on the window while smiling in Salem’s Lot 1978

A dead man lies on a mortuary slab as gloved hands write notes in Nightmares and Dreamscapes - Autopsy Room Four

A man stands in front of a truck in Uncle Otto’s Truck, a short film

Illustrator Cody AJ Simpson’s interpretation of Stephen King’s Man In The Black Suit

A rest stop sign splattered with blood

A bandaged hand thrust into the sky on the beach in a short film adaptation of I Am The Doorway

A cover image for Stephen King’s The Library Policeman depicting a hand emerging from a book

A painting of a grinning fanged driver in Stephen King’s The Road Virus Heads North from Nightmares and Dreamscapes