Are the Night Flier and Popsy the Same Creature?

[the_last_gunslinger]

I'm in the middle of reading this collection, (which I'm really enjoying so far) and yesterday, I had the chance to read both "Night Flier" and "Popsy" back to back, and I couldn't help but notice some massive similarities between the two figures.

Some of the similarities that I saw were as follows: Both are described as having a bat-like visage, both are described as wearing a black cape with a red liner, and they both used nails to puncture the necks of their victims.

I wouldn't have picked up on any of this had the two stories not come one right after the other, but upon completion, my curiosity got the best of me, and I figured I'd gauge other fan's responses.

[bopropadop]

I'm in the middle of reading this collection, (which I'm really enjoying so far) and yesterday, I had the chance to read both "Night Flier" and "Popsy" back to back, and I couldn't help but notice some massive similarities between the two figures.

Some of the similarities that I saw were as follows: Both are described as having a bat-like visage, both are described as wearing a black cape with a red liner, and they both used nails to puncture the necks of their victims.

I wouldn't have picked up on any of this had the two stories not come one right after the other, but upon completion, my curiosity got the best of me, and I figured I'd gauge other fan's responses.


Yeah, I think so... In fact, doesn't SK mention something to that effect in the introduction to one or the other stories? Both are very entertaining.

[the_last_gunslinger]

I don't know if it's mentioned. In the paperback edition I have, there are no introductions to the actual stories, just one long one in the beginning that talks, at great lengths, about Ripley's Believe It Or Not.

I didn't get all the way through the intro, though. It's a little long and I didn't want to prolong my reading of the actual book. So I don't know if it was mentioned in there somewhere.

They were both good stories, though. I preferred "Popsy" over "Night Flier," however. But "Suffer the Children" is my favorite in the collection so far.

[Perse]

Hello the last gunslinger,

In my version of this book, there is a notes section, and SK does indeed say that he believes they are the same creature...

[wally wonder]

until i read the responses, then read the afterword notes at the back (and this is a reread, at that) i wooda thought why not the old man? where'd he go? popsy and the kid are in one story. where's the old man? figured he was out gallabattin round the country in his cessna while popsy looked after junior. or you know, maybe he came across a big kettle of crazy and made the mistake of stirring it up. the pointy haired boss mentioned that...and maybe someone put a stake in his heart. chattery teeth is a hoot. said this is a reread and that story i could almost recite word for word. i remember somewhere, comics maybe, where you could get all that stuff. plastic dog turds. whoopee cushions. teeth. stuff to stick in cigarettes to make em snap. those ads always fascinated me.

[The Outsider]

In the first edition of the book, in the "Notes" section, when discussing "Popsy", King states, "Is this little boy's grandfather the same creature that demands Richard Dees open his camera and expose his film at the conclusion of "The Night Flier"? You know, I rather think he is"

So I'm gonna go with an affirmative on that one. Popsy = Night Flier.

[Manxkitti]

I think they're the same creature. There are to many similarities.

[LisaNH]

Yes, I thought Popsy and Night flyer were one in the same. I like how SK intertwines story lines.

[M-O-O-N SPELLS MY NAME]

Same creature, and one scary ass dude! Two awesome stories!!

[arsepoetica]

Yes, SK says so in the "Notes" section at the end of the book...

[motocop]

They do seem like the same creature. But if the popsy was able to fly and land on top of the moving van, why did he need a plane? Maybe his bat wings get tired after a while. He is a grandfather.

[Coconut]

You know I was just replying on another thread that I didn't think they were, but King's notes definitely brings some definitive closure to that question. Just how there's mention of Selena Claiborne in Home Delivery. I should I known.

[Chuggs]

He does say in the notes that he thinks they are...what I think is that maybe they are the same TYPE of creature...