"The Night of the Tiger" is a 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 ...
. Originally written in the 1960s, it was first published in ''
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' in February 1978.
Plot summary
The story is narrated by Eddie Johnston of Sauk City, who impulsively joins Farnum & Williams' ''All-American 3-Ring
Circus and
Side Show
In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction.
Types
There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions:
*The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten s ...
'' as a
roustabout. Johnston enjoys circus life, but fears Mr. Indrasil, the fiery tempered
lion tamer, who is rumored to have only nearly killed a roustabout who angered him. Mr. Indrasil in turn fears the circus'
tiger, Green Terror, who once attacked him, leaving a scar on the back of his neck.
One night in Steubenville, Mr. Indrasil berates Johnston for not cleaning a cage properly. After Johnston protests, Mr. Indrasil attempts to hit him, but is stopped by a stranger, Mr. Legere. Later, other members of the circus tell Johnston that Mr. Legere has followed the circus from the
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
to
Little Rock nearly every year for the past two decades, and that he shares an unknown past with Mr. Indrasil. Mr Legere attends every performance by the circus, always standing next to Green Terror's cage.
During the following days, the circus experiences a
heat wave, heightening tensions. On one night, Johnston witnesses Mr. Indrasil baiting Green Terror by jabbing him with a
pike until being frightened away by a mysterious green-eyed shadow.
Events reach a climax in Wildwood Green, Oklahoma. Mr. Indrasil's act goes poorly after Green Terror roars at an inopportune time, resulting in one of the
lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
s attempting to attack Mr. Indrasil. The evening performance is cancelled after the
United States Weather Bureau issues a
tornado warning. Johnston struggles to put Green Terror in his wagon; after he approaches Mr. Indrasil for help, a drunken and crazed Mr. Indrasil threatens him, saying he has no "
juju" or "
grisgris" to protect him, then begins rambling about his "nemesis", who he claims turned Green Terror against him and who "always had the power more'n me". After Green Terror begins roaring, Mr. Indrasil approaches the tiger's cage, where he is confronted by Mr. Legere. Mr. Legere releases Green Terror from his cage, and both men seemingly attempt to command the tiger using their willpower. Mr. Legere ultimately prevails; as the tiger advances on Mr. Indrasil, Johnston sees him fold-in on himself. As Johnston watches, he is lifted off his feet by the tornado and knocked unconscious.
When Johnston awakens, he learns that there is no sign of Mr. Indrasil or Mr. Legere, but Green Terror and another unknown tiger have fought one another to death. Johnston is told by a witness to the fight that the second tiger had a long scar on the back of its neck, implying it was a
shapeshifted Mr. Indrasil.
Publication
King wrote "The Night of the Tiger" in 1963 at the age of 16, being inspired by an episode of ''
The Fugitive''. He submitted the story to ''
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' and received a handwritten rejection note saying "This is good. Not for us, but good. You have talent. Submit again." In the 1970s, King found "The Night of the Tiger" in a box of manuscripts, rewrote it, and resubmitted it; this time, the story was accepted.
"The Night of the Tiger" was first published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' in February 1978.
It was reprinted in the anthologies ''More Tales of Unknown Horror'' (1979), ''The Year's Best Horror Stories VII'' (1979), ''The Third Book of Unknown Tales of Horror'' (1980), ''Chamber of Horrors'' (1984), ''The Best Horror Stories from the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (1988), ''Horrorstory, Volume Three'' (1992), ''Tails of Wonder and Imagination'' (2010), and ''Midnight Under the Big Top'' (2020).
Reception
Tyson Blue described "The Night of the Tiger" as "enjoyable"
but noted "the ultimately unsatisfying nature of the story, with its plethora of unresolved loose ends and plot inconsistencies."
James Van Hise
James Van Hise (born 1949) is an American popular culture historian and comic book author. He had a long connection with the popular fanzine ''Rocket's Blast Comicollector'' (''RBCC''), and was its editor/publisher from 1974 to 1983. He also had ...
judged it to be "one of King's lesser stories although it contains some interesting ideas".
Michael R. Collings
Michael Robert Collings (born October 29, 1947) is an American author, poet, literary critic, and bibliographer, and a former professor of creative writing and literature at Pepperdine University. He was Poet in Residence at Pepperdine's Seaver Co ...
remarked that "the story is too allusive" and that "too much is missing".
described the story as "unsatisfying and inconclusive".
Introducing the story in ''Tails of Wonder and Imagination'',
Ellen Datlow suggested that the story "has a
Ray Bradbury feel to it, but with a harder edge."
Revisiting the story, King himself judged it to be "a perfectly respectable tale, albeit one obviously written by a guy who had only begun to learn his chops".
References
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
"The Night of the Tiger" at StephenKing.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Night of the Tiger, The
Short stories by Stephen King
1978 short stories
Books about tigers
Short stories set in circuses
Fiction about shapeshifting
Horror short stories
Oklahoma in fiction
Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction