by Missy Jane:
I’ve been a fan of Stephen King’s work as far back as I can remember. I’m not even sure which of his books I read first, but to date I’ve read almost all of them. So when I received an email from Cemetery Dance magazine advertising an issue with one of his “classic” short stories I simply couldn’t resist. The Glass Floor was originally published in 1967 in Starlight Mystery Stories magazine, then republished in 1990 in Weird Tales. It was one I’d never read before and that alone was intriguing.
In this short story, spanning four pages of the magazine spread, Charles Wharton visits the former home of his sister Janine. It’s the house she lived in with her husband Anthony Reynard, and the sight of her death. It’s a large, old Victorian structure with all the oddities of the haunted house at the end of the street. As usual, King does a great job of putting the reader there on the porch of this imposing structure. “It seemed to grow out of the top of the hill like an outsized, perverted toadstool…” Once Wharton gains entry into the home he meets Reynard and demands to see the site of his sister’s death.
One of the things I liked most about this story is the imagery that King has always done such a wonderful job of in my opinion. I’ve never lacked for mental images when reading his work. Once of the things I didn’t like, again as usual for King, was the ending. But of course this was just a short story, so I knew it would leave me wanting much more. It does wrap up quite nicely but leaves unanswered questions. However, that is also a part of the draw. It’s one to leave you guessing.
There was also an instance or two of head-hopping through the dialogue to where I didn’t know who was talking. Being such an early work of King’s, or any author, that is understandable and not something I usually see in his books. The magazine also included artwork from Glenn Chadbourne to illustrate the piece and I think they did an excellent job with this selection. His black and white drawing is subtle but still the right touch to spark the imagination.
Overall I would say this was a good purchase on my part. Even if I don’t like anything else in the $10 magazine I consider it money well spent.
DarkMedia contributing writer Ms. Missy Jane is the alter ego of a married mother of four who was born and raised in Texas. She spends most of her time lost in worlds of her own making, alternately loving and hating such creatures as vampires, shape-shifters and gargoyles (to name a few). When not writing, she spends her time reading, taking photos of her beautiful daughters and training her husband to believe she’s always right.
Excerpts from Missy’s paranormal and erotic tales can be found on her website and blog. Missy can also be found online on Twitter @msmissyjane and on Facebook.
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