Gray Matter

[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..

[Breger3]

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

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.

Show Spoiler

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.