"Nona" is a short horror story by Stephen King, first published in the 1978 anthology ''

Shadows A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, ...

'' and later collected in King's 1985 collection ''

Skeleton Crew A skeleton crew is the minimum number of personnel needed to operate and maintain an item such as a business, organization, or ship at its most simple operating requirements. Skeleton crews are often utilized during an emergency and are meant to ...

''.

Plot summary

The story is the account of an unnamed man being held in prison, recounting his life as a college dropout who met and fell in love with a beautiful girl named Nona, while aimlessly hitchhiking on a snowy winter's night in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. That night, the narrator is seduced by Nona into murdering several innocent bystanders. Somewhere near Castle Rock, Nona lures the narrator to a graveyard and morphs into a hideously large rat which laughs at him. It's not immediately clear whether the narrator has encountered a supernatural force or Nona is a figment of his insanity. Later, the narrator is found alone by the authorities, taken into custody, and sentenced to prison where he now writes his tale. Also, the narrator is preparing to commit suicide as he contemplates hearing strange sounds in the walls (not unlike H.P. Lovecraft's short story "

The Rats in the Walls "The Rats in the Walls" is a short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft. Written in August–September 1923, it was first published in '' Weird Tales'', March 1924. Plot In 1923, an American named Delapore, the last descendant of the De la ...

" (1924), King's own earlier short story, "

Jerusalem's Lot "Jerusalem's Lot" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in King's 1978 collection '' Night Shift''. The story was also printed in the illustrated 2005 edition of King's 1975 novel Salem's Lot''. Setting and style "Jerusalem's Lo ...

" (1978), or King's later novella "

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

" (2010)).

Connection to King's other works

In '' Hearts in Atlantis'' (1999) there is a character called Ronnie Malenfant, who has the same surname as the character Betsy Malenfant which appears in "Nona". In ''Hearts In Atlantis'', Ronnie refers to having a sister. Ace Merrill and Vern Tessio, who first appeared in '' The Body'' (1982), appear in flashback in this story. Ace later played a major role in ''

Needful Things ''Needful Things'' is a 1991 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first novel King wrote after his rehabilitation from drug and alcohol addiction. It was made into a film of the same name in 1993 which was directed by Frase ...

'' (1991).

References

1978 short stories Short stories by Stephen King {{1970s-horror-story-stub

Plot summary

Connection to King's other works

See also

References