''Luckey Quarter'' is a short story by American writer
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 ...
. It was originally published in the June 30/July 2, 1995 issue of ''
USA Weekend
''USA Weekend'' was an American weekend newspaper magazine owned by the Gannett Company. Structured as a sister publication to Gannett's flagship newspaper ''USA Today'' and distributed in the Sunday editions of participating local newspapers, i ...
''. In 1997, it was published in the limited-edition collection ''
Six Stories''. In 2002, it was collected in King's collection ''
Everything's Eventual
''Everything's Eventual'' is a collection of 11 short stories and 3 novellas by American writer Stephen King, published in 2002.
Stories
"The Little Sisters of Eluria" is part of '' The Dark Tower'' series.
Story order
In the introduction ...
''.
Plot summary
Darlene Pullen, who is a struggling single mother with two children (a rebellious teenage daughter and a sickly young son) and an unfulfilling job as a maid, is left a tip of a single quarter with a note saying that it is a "luckey
uckyquarter". She takes a quick gamble on it and finds that it brings her some small luck. Moving on to a real casino, she keeps trying her luck, and soon she's winning thousands of dollars. All seems to be going exceedingly well until she suddenly reappears back in the hotel room, left with nothing but her lucky quarter. All of her success was a fantasy. As her two children come to visit her at work, she lets her son have the quarter, and as he uses it in a gamble, it starts to pay off just as it did when Darlene was fantasizing.
Adaptations
In 2005, Luckey Quarter was adapted into a short film produced and directed by Robert Cochrane. In 2023, Luckey Quarter was adapted into a short animated film produced by L.E. Peralta and S. Peralta, written, animated and directed by L.E. Peralta.
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*
*
1997 short stories
Short stories by Stephen King
Works originally published in USA Weekend
{{1990s-story-stub