The Ten O'Clock People
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| Author | Stephen King |
|---|---|
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Short story |
| Released in | Nightmares and Dreamscapes |
| Publication type | Anthology |
| Publisher | Viking Adult |
| Media Type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Released | 1993 |
Ten O'Clock People is a short story by Stephen King published in the Nightmares and Dreamscapes collection. Unlike many of King's stories that which place in fictional places like Castle Rock, Maine, "Ten O'Clock People" takes place in the distinctly recognizable Boston, Massachusetts.
[edit] Plot summary
The main character, who is a smoker trying hard to quit for health reasons, discovers a horrible aspect of reality that only those attempting to quit like him are capable of seeing - that many of the people living among us in positions of power, including many police and political figures and even the Vice President, are in fact inhuman monsters disguised as people. A unique chemical balance, caused by his smoking only on his morning break (thus the reference to Ten O' Clock in the title) makes him able to see the true nature of these creatures through their disguises.
[edit] References within the work
In King's novels Song of Susannah, Hearts in Atlantis, and Dark Tower series, similar creatures called "can-toi" or "low men in yellow coats", appear as minions of the Crimson King. Whether those creatures are intended to be the same creatures as those appearing in this story is unclear. The story has many similarities to John Carpenter's film They Live.
[edit] Notes
In the book's ending notes, King relates that this story had one of the shortest gestation periods of any of his pieces--he conceived and wrote it feverishly over a mere three days.
