Scary Movie

In early 1991, I was introduced to the writings of Stephen King. I wasn't up to reading a full novel of his, so opted for the book, "Skeleton Crew", which contained more than a dozen short stories.

The first story in the book was a short novel (more than one hundred pages). It was called, "The Mist" and it was quite creepy. Here's the plot:

After a violent storm attacks a town in Maine, an approaching cloud of mist appears the next morning. As the mist quickly envelops the area, a group of people get trapped in a local grocery store, among them, artist David Drayton and his five-year-old son. The people soon discover that within the mist lives numerous species of horrific, unworldly creatures that entered through an inter-dimensional rift, which may or may not have been caused by a nearby military base. As the world around them manifests into a literal hell-on-earth, the horrified citizens try desperately to survive this apocalyptic disaster.

I read the first half of it one afternoon before having to leave to go to work at Sammy's Pizza (I worked in their kitchen). King's writing was so descriptive that I still chilled a bit walking to work thinking about what I had just read and looking forward to finishing the story. I went on to read many more of his works and would have to say that he is probably my favorite writer.

I had heard rumors for years of the possibility of a "Mist" movie, but nothing ever seemed to come of it. Finally, there was confirmation last year that Frank Darabont (the director of two brilliant King adaptations, "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile") had agreed to go ahead with filming "The Mist". Now filming, I look forward to seeing what I imagined more than a decade and a half ago finally come to life on the big screen (it will be released this Thanksgiving).