The Crate

The Crate

The Crate is a short story written by Stephen King and first published in Gallery magazine, July 1979. It was later published as the lead story in the Science Fiction anthology Fantasy Annual III (1981, Pocket Books, ISBN 0-671-41272-8) edited by Terry Carr. In 1982 the story was adapted to the silver screen as a segment in the movie Creepshow, starring Hal Holbrook in the lead role of Henry Northrup.

Plot introduction

It concerns the discovery of an old wooden crate, marked from an 1834 arctic expedition, beneath the basement stairs at the fictional Horlicks University by a janitor. Dexter Stanley, the school's biology professor, has a look at it and they open it up to discover it contains an ancient monster. The creature kills and eats the janitor as well as Stanley's grad student Charlie Gereson, and Dexter flees to the home of his friend, English professor Henry Northrup. He tells Henry the whole story, and Henry believes him, and sees the crate-dwelling monster as an excellent way to rid himself of his verbally abusive, alcoholic wife, Wilma.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The story was adapted into movie form, as a segment in the film "Creepshow". Although there are numerous changes, the film version remains remarkably faithful to the written source material. The changes include the appearance of the monster, described as a small and wolverine-like in the story but is clearly ape-like in the movie, and the janitor, unnamed in the story, is called Mike Latimer. Also, the story ends with Henry disposing of the crate in a 50 foot deep lake, with the monster chained up inside safely securing it, apparently leaving no open ending, but the movie does things differently, ending the segment with the beast destroying the crate and escaping.

External links

*


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Crate & Barrel — Type Private Industry Retail Founded 1962 Chicago, Illinois, USA …   Wikipedia

  • Crate training — is the process of teaching a pet to accept a crate or cage as a familiar and safe location. Advocates claim that dogs are den dwelling animals and that a crate can become a den substitute. Proponents also advocate crate training so that cats as… …   Wikipedia

  • Crate (disambiguation) — Crate may refer to: Crate, a large strong container, often made of wood Also used incorrectly to refer to ordinary wooden boxes Bottle crate or beverage crate, a container used for transport of beverage containers to stores Milk crate, a… …   Wikipedia

  • The Cat in the Hat (film) — The Cat in the Hat Theatrical release poster Directed by Bo Welch Produced by …   Wikipedia

  • The Penguins of Madagascar: Operation: DVD Premiere — The cover of the special release Operation: DVD Premiere Directed by Bret Haaland Nick Filippi …   Wikipedia

  • The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course — US Theatrical release poster Directed by John Stainton …   Wikipedia

  • The Talbot Brothers of Bermuda — The Talbot Brothers were a musical group based in Bermuda that were among the most popular calypso performers of the 1950s. They were brothers Archie (lead singer, acoustic guitar, harmonica), Austin (acoustic guitar, harmonica), Bryan, a.k.a.… …   Wikipedia

  • The Legend of Zorro — Directed by Martin Campbell Produced by Steven Spielberg …   Wikipedia

  • The New Mastersounds — are a four piece funk band based in Leeds, England. In the late 1990s, guitarist and producer Eddie Roberts was running a club night in Leeds called The Cooker. When The Cooker moved into a new venue with a second floor in 1999, there was space… …   Wikipedia

  • Crate — For other uses, see Crate (disambiguation). A crate used to transport ordnance A crate is a large shipping container, often made of wood, typically used …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”