The Blue Air Compressor is a short story 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...

, first published in January 1971

1971 in literature

The year 1971 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Destiny Waltz by Gerda Charles wins the UK's first Whitbread Novel of the Year Award.-New books:*Hiroshi Aramata - Teito Monogatari...

 in Onan Magazine (University of Maine). It was revised and reprinted in the magazine Heavy Metal in July 1981

1981 in literature

The year 1981 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction given for the first time...

. King himself narrates this story (and is mentioned by name in it). This story is difficult to find, since it has never been published in an anthology.

Plot summary

Gerald Nately is a young writer who writes a short story about his friend's wife, Mrs. Leighton (no first names for the couple are given). Mrs. Leighton is an enormously obese woman, so Gerald calls his short story "The Hog." Mrs. Leighton finds the story and mocks it, saying that she was too big for him to write about her, so he shoves the nozzle of an air compressor into her mouth and overinflates her, causing her to explode. Her remains are buried under the tool shed, and Gerald flees to the Near East after retitling his story "the Blue Air Compressor." Gerald's crime is never discovered, and eventually he cuts off his own head with a guillotine (after writing several dark and misunderstood novels, essays, short stories and poems).

Revision

In the Heavy Metal reprint of the story, Gerald shoots Mrs. Leighton before overinflating her.

External links

• The story at HorrorKing.com
• full story online