January 18 - "Autopsy Room Four"

Sundays with Uncle Stevie“Autopsy Room Four”
by Stephen King
Everything’s Eventual (2002)

* * * (Good) Horror

Howard Cottrell awoke to find his body unresponsive, even his eyelids failed to perform their simple act. He was paralyzed and rolling toward room four. Unsure whether he was alive or dead, Howard struggled to get the attention of the coroner before the act of an autopsy answered the question – with finality –for him.

King does a great job building suspense and tension throughout the story. You begin to wonder how you’d feel and think if you were aware and on the slab. Knowing King’s stories don’t often flinch at the horror or unhappy endings, the intensity of the tale stays jacked up all the way through to the resolution. There is an afternote to the story that I feel diminishes the overall impact of the ending. It feels tacked on, and doesn’t add anything but an unneeded explanation for the cause of paralysis. Still, successful tales – horror stories in particular – are those that examine common fears and questions, and with these King is master.