The Moving Finger (short story)

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This article is about the book by Stephen King. For the Miss Marple book, see The Moving Finger.
The Moving Finger
Author Stephen King
Country Flag of United States USA
Language English
Genre(s) Horror
Released in Cemetary Dance (1st release),
Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Publication type Magazine
Media Type Print
Released 1990

The Moving Finger is a short story by Stephen King. It was first published in Cemetery Dance magazine in 1990, and included in King's collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A very ordinary man named Howard Mitla is confronted by the bizarre sight of a human finger poking its way out of the drain in his apartment's bathroom sink. He tries to deny the reality of what is happening, but the solitary digit eventually proves to be infinitely long and multijointed, and capable of attacking him. Mitla burns it with a bottle of heavy-duty drain-cleaner, then chops it off with a pair of electric hedge trimmers. Too late, he learns that every hand has more than one finger. In the notes section of Nightmares & Dreamscapes, King comments that the story is one of the few modern stories written without a reason as to why the events occurred.

[edit] Adaptations

  • This story appeared in an episode of Monsters in 1991.