"The Things They Left Behind" is 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 ...
, originally published in the compilation ''
Transgressions: Volume Two'' edited by
Ed McBain and published by
Forge Books
Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be o ...
. It is one of three stories that is also available on
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sch ...
compilation, in the "Transgressions" series, titled ''Terror's Echo'' and read by
John Bedford Lloyd. It was later included in King's own 2008 collection ''
Just After Sunset''.
Plot summary
Almost a year after
9/11, strange things start happening to
narrator
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
Scott Staley, who—at the time of the attacks—had been employed at "Light and Bell Insurance" on the 110th floor of the
World Trade Center. Not only is Scott unable to get rid of his
survivor's guilt (on 9/11, he followed an inner voice which told him to take a day off and enjoy the sun), but items belonging to his late colleagues suddenly begin appearing in his apartment. A pair of sunglasses, a baseball bat, a whoopee cushion – Scott can identify them all. After convincing himself that they are no illusion and that others can see them, Scott tries disposing the items in a dumpster. However, they reappear after he returns home.
He explains this to Paula, a neighbor, who offers to stow away one of the things. Soon, Paula experiences the most horrible nightmare of her life. In her own mind, she recreates the last minutes of the item's owner. Paula immediately returns the object, but makes Scott understand his mission: he must give the things to the victims' family members– and on seeing the joy on their faces, he feels his guilt slowly fade away.
Adaptations in other media
The story has been adapted into an extended short film by filmmaker Pablo Macho Maysonet IV, produced by Shattered Dreams Productions.
A new adaptation of the short story directed by Guillaume Heulard and Stéphane Valette is currently in film festivals.
See also
*
Short fiction by Stephen King
References
External links
"The Things They Left Behind" at StephenKing.com*
Short stories by Stephen King
2003 short stories
Short stories adapted into films
Short stories set in New York City
Works about the September 11 attacks
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