by Stephen King
Narrator: Stephen King, Matthew Broderick, Michael C. Hall, Paul Giamatti, Will Patton, Norbert Leo Butz, Lois Smith, Dylan Baker, Kyle Beltran, Dana Ivey, Robert Petkoff, David Morse, Frances Sternhagen
Length: 22 hours and 37 minutes
Genres: Horror
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Narration: 4 cups
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!
In “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…
Trucks that punish and beautiful teen demons who seduce a young man to massacre; curses whose malevolence grows through the years; obscene presences and angels of grace—here, indeed, is a night-blooming bouquet of chills and thrills.
I read most of the collection in Skeleton Crew previously but could not resist listening especially with a cast of narrators that include some of my favorites like Will Patton, David Morse and Robert Petkoff.
A mixed bag of stories, some amazingly creeptastic and others made me visibly shiver while others were downright strange. Typical of any anthology, but for fans of Stephen King it offers a wonderful collection of shorts all in one place.
“A short story is a different thing altogether – a short story is like a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger.”
Skeleton Crew is narrated by Stephen King, Matthew Broderick, Michael C. Hall, Paul Giamatti, Will Patton, Norbert Leo Butz, Lois Smith, Dylan Baker, Kyle Beltran, Dana Ivey, Robert Petkoff, David Morse, and Frances Sternhagen. What a fantastic group of narrators!
The short stories contained within this collection are The Mist, Here There Be Tygers, The Monkey, Cain Rose Up, Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut, The Jaunt, The Wedding Gig, Paranoid: A Chant, The Raft, The Word Processor of the Gods, The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands, Beachworld, The Reaper’s Image, Nona, For Owen, Survivor Type, Uncle Otto’s Truck, Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1), Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2), Gramma, The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet, and The Reach.
“There are things of such darkness and horror—just, I suppose, as there are things of such great beauty—that they will not fit through the puny human doors of perception.”
Lord but some of these stories are terrifying on audio and others made me squirm. The Raft will freak you out and Survivor Type..nope, just nope. The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands was tantalizing, and The Monkey held me spellbound. One of my favorites was The Mist, and I loved that Will Patton narrated.
The stories are in varying length, some only a few minutes long, and others several hours. Each showcases King’s brilliant, quirky, horrifying imagination. To have coffee with this man would be amazing. For example The Word Processor of the Gods, allows you to delete things..all kinds of things and Nona..so strange. I would love to hear about his inspirations for these tales.
Experiencing these stories on audio brought a whole new element. It is one thing to read about a man eating his flesh, or a creäture sucking you up bit by bit but to listen..OMG! This stellar cast of narrators added a whole new level of creepiness. I was seriously impressed with all of them. Skeleton Crew is a must collection for Stephen King fans and the perfect listen for the witching season.
Listen to a sample: Skeleton Crew (Mist, narrated by Will Patton)
Skeleton Crew by Stephen King comes to life with a brilliant cast of narrators. A must listen for fall Share on X
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
AngelErin
I love this book! All of the stories are great. I’m glad you enjoyed it too.
kimbacaffeinate
I read it as a teen and omg it was so good one audio 🙂
Nicole
I just wrote a whole post about how books don’t usually scare me, but I could definitely imagine that audiobooks might be a different story. Might have to try this out!
kimbacaffeinate
Nicole, these were creeptastic.
rae
I am (soon) going to complete the Dark Tower Series (7 books). However, this group of short stories would be a pick up and put down I could go to from time to time. Thanks for calling it to my attention. Your review was very helpful and very well written, by the way.
kimbacaffeinate
I need to reread the Dark Tower..too much time in between.
Lily B
oh this collection sounds perfect for halloween, and oh my god that halloween icon!! so cute I need something like that in my life
kimbacaffeinate
Thanks Lily and yes perfect for Halloween!
Debbie Haupt
Oh wow sounds fantastic and great choice for those dark October nights 🙂
Thanks for sharing your fantastic review
kimbacaffeinate
Yes, October is the perfect month for listening.
Katherine
That is an amazing list of narrators! I definitely need this in audio!
kimbacaffeinate
Right..it was a treat!
Anna
I have never read a book by Stephen King (even though I have two of his books on my Kindle). I really want to read a least one this year though, and this sounds awesome! I’ll have to see if my library has it. Awesome review! 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
Oh I hope you do try him Anna.
The Bibliophile Babe
I really need to read something else by him. I’ve only read Pet Semetery when I was…12.
kimbacaffeinate
Oh my, yes you really do 🙂
Kristin
This is perfect for the season! And The Mist is on here 🙂 One of my favorite cheesy scary movies – Woot!!!!! Worse endings ever but still… 😉
kimbacaffeinate
LOL. I loved listening to them 🙂
Sophia Rose
Now this audio anthology does sound like a gift to his fans. Even I recognize some of those narrator names. I’m a bit whoosy for this book, but so glad it tantalized and chilled you in a good way. 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
Hehe….perfect gift for someone 🙂
sherry fundin
Love the review and I think you may be right…it’s a whole nother thing to hear some of the gruesome things I have read. Sounds verrrrry interesting.
kimbacaffeinate
I had a blast and the narration was delightful.
Angela Adams
A great cast of narrators! My favorite Stephen King novel is the first one I read some 30+ years ago, “Salem’s Lot..” Thanks for the post.
kimbacaffeinate
Hmm, a favorite that is so hard..The Stand, The Talisman…so many I love including Salem’s Lot.
kindlemom1
Okay with a list of narrators like that, how could it possibly go wrong?
kimbacaffeinate
Right! So good Ali.
Rowena
I’m a giant scaredy cat so I can’t imagine myself reading or listening to anything by King. I don’t even watch his movies (only Carrie) because I’m that big a scaredy cat but I’m glad you enjoyed these. I still enjoyed reading your review too. 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
Awe, I understand. I am not a fan of watching movies like Saw, etc, but make an acception for King.
Mary Kirkland
I’ve always loved his books and movies. What a great set of narrators for this one.
kimbacaffeinate
Me too Mary. I cannot wait to see IT on the big screen 🙂
blodeuedd
I have never read his horror books, I know right
kimbacaffeinate
What?!? Have you read anything by him?
ShootingStarsMag
Ooh sounds like a nice collection of stories. I need to try more audios because some of these narrators would be GREAT to listen to!
kimbacaffeinate
Yes, I am finding I love horror, suspense, mysteries and urban fantasy on audio.I recently dipped into romance audios too.
Heidi
Oh gosh. I remember reading this one when I was in high school. The details are sketchy but I recall The Mist for sure. I would love to listen to these and Will Patton is always awesome. What a great list of narrators!
kimbacaffeinate
Same here Heidi, although I was younger. Some came back to me as I listened and others almost felt new. Such an awesome cast of narrators :0
Melissa
I generally prefer to read shorts but if the narrators are that good I may pick this up on audio…
kimbacaffeinate
Agreed, for the most part..but look at that narrating cast!
Danielle
I have this sitting on the shelf right next to me. Now I am half tempted to pull it down and read, but another part of me feels I need this as audiobook! I remember some of these stories, but could use a refresher 😉
kimbacaffeinate
Oh listen and read along!
Emily Alfano
I’ll be honest: I’ve never read any of his works before! But I love the idea of this short story collection! It could be a good way for me to start reading some of his writing and see how I feel about it! I’m not typically a huge fan of horror BUT around the fall it’s hard not to want to read a few scary stories!
Great review Kimba!
kimbacaffeinate
I love his shorts, and some are among my favorites, like the Lawnmower Man
Nick
Oh I can imagine how sppoky some of those stories must have been listening on audio. I couldn’t have done it, Kim! I’d be scared for days! Haha!
kimbacaffeinate
LOL, I wasn’t terrified but good lord I forgot how gory some of them were…lol
Lizzy
This might be the thing for my first Stephen King read! I’ve been really hesitant to try any of his books.
kimbacaffeinate
You should try 11/22/63 , Bill Hodges trilogy and The Talisman.
Bookworm Brandee
You know, I haven’t read King in a loooong time. But I might be willing to listen to this one with a lineup of narrators like this! I was thinking maybe it wouldn’t be quite as creepy if I’m hearing it rather than reading it? But you say it’s a whole new level of creepiness…*shudders* Hmm, I still think I might give it a try. I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kim! 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
I read the book YEARS ago, so it was fun listening and I loved the cast of narrators 🙂