"The Reaper's Image" is a horror short story by American writer

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

, first published in ''Startling Mystery Stories'' in 1969 and collected in '' Skeleton Crew'' in 1985. The story is about an antique mirror haunted by the visage of the Grim Reaper, who appears to those who gaze into it.

Plot summary

The story concerns a visit by an irascible antique collector, Johnson Spangler, to the Samuel Claggert Museum and his attempts to authenticate the legendary "Delver's Mirror". Spangler is ushered through the building by museum curator Mr. Carlin, who recounts the history of the rare

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

mirror and the numerous incidents of its attempted destruction. The museum curator also explains the infamous history of the mirror, recounting all the people who have looked into the mirror and mysteriously disappeared. Carlin tells a skeptical Spangler that an image of the Grim Reaper is rumored to appear in the mirror, standing close to the viewer. Spangler scoffs, but feels unnatural horror when he looks into the mirror and claims to see some

duct tape Duct tape or duck tape is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure-sensitive tape, often coated with polyethylene. A variety of constructions exist using different backings and adhesives, and the term "duct tape" has been genericized to refer to all o ...

in the mirror's corner. He angrily confronts Carlin, who claimed the mirror was undamaged. However, Carlin claims that there is no duct tape, and Spangler is "seeing the reaper." When Spangler runs his hand over the "duct tape", he feels a smooth surface rather than the rough outside of the tape. When Spangler looks again, the duct tape is gone. As Carlin relates the history of a high school boy who saw the Reaper and disappeared without a trace, Spangler becomes ill and rushes out of the second floor as Mr. Carlin remains behind to wait.

Publication

King wrote "The Reaper's Image" at age 18 in summer 1966, shortly before beginning college. It was first published in issue 12 of ''Startling Mystery Stories'' in spring 1969. He was paid $35 () for the story, which was his second to be published commercially (the first being " The Glass Floor", published in autumn 1967). In 1985, a revised version was collected in King's second book of short stories, '' Skeleton Crew''.

Reception

Literary critic Michael R. Collings writes that although it draws on

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

and

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

, "The Reaper's Image" was "a stronger, more independent piece of atmospheric horror than King had yet produced", making use of flashbacks, self-consistent characterizations, and "allow ngthe mystery of the Delver mirror to develop its own power rather than imposing a mystery upon the characters, as he had done in ' The Glass Floor'." Similarly,

Darrell Schweitzer Darrell Charles Schweitzer (born August 27, 1952) is an American writer, editor, and critic in the field of speculative fiction. Much of his focus has been on dark fantasy and horror, although he does also work in science fiction and fantasy. ...

comments "The story is quite similar to 'The Glass Floor', but is told more skilfully". Tyson Blue describes the story as "a traditional Stephen King tale ..one of his nods to his literary forebears", suggesting the story was influenced by the works of

Adaptations

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

adaptation of ''The Reaper's Image'' was released in 2013.

References

External links