With dozens of books to his name, the legendary horror author King’s most compelling works were on the shorter side, as he never needlessly extended stories just for the sake of it.

While some of King’s best shorter novellas, like The Body or Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, are incredibly well-loved, these were published under the collection Different Seasons, and this run-through is focused on works that were originally published individually. Although a select few can boast that they’ve read every single King book, for others, this is just too difficult, and it’s important to know whether his short works are worth checking out. From his extraordinary debut novel to later e-book releases, there’s a whole world of excitement to explore when it comes to King’s shortest books.

10 Carrie (1974)

199 pages

While Stephen King would later earn a reputation for writing mammoth books whose page count sometimes exceeded 1000 pages, this was not the case for his debut novel, Carrie. Although it takes some writers a few books to find their feet, the truth was that King’s exceptional talent was on display right from the beginning, and this story of a psychic teenager was also one of his greatest works. Telling the story of a friendless 17-year-old girl dealing with a religious fanatic mother and bullying classmates, Carrie captured the worst aspects of the high school experience.

As a blend of supernatural and gothic fiction, King explored the dark side of ostracism in this richly imagined coming-of-age story that saw Carrie’s powers unleashed after being subjected to a cruel prom-day prank. With an iconic film adaptation from Brian De Palma starring Sissy Spacek, Carrie has earned its place among King’s must-read works. At a brief 199 pages, King fans have no excuse not to have read Carrie.

9 The Colorado Kid (2005)

184 pages

The Colorado Kid was Stephen King’s first book for the specialist publisher Hard Case Crime. With a classic Maine setting, this mystery novel began on a tiny island with a dead body lacking any identifications or clues toward what happened. While every attempt to solve the case leads to a dead end, the two-person staff of the island’s newspaper develop a fascination with the case, and 25 years later, a rookie reporter finds himself on the trail of discovering what actually happened.

While The Colorado Kid was a brief novella from King, it was no less intriguing than his longer works and even served as the basis for the TV series Haven. As a quick read that highlighted that King was just as adept at crime mystery stories as he was in horror or fantasy, this was a fascinating character study into the nature of simply not knowing something. While the ending was divisive among some readers, The Colorado Kid is definitely worth reading.

8 Gwendy's Button Box (2017)

175 pages

Stephen King collaborated with the Cemetery Dance magazine editor Richard Chizmar on the horror novella Gwendy’s Button Box, a story that takes place in King’s fictional Castle Rock, the town that first appeared in The Dead Zone. Focusing on 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson’s encounter with a mysterious stranger in dark clothes and a black hat, this nightmarish story was just the first in a trilogy.

At a swift 175 pages, Gwendy's Button Box packed a lot of interesting and creepy ideas into its restricted page count. As the fascinating truth behind the titular black box is slowly revealed, King and Chizmar hook readers with a tale of mystery, suspense, and thrills. While Chizmar authored the second book in the series alone, King returned as co-author for the final installment, Gwendy's Final Task, in 2022, but this entry was much longer at 422 pages.

7 Elevation (2018)

114 pages

The suspenseful novella Elevation returns to Stephen King’s fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine, for a mysterious story about an illness's bizarre effects on Scott Carey. With an affliction that causes Scott to lose weight without actually getting thinner, despite knowing he’s suffering from some type of disease, Carey appears otherwise healthy. As Scott’s weight continues to decrease, he’s forced to ponder the terrifying consequences of what will happen when he reaches zero.

Elevation had some clever ideas at its core, but the truth was its story was a little bit weak when compared to King’s greatest works. While King’s shorter books usually have the same depth and intrigue as his longer fiction, everything about the way Elevation progressed felt overly heavy-handed, and the political messaging came across as forced. With excessive stereotypes and overly sentimental characterization, Elevation was a minor work in the grand scheme of King’s bibliography.

6 Nightmares in the Sky (1988)

128 pages

While Stephen King is known for his fictional horror stories, he stepped outside his usual style in 1988 to author the text of this architectural coffee table book about gargoyles and grotesques. With photos by f-stop Fitzgerald (Richard Minissali), King wrote the accompanying text for the 24 full-color photos and 100 duotones included in the book. As a glimpse into art, history, and monstrosity, Nightmares in the Sky was just one of many fascinating offshoots in King’s career that showcase his eclectic interests and inspirations.

The imagery from Nightmares in the Sky was even used as the textures for monsters in several acclaimed video games, including Doom and The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. The haunting and beautiful nature of this book will appeal to those with a love for art, history, and mythology, although the appeal is more about Fitzgerald’s contribution than King’s minor input. Those who go into this book expecting a spooky story from King will certainly be left disappointed.

5 Cycle of the Werewolf (1983)

127 pages

Cycle of the Werewolf was a short horror novella from Stephen King that also featured illustrations by comic-book artist Bernie Wrightson. Telling the story of a small town haunted by a werewolf who appears at the monthly full moon, each chapter in the novella was presented as its own short story. With each chapter set during a different month in the town of Tarker's Mills, Maine, Cycle of the Werewolf was a supernatural tale that King later adapted himself into the screenplay for the 1985 movie Silver Bullet.

Addressing themes of domestic violence, sexually transmitted diseases, and violence against animals, King really made use of a brief page count to tell a fully realized story. The pairing of text and Wrightson’s illustrations also added the creepy appeal of Cycle of the Werewolf. As a perfect creature-feature-style story, this short novella was just as worthy of a reader’s attention as any of King’s longer work and could be devoured by a reader in just one sitting.

4 Blockade Billy (2010)

112 pages

Stephen King combined his lifelong love for baseball and unmatched ability to conjure suspenseful stories in the short novella Blockade Billy. At just 112 pages, King wrote Blockade Billy in just two weeks (via New York Times) as he paid tribute to his fascination with old-school baseball. Following the story of the fictional baseball catcher William "Blockade Billy" Blakely, this novella was set during his brief stint with the New Jersey Titans during the 1957 season.

Presented as the story of the greatest baseball player that nobody re, Blockade Billy explored the reason that Blakely was erased from the history books. With a blend of baseball and horror, this book will definitely appeal to those with a love of the sport but can be equally enjoyed by those most unfamiliar with catchers and pitchers. With an interesting narrator and an intriguing premise, Blockade Billy was one of King’s most enjoyable shorter works.

3 Mile 81 (2011)

81 pages

The brief novella Mile 81 was first published as an e-book by Stephen King in 2011, although it was later featured in the short story collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. With a blend of horror and sci-fi, this 80-page novella was set at the boarded-up rest stop on Mile 81 on the Maine Turnpike and the supernatural happenings that occurred there after young Pete Simmons found a bottle of vodka and drank enough to out.

With a classic coming-of-age setup, things take a turn as a strange vehicle appears at Mile 81 and a sentient, extraterrestrial entity starts to lure in unsuspecting victims. Mile 81 was a short and sweet horror story delivered in a way that only King can. Although it may not be as well known as other King works, this novella would have been a perfect addition to the author’s Creepshow anthology series, and it is well worth reading for fans of the original George A. Romero film.

2 A Face in the Crowd (2012)

50 pages

Stephen King reunited with the author Stewart O'Nan, with whom he had previously co-authored the non-fiction book Faithful, chronicling the 2004 Boston Red Sox season, for another baseball-related release. However, this time, it was in the realm of fiction and told the story of an elderly widower named Dean Evers who has nothing to do but waste his days away watching baseball on TV. Then, one day, when watching a game, Dean spotted a face from his past, that of his deceased childhood friend, sitting in the stalls, and was soon confronted with countless figures from his past.

As a novella that grew out of King’s idea for a story called “Spectators,” A Face in the Crowd has a fascinating history as the author spoke openly about the story before publication and revealed he did not know how to finish the story. O’Nan was in the audience when King discussed this idea, and the two reconnected to finish the book (via Fear Net.) As one of King’s shortest books, A Face in the Crowd was an enjoyable read and the perfect choice for someone looking to read a King book but only has about an hour to spare.

1 Charlie the Choo-Choo: From the World of The Dark Tower (2016)

28 pages

Readers won’t readily associate Stephen King with children’s fiction, and even this child-centered story has an eerie history. Published under the pseudonym Beryl Evans, the story of Charlie the Choo-Choo was included in King’s The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands and was intended as a creepy reading experience to give children nightmares. Exploring a sentient train, Charlie the Choo-Choo took the horrific implications of Thomas the Tank Engine to its absolute extreme.

At just 28 pages, Charlie the Choo-Choo was not only the shortest addition to The Dark Tower series but was also the shortest complete book that King ever wrote. With creepy accompanying art from illustrator Ned Dameron, those who have not yet caught up with The Dark Tower series would be best avoiding this outrageous addition until they have familiarized themselves with it. More so than anything, Charlie the Choo-Choo proved that even when Stephen King’s books are incredibly short, they are still totally unique.

Sources: New York Times, Fear Net