"Night Surf" is a
post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
short story by
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
, first published in the spring 1969 issue of ''
Ubris'' magazine and later collected in a revised version in King's
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government).
* January 6 � ...
collection ''
Night Shift''.
Plot summary
On an August night on Anson Beach, New Hampshire, a group of former college students have survived a plague caused by a
virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's ...
called A6, or "
Captain Trips". They believe the virus spread out of Southeast Asia and wiped out most of humanity.
The characters' outlook is grim. They encounter a delirious man dying of the plague and burn him on a
pyre as a half-serious black-magic human sacrifice. The protagonist, Bernie, reflects upon this new world and reminisces about "the time before" when he went to Anson Beach in his youth, years before the plague. All the members of Bernie's group had survived a virus called A2, which supposedly made them
immune
In biology, immunity is the capability of multicellular organisms to resist harmful microorganisms. Immunity involves both specific and nonspecific components. The nonspecific components act as barriers or eliminators of a wide range of pathogen ...
to A6. But Needles reveals to Bernie that he has contracted A6. Bernie admits to himself that deep down they know that A2 is not a guarantee against A6 and that they will probably all be dead by Christmas. Bernie's girlfriend keeps up the pretense, accepting Bernie's explanation that Needles must have lied about having A2 so the others would not leave him behind.
Film adaptation
Writer-director
Peter Sullivan adapted "Night Surf" as a short film in 2001. Optioned from King for a dollar, the film is part of the
Dollar Baby
The Dollar Baby (or Dollar Deal) is an arrangement by which American author Stephen King grants permission to students and aspiring filmmakers or theatre producers to adapt one of his short stories for $1. (He retains rights to his work. As he beg ...
collection of similar short films.
See also
*
Stephen King short fiction bibliography
This is a list of short fiction by Stephen King (b. 1947). This includes short stories, novelettes, and novellas, as well as poems. It is arranged chronologically by first publication. Major revisions of previously published pieces are also noted ...
External links
Stephen King Short Movies
1969 short stories
Horror short stories
Post-apocalyptic short stories
Short stories by Stephen King
Short stories adapted into films
Viral outbreaks in fiction
Works originally published in Ubris
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