His third collection of short stories is not quite as good as the previous two (Night Shift and Skeleton Crew), but still has a few bangers: The End of the Whole Mess (good-natured apocalypse), Dolan's Cadillac (implausible but satisfying revenge story), and The Ten O'Clock People (bat creatures are taking over the world and only smokers can see them - better than it sounds!). It also has some duds, like Sneakers (ghost story about sneakers in a bathroom stall) and You Know They Got a Hell of a Band (dead celebrities).

And some weird stuff like Chattery Teeth, Rainy Season (but the rain is man-eating frogs), and The Moving Finger. ( )

A bunch of short stories. "My Pretty Pony" my favorite. If my granddaughter asks me to tell her a story I will try to say this one. I liked the bad bat men and women that appeared in a few of the stories. "The Doctor's Case" was fun to read. The one to skip: "The Moving Finger."
8,091 members; 3.69 average rating; 11/14/2023 ( )

As with most of Stephen King's short story collections, there are a number of stories here that I love, some I'm indifferent to, and one or two I didn't connect with.

However, Nightmare and Dreamscapes is probably my 3rd favorite collection of his, right behind Night Shift and Skeleton Crew. Many of the stories -- in particular, "The Moving Finger", "The Ten O'Clock People", "Suffer the Little Children", "Dolan's Cadillac", and "Chattery Teeth" -- have been hugely influential on my writing. Similarly, stories like "The End of the Whole Mess" and "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" have a sneaking eerieness that I didn't totally appreciate in high school, but now have a hard time shaking. ( )

A wrong turn on a lonely road lands a wayward couple in Rock and Roll Heaven, Oregon, where there's no escaping the free nightly concert....A novelty toy becomes an unexpected and terrifying instrument of self-defense....An ex-con pieces together a map to unearth a stolen million dollars--but at what price?...A private investigator in Depression-era Los Angeles is finding his life unraveling as he discovers the shocking truth of who he really is....A third-grade teacher is willing to dig deep in order to exact revenge for his murdered wife.... These are just some of the haunting scenarios to be found in this classic collection--spellbinding tales from the darkest places and the unparalleled imagination of fiction's master storyteller.

Dolan's Cadillac--5 🌟 (p.11)--Really the only reason I reserved this book from the library. The only reason I looked it up? Because I saw the tale-end of the movie and got intrigued.
La venganza es un plato que se sirve frío....A gangster is observed committing a crime by a man's wife, and though she's placed in the Witness Protection Program, she is wiped out--by dynamite as she starts her car. The husband takes much trouble and long years planning his vengeance. Yomm...sweet!
The End of the Whole Mess--3 stars (p.73)--Do you want to be Happy or do you want peace? ( )