Gray Matter

[Renzo]

Anyone else enjoy this short story? I thought it was a very vivid, succinct story. I wish SK went into a little bit about what the gray ooze was and where it originated but sometimes a little mystery is just what a short story needs. I particularly liked the scene where the old guys bring the beer to the father's house and violence ensues. :biggrin2:

Hmmm...I wonder which would be harder to take down? A demon-possessed laundry folder or an old man blob? :wow:

[Mr. Jingles]

I loved it......when the guys were walking up to the apartment building, my heart was pounding in anticipation for what they may see.....:eek2:

[Dull Dull Boy]

Good Story, good collection really. I liked the ending it just left a sinister vibe on the whole thing.

[michal]

It's a great story, and yes - my favorite scene of it is definitely the last one.

[GNTLGNT]

Certainly gives a whole new view of "skunked beer" dudn't it???:laugh:

[Pucker]

The first time I ever read Gray Matter I was not aware of that age-old adage about how the only thing beer leads to is more beer -- or its simple truth.

Over time I came to understand how a certain kind of guy -- in his extremity -- might just go ahead and drink whatever was in front of him, no matter his reservations or the potential consequences. It's been a while since I've read Gray Matter, but it seems to me that different sorts of readers could have wildly varying interpretations of a story in which a "monster" comes out of a can of beer.

[fushingfeef]

I think Creepshow's "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" is inter-related to this story: they are very similar, fun stories.

[sixteendollars]

How about that reference to giant spiders in the sewer!? Was that a foreshadow to IT? Anyways... loved this story. Very creepy.

[wally wonder]

the story reminded me of lisey's story....or scott's story. i think that is what it's called. seems like there some of the same kind of things that happen.

[kittykiller]

I just read this one and liked the story and the plot to the story. the ending is a good way to open the imagination to what had happened.:smile2:

[Silhouette86]

Enjoyed the story very much. Thought that "Night Shift" was the best short story collection that I've read so far.

Gray Matter had a creepy atmosphere throughout the whole story that I loved.

[ellisd]

How about that reference to giant spiders in the sewer!? Was that a foreshadow to IT? Anyways... loved this story. Very creepy.

i agree!!!! does that mean IT traveled? also it was big dog sized, was that a growing IT? or another one? perhaps..:eyebrow::cool2:

[Breger3]

i agree!!!! does that mean IT traveled? also it was big dog sized, was that a growing IT? or another one? perhaps..:eyebrow::cool2:

I was thinking the same thing!

[BlunkLaura]

How about that reference to giant spiders in the sewer!? Was that a foreshadow to IT? Anyways... loved this story. Very creepy.

Yeah,I caught that too !
And Grey Shift WAS first published in 1973, a full 13 years before It !
....

Bool ! The End !

Lauran

[RGKID144]

How about that reference to giant spiders in the sewer!? Was that a foreshadow to IT? Anyways... loved this story. Very creepy.

TOTALLY .....PLUS HIS NAME WAS GEORGE.....Suchhh an omage to Georgie Denbrough and IT.

[Yorobot]

Well, I really liked that short story. Just the way SK describes the monster... That`s the kind of thing you don`t want to meet in a dark alley. And that`s exactly where it would hide.
But wait just a minute... if it is splitting up, doesn`t that mean some day or another the copies will need to leave the apartment? And go into the light? Maybe that`s what kills them.

[mayday10]

I liked this one. A nice smooth takeoff and landing. Sometimes these short stories drop you in and you kind of have to feel your way around and adapt yourself to the new world.


This story leaves things so open ended!

I wonder what happens. You have to give George a 10% chance against the gray matter monster (if that). So this thing is splitting, then will split again, and again, etc. It has no tolerance for light. So if you can keep light around yourself, maybe you will be OK... but maybe if enough of these things exist, then eventually it would be just too much.

It was also said that if you touch this gray matter, you become a monster, unless that was just a scare tactic by Richie. They did say the slime was all over the apartment house and there was no movement from the other floors of the house, and there were no lights. Were these people "infected" also? If so, I wonder if George got his shots off, but perhaps was overwhelmed by the others. In this case, it would be like a Zombie story... but with the possibility of splitting which would lend completely no chance of survival.

Thinking about it, I give humanity a very small chance of surviving this

[Patricia A]

I really liked it a lot and read into it what happens to kids when their parental units care more about their own habits and concerns than their kid's needs.

[Evil Queen]

I thought this story was absolutely disgusting!! Poor Timmy!, having to live w/his father turning into that Gray Matter! All I know is that I kept thinking, Ewwwww!!!..while I was reading it! I loved it!

[dolphins813]

I think Creepshow's "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" is inter-related to this story: they are very similar, fun stories.

My thoughts exactly.

[jkcrue]

This was a really good short story. The Gray Matter didn't seem like it really intended on killing people. As it never seemed to go after Timmy at all when he lived there. I think it just wanted to live in peace and drink it's beer. However what happens when it does multiply ? And who's going to keep bringing it some beer ?

[latenightreader]

Excellent tale...an unwitting monster! Love the sense dread at the end!

[Rrty]

On the paragraph about the spider...

I have to say, I didn't necesarily see an IT connection here, nor do I think it is necessarily required (it is fun to think about, though).

However, the paragraph about the spider, to me, is almost a perfect example of pre-flash flash fiction (I am assuming here that the term "flash fiction" was not widely known before the popularization of the Internet, although I do think paragraph-length stories have been with us for a long while). That brief paragraph, almost a story in its own right, is one of the best examples of yarn-spinning I've ever read. Go and read it again...see how it has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and how it exists in a sharp, precise structure of storytelling symmetry. Sure, King probably didn't realize, or go out of his way, to produce such an awesome little burst of self-contained fiction, but he did nevertheless. You could literally pluck it from the tale it resides in and watch in amazement as it would continue to thrive, like a weird heart that could go on beating after being extracted from a creature's circulatory system. I really like that little gem.

[Ericw]

Quote: you got to take him his beer and come. I can't stand to go back there. I'm scared. Unquote. This has to be one of Stephen King's best short stories ever. It has the simple story line of friends gathered in the store who go and check on Timmy's dad only to find the big bad monster! And that line about removing a board in the wall and taking out a cat...classic!! It has no bearing on this story, but the characters in this story remind me of the old men sitting around in the store chewing the fat in the Twilight Zone episode Hocus Pocus and Frisby!

[sarge73]

Really enjoyed. I read this collection when I was 11 yrs. old. My Mom wouldn't let me read adult books, so I had to sneak it. I was hooked after that, I'm now 40, and still have that book.

[Ericw]

I'm 49, and still have a copy! Great reading, huh?

[bongorider]

There's more than 1 giant spider in the works of SK. At least 3, and 4 if you count this fleeting reference.
I just re-read most of night shift and agree it's a great collection. From the lovecraftian "Jerusalem's lot", to the sentimental "last rung on the ladder". Gray matter was never a favourite of mine but it's one I still remember vividly from first reading it 20 years ago.