The Last Rung on the Ladder

[Tombrun]

The last rung on the ladder...such a sad story. I read that one and "woman in the room" for the first time before I went to sleep last night. I was so depressed when I put the book away. Whoever said that King is a horror writer couldn't be more wrong.

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

I know exactly what you mean, but I think the two you mentioned are REAL horror stories!

Long days and pleasant nights

[bopropadop]

Thanks for you post and I couldn't agree more. I was so moved by The Last Rung on the Ladder that I moped around that afternoon after reading it. When my wife asked me what was wrong, I read it aloud to her as she prepared dinner one evening. Then we both moped around that evening... Pulls on the heartstrings, doesn't it!?!?

[Dallas Riley]

I made my girlfriend read "The Last Rung on the Ladder" and i read the last paragraph or so of it for my lit class presentation.

[JRLauer]

I can't say that I was as moved by that story. Yes, it was sad, but I don't let it get to me. I can't say that I even thought about it much after reading it. Maybe I'm insensitive.

[michal]

This story really touched me. I have 4 brothers myself so I know quite alot about the brother-sister connection and of how they try and do their best to keep you from getting hurt. Families are the strongest connections we have in this life, and when we drift apart that tie, whatever you want to call it, still remains.

[GirlfriendInAComa]

I cry nearly every time I read this one. We all get complacent and take people for granted. It always serves as a reminder for me to communicate with my loved ones and to give as much attention to what they have to say as I would want them to give to me.

[strange]

Out of all the stories in this collection I got to admit that this one and the one that followed (sorry I can't reamember what it was called) took the biggest risks as they sort of pushed outside of King's usual realm of horror and made connections within us that we could all understand. I think this story really marked early on when King was more than just a writer of "horror".

[futuramaguy07]

Yikes...I have four stories left in Night Shift, starting with The Last Rung on the Ladder, ending with The Woman in the Room.

[vinividivicci]

I found "last rung" really powerful

[travis]

Has Stephen King ever released in print, or spoken about the thought, or ideas that made him take the time to write this work?

[Pucker]

This is the story I direct people to when they scoff at Mr. King and his silly "monster" stories.

[GNTLGNT]

Being a "Suicide Survivor"(my sister in law killed herself years ago)-this story REALLY cut to the bone...

[Eva9]

I think Night Shift was the 2nd King book I read. I was about 13 or 14 at the time. I'm 28 now and just finished reading the book last night. For the most part it was like reading the book for the first time again, but this story was the only one that I remembered in it's entirety. I definitely made an impression on me those 15 years ago. It had had me crying before I even got to the end.

[Renzo]

This was the most powerful story to me in Night Shift. I remember finishing this story, closing the book, blinking a few times, and letting my brain take over my thoughts for a good 10 minutes. I made my wife read it afterwards. :smile2:

[Breger3]

This is a PRIME example to point people to when they say that Stephen King is only a horror writer. This story touched me deeply. It's the story that stands out in my mind when I think of Night Shift.

[motocop]

The last rung made me so sad. Ive been shafted by the change of address forms to. Not as baddly as in this story. Id feel guilty for the rest of my life if my sister killed herself because I didnt write her back.

[travis]

I only see her in a dream now.

[Evil Queen]

What a shocker the end of this story was for me! It made me feel so sad, I read it twice in a row then laid there in bed thinking about it for awhile. My step-brother commited suicide when he was 17(I was 19 at the time) one night after too much drinking. So it brought back all those helpless feelings I had over that event. King really surprised me with the story-it's horror, but in a different way.

[Patricia A]

I cried about the woman giving up and killing herself and I felt kind of sick inside about the whole story.
I wasn't expecting such an emotional story and it made me feel uncomfortable and a little irritated.
I decided that The Last Rung On the Ladder was my least favorite Stephen King story ever.

When I re-read it recently I realized that it was supposed to make people feel uncomfortable and it would have been sad for me if it didn't make me feel a little sick inside.

[Evil Queen]

Yes, I wondered why would King write such a story. I kept expecting something horrible was going to happen when they were children playing on the ladder, although what happened to her was awful enough. I was kind of reading w/one eye open because I didn't know what to expect! But this is a real life horror for those who have gone through it, something that will stay w/you forever. The guilt over should haves & could haves that never leave a person when their loved one commits this horrible act. So I guess King was right on in leaving an impression w/this one.