Four Past Midnight
Encyclopedia
Four Past Midnight is a collection of four novella
s by Stephen King
, published in 1990. The four stories are "The Langoliers
"; "Secret Window, Secret Garden
"; "The Library Policeman
"; and "The Sun Dog
".
After landing the characters explore the past and come to realize that it is the watered down version of the present in which the food is tasteless, the matches and fuel do not burn, and all sound and scents are either muffled or nonexistent. The survivors then take off to return to the rip, narrowly avoiding the langoliers, creatures that eat what is left of the past. The langoliers take the life of Craig Toomy, a psychotic businessman.
Escaping from these, the passengers fly back through the rip which takes them to the near future, a pristine and fresh, yet lifeless version of the present. Shortly the present "catches up" with them and they rejoin the normal world.
The Langoliers was adapted into a two part TV mini-series in 1995.
. Both are about an author, in this case Mort Rainey, who is a thinly-veiled analogue
of King
himself. Mort is visited by a man who takes the name of John Shooter, with a manuscript which proves to be an almost exact copy of a story that Mort himself wrote and published some years earlier. The man claims that Mort stole it from him and demands that Mort either prove himself innocent or write a story in Shooter's name as compensation. Shooter warns bad things will happen if Rainey does not.
This story has been adapted into a movie Secret Window
(2004), starring Johnny Depp
. The novella and the movie end very differently.
, and is a prelude of sorts to King's 1991 novel Needful Things
.
Kevin gets just what he wants for his fifteenth birthday—a Polaroid camera
. Soon, though, he notices that there is something strange about the camera. It prints similar pictures all the time, and they are never of what the camera is pointed at. Kevin seeks help from Reginald 'Pop' Merrill, the owner of the Emporium Galorium (a junk shop) and a relatively rich man who lends money to people for illegal interests. Unbeknownst to Kevin, Pop Merrill once lent 400 dollars to his father because he lost a bet, something he deeply regrets. As the novella continues, the boy finds that the pictures are of a terrifying dog preparing to leap at the camera.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
s by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, published in 1990. The four stories are "The Langoliers
The Langoliers
"The Langoliers" is one of four novellas published in the Stephen King book Four Past Midnight in 1990.- Plot summary :On a cross-country red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Boston, ten passengers awaken to find that the crew and most of their fellow passengers have disappeared.The ten remaining...
"; "Secret Window, Secret Garden
Secret Window, Secret Garden
Secret Window, Secret Garden is one of four novellas published in the Stephen King book Four Past Midnight in 1990. It is similar to King's earlier novel The Dark Half...
"; "The Library Policeman
The Library Policeman
The Library Policeman is a novella by author Stephen King. It is the third story in his 1990 collection Four Past Midnight.It tells of Sam Peebles and his battle against an age-old fear.-Plot summary:...
"; and "The Sun Dog
The Sun Dog
The Sun Dog is one of four novellas by Stephen King appearing in the book Four Past Midnight, published September 1990.- Plot :Kevin Delevan receives a Sun 660 Polaroid camera for his fifteenth birthday...
".
The Langoliers
On American Pride Flight 29 ten passengers, that had been sleeping, find that all other passengers have gone missing, leaving their clothes, dental fillings, pace makers and so on. This happened when the plane flew through a rip in time to the past. The past is a lifeless worn-out version of the present in which the langoliers are present and eat the past.After landing the characters explore the past and come to realize that it is the watered down version of the present in which the food is tasteless, the matches and fuel do not burn, and all sound and scents are either muffled or nonexistent. The survivors then take off to return to the rip, narrowly avoiding the langoliers, creatures that eat what is left of the past. The langoliers take the life of Craig Toomy, a psychotic businessman.
Escaping from these, the passengers fly back through the rip which takes them to the near future, a pristine and fresh, yet lifeless version of the present. Shortly the present "catches up" with them and they rejoin the normal world.
The Langoliers was adapted into a two part TV mini-series in 1995.
Secret Window, Secret Garden
Secret Window, Secret Garden is similar to King's earlier novel The Dark HalfThe Dark Half
The Dark Half is a horror novel by Stephen King, published in 1989. Publishers Weekly listed The Dark Half as the second best-selling book of 1989 behind Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger. It was adapted into a feature film of the same name in 1993.Stephen King wrote several books under a...
. Both are about an author, in this case Mort Rainey, who is a thinly-veiled analogue
Analogue (literature)
The term analogue is used in literary history in two related senses:* a work which resembles another in terms of one or more motifs, characters, scenes, phrases or events....
of King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
himself. Mort is visited by a man who takes the name of John Shooter, with a manuscript which proves to be an almost exact copy of a story that Mort himself wrote and published some years earlier. The man claims that Mort stole it from him and demands that Mort either prove himself innocent or write a story in Shooter's name as compensation. Shooter warns bad things will happen if Rainey does not.
This story has been adapted into a movie Secret Window
Secret Window
Secret Window is a 2004 psychological horror film starring Johnny Depp and John Turturro. It was written and directed by David Koepp, based on the novella Secret Window, Secret Garden by Stephen King, featuring a musical score by Philip Glass and Geoff Zanelli. The story appeared in King's...
(2004), starring Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
. The novella and the movie end very differently.
The Library Policeman
The Library Policeman was written after King's son did not want to go to the library as he was afraid of the library police. King felt this was a nice idea and used it. What if there were serious men in long coats that came to your house and fetched the books if you did not return them in time? And most importantly: what happens if you lose the book you borrowed? Eventually, the main character is forced to confront a suppressed childhood memory and realizes the horrors occurring in his world have been unleashed by a shape-shifting figure who lives off of others' fears.The Sun Dog
The Sun Dog is set in King's fictional city of Castle Rock, MaineCastle Rock (Stephen King)
Castle Rock, Maine is part of Stephen King’s fictional Maine topography and provides the setting for a number of his novels, novellas, and short stories...
, and is a prelude of sorts to King's 1991 novel Needful Things
Needful Things
Needful Things is a 1991 horror novel by American author Stephen King. According to the cover, it is "The Last Castle Rock Story." However, the town later served as the setting for the short story "It Grows on You," published in King's 1993 collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes which, according to...
.
Kevin gets just what he wants for his fifteenth birthday—a Polaroid camera
Instant camera
The instant camera is a type of camera that generates a developed film image. The most popular types to use self-developing film were formerly made by Polaroid Corporation....
. Soon, though, he notices that there is something strange about the camera. It prints similar pictures all the time, and they are never of what the camera is pointed at. Kevin seeks help from Reginald 'Pop' Merrill, the owner of the Emporium Galorium (a junk shop) and a relatively rich man who lends money to people for illegal interests. Unbeknownst to Kevin, Pop Merrill once lent 400 dollars to his father because he lost a bet, something he deeply regrets. As the novella continues, the boy finds that the pictures are of a terrifying dog preparing to leap at the camera.