Autopsy Room Four
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| "Autopsy Room Four" | |
| Author | Stephen King |
|---|---|
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror short story |
| Published in | Six Stories, Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales |
| Publisher | Scribner |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Publication date | 2002 |
"Autopsy Room Four" is the first short story in the collection Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales by Stephen King. It was first published in the anthology Robert Bloch's Psychos in 1997 and appeared in King's anthology Six Stories the same year. It was adapted into a short film in 2003. It is also part of TNT's Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King series in the summer of 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Source
The plot is based on the set-up of classic short-story "Breakdown" by Louis Pollock, originally published in Collier's Magazine in 1947, in which the protagonist is paralyzed in an auto accident, and must prove that he is alive. At one point in the King story, the protagonist explicitly thinks about the television version of "Breakdown. "Breakdown" appeared on television twice, in 1955 and 1985, both times on Alfred Hitchcock Presents. See Breakdown on IMDB
[edit] Plot
Howard Cottrell awakes from some form of unconsciousness to find himself laid out in an autopsy room. As the doctors prepare to begin, Howard struggles to come to grips with what is happening.
After realizing that he is not dead, he deduces that he is in a paralysed state, and struggles to somehow inform the doctors of this fact before they cut into him.
While prepping Cottrell's body, the doctor in charge, Katie Arlen, finds shrapnel wounds around his nether regions. While she is absent-mindedly examining these, another doctor rushes into the room to inform them that Howard is still alive. Katie looks down - to find herself holding Howard's erect penis.
In a humorous afternote, Howard explains that he was possibly bitten by a very rare snake, causing the death-like paralysis. Another one of the doctors discovered that same snake in his golf bag and was promptly bitten. It is presumed that he will recover. Howard adds that he and Katie dated for a while, but broke up due to an embarrassing problem in the bedroom: he was impotent unless she was wearing rubber gloves.
[edit] Note
Supposedly Howard was bitten by a snake called a Peruvian boomslang. However, boomslangs only live in Africa; the word literally means "tree snake" in the Afrikaans language. In his notes at the end, King says he got the name from Agatha Christie: the snake was featured in one of her famous Hercule Poirot books. King said that boomslang was just a word he liked, and that he "doubt[ed] like Hell" that a Peruvian one existed.
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
- The short story was adapted as an hour-long episode of the Turner Network Television mini-series Nightmares and Dreamscapes in 2006, along with "The Road Virus Heads North".
- The music video of Incubus's song, Anna Molly, has a similar plot line.
[edit] Background
King writes: "At some point I think every writer of scary stories has to tackle the subject of premature burial, if only because it seems to be such a pervasive fear"
[edit] References
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
[edit] External links
- Autopsy Room Four at the Internet Movie Database
- Stephen King Short Movies - Autopsy Room Four Trailer
