Strawberry Spring

Infobox short story |
name = Strawberry Spring
author = Stephen King
country = United States
language = English
genre = Horror,
published_in = Night Shift
publisher = Doubleday
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pub_date = 1978
preceded_by =
followed_by =

Strawberry Spring is a horror genre short story by Stephen King, first published in the 1978 compilation "Night Shift". It employs a twist ending.

etting

Strawberry Spring takes place on at the fictional New Sharon College.

Plot summary

An unnamed narrator sees the words "Springheel Jack" in a newspaper, which leads him to recount a time, about eight years ago, when he was at New Sharon College. His recollections are nostalgic, almost melancholy. It was 1968 when the strawberry spring, a ‘false’ spring, much like an Indian summer, broke. It brought a thick fog, which covered the campus at nighttime, providing perfect cover for a serial killer called ‘Springheel Jack.’ The body of a girl was found in a parking lot, the first murder in a series. Several more students are murdered during the strawberry spring, and the narrator describes the reactions of the college community throughout this time; the contradicting rumors that are spread about the victims ("she was ugly but cute... she was a lesbian who had been murdered by her boyfriend" [Stephen King. "Strawberry Spring." In "Night Shift". (USA: Doubleday, 1990) pp228] ), the blind panic of police and security guards (including a humorous anecdote about a student who passed out in the parking lot, only to be bagged and taken to the morgue by the security guard who found him) and the feelings of suspicions among students. No reliable suspects are found.

Eight years later, a new strawberry spring has arrived again, and so has "Springheel Jack", who took another victim at New Sharon College the previous night. The narrator can’t remember where he was last night - the last thing he remembers is turning on his headlights to find his way through the "lovely creeping fog" [Stephen King. "Strawberry Spring." pp236] By the end, it is implied that he is the murderer.

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0286168|title=Strawberry Spring
* [http://www.stephenkingshortmovies.com/goto.php?movies/strawberry_spring.php Stephen King Short Movies]