"Gramma" is a short horror story by American author

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 ...

. It was first published in ''Weirdbook'' magazine in 1984 and collected in King's 1985 collection called '' Skeleton Crew''. King incorporated elements from works of

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 ...

in this story, making it a story set in the

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American Horror fiction, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, t ...

Plot summary

An 11-year-old boy named George Bruckner is at his home in Castle Rock, Maine with his mother, Ruth, when the two find out that George's 13-year-old brother Buddy has broken his ankle playing

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. George reluctantly volunteers to watch his bedridden grandmother while his mom goes to pick up Buddy at the

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

. After she leaves, George recalls a terrifying memory from five years ago where his "Gramma" wanted to hug him, making him cry until his mom managed to pacify the situation. As he continues waiting for his mom to return, more repressed memories begin to surface. He recalls overhearing his mother's siblings begging her to care for the old woman, forcing her to leave

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and move to Castle Rock,

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. George also recalls that Gramma had been kicked out of her church, as well as dismissed from her position as a schoolteacher, for owning particular books. Finally he remembers that Gramma's first two children were stillborn, and that it was only after obtaining the books that she gave birth to nine healthy children. George suddenly hears noises coming from her room. Checking up on her, he then remembers his Gramma uttering strange words one night, and a neighbor dying the next morning. These recollections convince George that his grandmother is a

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

, having gained dark powers from reading the forbidden tomes. Upon seeing Gramma's unresponsive body, George believes that she has died. After doing some tests that convince him that she has died, he attempts to call the doctor only to realize that the phone is dead. As he grows more anxious, he returns to her room to cover her face. Suddenly, her hand wraps around his wrist, causing George to flee the room in a panic. He then hears groaning from the room that turn into his Gramma calling him. Upon entering, he sees Gramma sitting on her chair as she orders him to come to her. He then realizes that she plans to take over his body. A supernatural force compels him towards her arms until he manages to break free. Making his way back to the kitchen, the phone rings. He picks it up and hears his Aunt Flo on the other end. As Gramma closes the distance, Aunt Flo tells George to command her to stop by invoking the name Hastur. He does so, but not before she manages to embrace him. An hour later, Ruth returns to find George seemingly unharmed. He tells her that Gramma died as his mother asks if anything else happened. George denies it and goes off to his room to sleep. It is revealed that Gramma managed to possess George as he then uses a spell to kill his Aunt Flo with an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

. The story ends with George planning to torture his brother with his newfound power.

Film, television, and theatrical adaptations

The story was made into an episode of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' in 1986; the screenplay was written by

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...

. Some of the voice over for "Gramma" was done by

Piper Laurie Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932 – October 14, 2023) was an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films '' The Hustler'' (1961), '' Carrie'' (1976), and '' Children of a Lesser God'' (1986), and the miniseries ...

, who had previously starred in the first film adaptation of King's novel '' Carrie''. In 2014, the story was adapted into a feature film titled ''

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...

''. Chandler Riggs portrayed George in the film. It received mixed reviews. "Gramma" was translated into

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

by Indian writer

Narayan Dharap Narayan Dharap (27 August 1925 – 18 August 2008) was an Indian writer, primarily of horror fiction in the Marathi language. He wrote more than 100 books and was the first Marathi author to bring H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos to Marathi r ...

as "Aaji", which served as a basis for the opening act of ''

Tumbbad ''Tumbbad'' is a 2018 Hindi-language period film, period Folk horror, folk horror film directed by Rahi Anil Barve. Additionally, Anand Gandhi served as the creative director, and Adesh Prasad served as the co-director. Written by Mitesh Sha ...

'' (2018 film).

References

External links

"Gramma" at StephenKing.com
* {{Stephen King 1984 short stories Short stories by Stephen King Cthulhu Mythos short stories Fantasy short stories Horror short stories Short stories about witches and witchcraft American short stories Works originally published in American magazines Works originally published in fantasy fiction magazines Short stories adapted into films Short stories set in Maine

Plot summary

Film, television, and theatrical adaptations

See also

References

External links