The Ledge
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| "The Ledge" | |
| Author | Stephen King |
|---|---|
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror short story |
| Published in | Night Shift |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Publication date | 1978 |
The Ledge is a short story by Stephen King, first published in 1978 in the compilation Night Shift.
[edit] Plot summary
This story plays out as a sort of a dark modern parable of vengeance. King employs a first person narrator and opens with the protagonist (named "Norris") in the clutches of a wealthy, cruel criminal overlord ("Cressner") intent on exacting revenge on Norris, who has been having an affair with his wife. Instead of killing him outright, Cressner reveals his penchant for striking wagers, and offers a chilling ultimatum: if Norris is able to circumnavigate the titular 5-inch ledge surrounding the multistory building which houses Cressner's penthouse, he can have Cressner's wife, along with a large sum of money, no strings attached. If he refuses to take the bet, he'll be framed for heroin possession and never see his lover again.
Seemingly without any other choice, Norris accepts the wager, and proceeds to carefully make his way around the building's cold, windswept exterior. King is without the typical contraptions of horror in this regard, but is still effective in conveying the terror and grim determination in the narrator as he negotiates various obstacles (including, ironically, a solitary pigeon) and near-falls. The narrator completes the harrowing ordeal, only to discover that Cressner had already murdered his unfaithful wife. Mad with rage, Norris overpowers Cressner and his bodyguard and takes the bodyguard's gun, and turns the tables on him, proposing to spare his life if only he is able to complete a trip around the ledge. However, as Cressner starts out, Norris reveals to the reader that he has been known to welsh on bets...
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
It was dramatized as a section of the film Cat's Eye, starring Robert Hays and Kenneth McMillan. In the film version, the protagonist does not have to renege on the bet, as the pigeon attacks Cressner, who loses his balance and falls to his death.
[edit] Trivia
The Jack Finney story "Contents of a Dead Man's Pockets" contains a similar man-trapped-on-a-ledge situation.
