six "spectral tales best enjoyed during the most wonderful (and darkest) time of the year," including:“The Reaper’s Image,” by Stephen KingRead about another entry on the list.
More than a few of the stories in King’s literary canon would fit nicely on this list—the upsetting house-haunting in “It Grows On You,” the decidedly retro atmosphere of “The Breathing Method,” the isolated terror of the bathroom-set “Sneakers,” and any number of other stories from the exceptionally ghostly Skeleton Crew—all would be solid picks. But “The Reaper’s Image” gets by on just how eerie yet utterly simple it is: two men discuss a mirror’s supernatural history, something unsettling happens, and the ending is left ambiguous. There’s no “why,” no long history to explain what the mirror is, it’s just a haunted mirror, and we’re left with an odd sense that something upsetting has just occurred. It’s that simplicity that truly makes it a chilling story, and an excellent read.
--Marshal Zeringue
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