"The Things They Left Behind" is 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 ...

, originally published in the compilation '' Transgressions: Volume Two'' edited by

Ed McBain Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino,(October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005) was an American author and screenwriter best known for his 87th Precinct novels, written under his Ed McBain pen name, and the novel upon which the film ''Blackbo ...

and published by

Forge Books Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

. It is one of three stories that is also available on

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

compilation, in the "Transgressions" series, titled ''Terror's Echo'' and read by

John Bedford Lloyd John Bedford Lloyd (born January 2, 1956) is an American character actor. Life and career Lloyd was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Ann Storrs Lloyd and Edward B. Lloyd of Southport, Connecticut. His father was an architect. He has a s ...

. It was later included in King's own 2008 collection ''

Just After Sunset ''Just After Sunset'' is the fifth collection of short stories by Stephen King. It was released in hardcover by Scribner on November 11, 2008, and features a holographic dust jacket. On February 6, 2008, the author's official website revealed t ...

''.

Plot summary

Almost a year after

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

, strange things start happening to

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...

Scott Staley, who—at the time of the attacks—had been employed at "Light and Bell Insurance" on the 110th floor of the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

. Not only is Scott unable to get rid of his

survivor's guilt Survivor guilt (or survivor's guilt; also called survivor syndrome or survivor's syndrome and survivor disorder or survivor's disorder) is a mental condition that occurs when a person believes they have done something wrong by surviving a traumati ...

(on 9/11, he followed an inner voice which told him to take a day off and enjoy the sun), but items belonging to his late colleagues suddenly begin appearing in his apartment. A pair of sunglasses, a baseball bat, a whoopee cushion – Scott can identify them all. After convincing himself that they are no illusion and that others can see them, Scott tries disposing the items in a dumpster. However, they reappear after he returns home. He explains this to Paula, a neighbor, who offers to stow away one of the things. Soon, Paula experiences the most horrible nightmare of her life. In her own mind, she recreates the last minutes of the item's owner. Paula immediately returns the object, but makes Scott understand his mission: he must give the things to the victims' family members– and on seeing the joy on their faces, he feels his guilt slowly fade away.

Adaptations in other media

The story has been adapted into an extended short film by filmmaker Pablo Macho Maysonet IV, produced by Shattered Dreams Productions. A new adaptation of the short story directed by Guillaume Heulard and Stéphane Valette is currently in film festivals.

References

External links

"The Things They Left Behind" at King's official website
Short stories by Stephen King 2003 short stories Short stories adapted into films Short stories set in New York City Works about the September 11 attacks {{2000s-horror-story-stub

Plot summary

Adaptations in other media

See also

References

External links