The Mist (novella)
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''The Mist'' is a psychological horror
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
by American author
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 by Viking Press in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...
as part of the ''
Dark Forces Dark Force or Dark Forces may refer to: ''Star Wars'' *The dark side of the Force *'' Star Wars: Dark Forces'', a 1995 video game and novelization *'' Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II'', the sequel to the 1995 video game and novelization *''Da ...
'' anthology, an edited version was subsequently included in King's 1985 collection '' Skeleton Crew''. In the story, the small town of
Bridgton, Maine Bridgton is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,418 at the 2020 census. A resort area in Maine's Lakes Region, Bridgton is home to Bridgton Academy, a private preparatory school, and the Four on the Fourth Roa ...
is shrouded in a dense mist that conceals otherworldly creatures. The protagonist and narrator David Drayton, who has taken refuge with his young son in a supermarket, tries to survive against not only the creatures of the mist, but also fanatical aggression from other survivors. In ''The Mist'', King addresses the themes of man-made fears and religious fundamentalism. King was inspired to write ''The Mist'' by a trip to his local supermarket following a thunderstorm, during which he imagined prehistoric animals and giant insects besieging the building. ''The Mist'' was nominated for a World Fantasy Award and a Locus Award in 1981, and critics have considered it to be one of King's iconic works and a classic in its genre. Some reviewers lamented the superficial explanation of the mist's nature, while others were pleased with the cinematic presentation. A
film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...
directed by Frank Darabont was released in 2007, and a television series based on the novella's premise aired on Spike in 2017.


Plot

The morning after a severe thunderstorm left the area without electrical power, an unnaturally thick and straight-edged cloud of
mist Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in the cold air, usually by condensation. Physically, it is an example of a dispersion. It is most commonly seen where water vapor in warm, moist air meets sudden cooling, such a ...
spreads across the small town of Bridgton, Maine, bringing with it a whole ecosystem of deadly creatures. The source of this mist is never determined, but there are indications that it was caused by the storm disrupting experiments being conducted at a nearby U.S. military installation under the rumored name "Project Arrowhead". Commercial artist David Drayton, along with his young son Billy and neighbor Brent Norton (whose car has been smashed by a fallen tree), go to the local supermarket for groceries, leaving David's wife behind at their home. The mist-edge soon arrives at the supermarket, blotting out the sun, followed by an earthquake-like jolt. When a young bagger, Norm, goes outside to fix a clogged vent in the store's generator, he is dragged into the mist by a mass of giant tentacles. David and assistant manager Ollie Weeks witness Norm's death and try to convince the remaining survivors of what has happened, imploring that no one leave the store. Norton and a small group of people accuse David of lying and go outside for help, only to be killed by one of the creatures. Ollie is given a revolver by the young Amanda Dumfries; she and David also have passionless stress-induced sex. Large "insects" begin crawling over the outside of the store, attracting pterosaur-like creatures, one of which squirms inside through a broken window and is killed with an improvised torch. David leads a group of people to an adjacent pharmacy as a test of possibly escaping the situation, where they encounter huge spiders, which kill several members of the expedition and force the rest to retreat to the supermarket. As these events progress, the elderly religious fanatic Mrs.Carmody gradually convinces a majority of the remaining survivors that current events fulfill a biblical prophecy of the
end time The end time (also called end times, end of time, end of days, last days, final days, doomsday, or eschaton) refers to: * Eschatology in various religions—beliefs concerning the final events of history or the destiny of humanity End Time, En ...
, and that human sacrifice is required to save themselves from God's wrath. When David, Billy, Ollie, Amanda and a few other survivors attempt to escape to David's car, they are confronted by Mrs.Carmody, who calls on the crowd to offer Billy and Amanda as sacrifices. Ollie shoots Mrs.Carmody, breaking her "congregation". En route to the car, Ollie and one other survivor are killed, while another flees back to the store. The rest attempt to reach David's house to determine the fate of his wife, but the driveway is hopelessly blocked with fallen trees. They drive south through a devastated and mist-shrouded New England. While stopped for the night, David searches the radio bands and, through the mist's interference, possibly hears someone say " Hartford", giving him a last reed of hope.


Influences

King, in the Notes section in ''Skeleton Crew'', says ''The Mist'' was inspired by a real-life experience, when a massive thunderstorm much like the one that opens the story occurred where King lived at the time. The day after the storm, he went to a local supermarket with his son. While looking for
hot dog bun A hot dog bun is a type of soft bun shaped specifically to contain a hot dog or another type of sausage. The side-loading bun is common in most of the United States, while the top-loading New England-style hot dog bun is popular in that region ...
s, King imagined a " big prehistoric flying reptile" flapping around in the store. By the time the two were in line to pay for their purchases, King had the basis for his story: survivors trapped in a supermarket surrounded by unknown creatures. While experiencing the unusual spring weather which precedes the storm, some characters make reference to the real-life
Great Blizzard of 1888 The Great Blizzard of 1888, also known as the Great Blizzard of '88 or the Great White Hurricane (March 11–14, 1888), was one of the most severe recorded blizzards in American history. The storm paralyzed the East Coast from the Chesapeake Ba ...
, which devastated much of the northeastern United States.


Influence in other media


Film

*A film adaptation of the novella, titled '' The Mist'' (2007), was directed by Frank Darabont and starred Thomas Jane. This adaptation changes the ending: the survivors agree to commit suicide after seeing the mist seemingly overrun New England. David Drayton kills the others, including his son. However, he is unable to kill himself because he is out of bullets. As he steps out of the car to await his fate, the mist begins to disperse to reveal a US Army convoy approaching, destroying the remaining creatures and assisting survivors. David falls to his knees, realizing that they were only moments from rescue.


Games

* In 1985, Mindscape released an
interactive fiction '' Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives, either in the ...
computer game based on the novella. *The developers of the '' Half-Life'' video game series, which also deals with creatures from parallel dimensions breaking through to ours, have listed ''The Mist'' among their primary influences for the game plot. The first game in the series was originally going to be called ''Quiver'', as a reference to the Arrowhead Project from ''The Mist''. *The Silent Hill video game series bears many similarities to ''The Mist''. Series composer and producer Akira Yamaoka has cited the novella as a "great source of inspiration" for the development of the original Silent Hill game.


Television adaptation

* '' The Mist'', a television series based on the novel, premiered on Spike on June 22, 2017. The series features cast members
Morgan Spector Morgan Michael Spector (born October 4, 1980) is an American actor. Spector has appeared in the TV series ''Allegiance'' (2015), '' The Mist'' (2017), ''Homeland'' (2018), and ''Pearson'' (2019), as well as the films '' The Drop'' (2014), ''Chris ...
,
Alyssa Sutherland Alyssa Sutherland (born 23 September 1982) is an Australian actress and model best known for her role as Queen Aslaug in the History Channel television series ''Vikings'' (2013–2016). Early life Sutherland was born in Brisbane. Sutherland at ...
, Gus Birney,
Danica Curcic Danica Curcic ( sr-cyrl, Даница Ћурчић, sr-latn, Danica Ćurčić) is a Serbs, Serbian-Danes, Danish actress. Biography Curcic was born in Belgrade. At the age of one, she moved to Copenhagen with her family where her father work ...
and Frances Conroy. Spike cancelled the series on September 27, 2017, after just one season.


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 ...
* '' The Fog'' (1975), a novel by James Herbert * '' The Fog'' (1980), a horror film directed by John Carpenter * ''Under the Dome'', a 2009 novel by Stephen King


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mist, The 1980 short stories Apocalyptic novels Novellas by Stephen King American novels adapted into films American novels adapted into television shows Novels set in Maine