From ‘The Mist’ to ‘The Monkey’: A Guide to Stephen King’s ‘Skeleton Crew’ Adaptations

Presented by Neon’s The Monkey, Bloody Disgusting is celebrating this Friday’s release of Osgood Perkins’ highly anticipated horror with Stephen King Week. Yesterday, Luiz H. C. catalogues his cursed objects. and today, Rachel Reeves dusts off other adaptations from King’s Skeleton Crew.

For some, it was Michael J. Fox holding a copy of Skeleton Crew for his 1988 READ campaign poster that first inspired a read of the Stephen King short story collection. For others, the killer, record-breaking trailer for Neon’s new film The Monkey, written and directed by Osgood Perkins, instigated fingers to flip through pages. Whatever the inciting incident that introduced one to Skeleton Crew, the fact remains that it is a certified Constant Reader classic and a treasure trove of cinematic, eerie, and unsettling tales.

Since the initial release of Skeleton Crew in 1985, several stories have found their way to the screen, with varying degrees of success. Now, with the hype running hot, the latest Skeleton Crew adaptation promises to breathe new life into one of King’s most chilling short stories. As we await the release of Perkins’ latest this Friday, let’s take a look back at the other adaptations from Skeleton Crew—the hits, the misses, and the hidden gems stuffed away in the back closet that have brought King’s words to the big and small screen.

“The Mist”

For good reason, “The Mist” is perhaps the best-known story in the entire Skeleton Crew collection. Haunting, evocative, and downright scary, “The Mist” perfectly encapsulates everything Stephen King does best. It is, therefore, not surprising that this novella has spawned multiple adaptations—including one of the best to ever do it.

But long before Thomas Jane stole hearts only to break them in Frank Darabont’s silver screen adaptation, it was the monitor screens of 1985 computers that “The Mist” first set out to conquer. Developed by Angelsoft, Inc., The Mist DOS game was an interactive narrative fiction adventure game released on a good old floppy disk. Officially licensed by Sai King, the game failed to live up to the source material in both execution and story. However, it stands as one of the early examples of King’s continued willingness to explore new and uncharted territory with his stories and how they are released.

To this day, Darabont’s aforementioned 2007 feature film adaptation remains one of the best King adaptations ever. Featuring a killer cast of familiar faces like Toby Jones, Marcia Gay Harden, Andre Braugher, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, and fan-fave Thomas Jane, Darabont’s film beautifully translates King’s words to a visual medium. Even more remarkable, the movie’s shocking new ending still sticks the landing and has become a treasured deviation by Constant Readers and King himself.

Then, in 2017, a new television series version of “The Mist” was released, where else, but Spike TV. Why Spike, you may ask? Great question. And it’s one many Constant Readers are still baffled by. In fact, everything about this one-season, 10-episode series remains baffling. Not even a cast that included Frances Conroy (American Horror Story), Alyssa Sutherland (Evil Dead Rise), and Dan Butler (Frasier) could save this series from boring itself.

“Here There Be Tygers”

Originally published in the 1968 issue of Ubris magazine, it would take over 50 years for “Here There Be Tygers” to receive the adaptation treatment. Kate Siegel (The Life of Chuck) ended this long-running waiting game on October 31, 2024. Retitled Lily, this new animated short is directed and narrated by Siegel and features new music from TFU (The Flanagan Universe) regulars, The Newton Brothers.

“The Raft”

Despite paling in comparison to its predecessor, 1987’s Creepshow 2 made several very smart decisions. For one, it reunited the dynamic horror duo that was George A. Romero and Stephen King. Like another classic sequel, Lethal Weapon 2, the magic was back. Even if it was in a slightly diminished capacity.

The following wise move Creepshow 2 made was to snatch up “The Raft” and give it a prime slot in the anthology film’s runtime. Perfectly balancing classic creature feature trademarks with the camp-slasher vibes of the 80s, “The Raft” burned itself into many formative young horror fan minds. Though delivering an alternate ending to King’s original story, both sendoffs succeed in leaving nothing but chills in their wake. Do you love? Let us know in the comments.

“Word Processor of the Gods”

Originally published in the January 1983 issue of Playboy, “Word Processor of the Gods” is a heady exploration of the limitations of technology, the poisonous power of regret, and the corrosive nature of power. Dark and unsettling, this potent cocktail of ideas made the story a prime candidate for a visual adaptation. Not surprisingly, George A. Romero recognized the story’s potential and brought the idea to life on November 25, 1984, in Season 1, Episode 8 of Tales from the Darkside. Featuring Bruce Davison (Willard) in the lead role, “Word Processor of the Gods” remains an adaptation worth chasing down and paying heed to.

“Survivor Type”

When Shudder rebooted Creepshow in 2019, and adopted a more traditional television series format, there was no question the series would include some stories pulled from the Stephen King vaults. One such tale the series dug up is the downright gnarly “Survivor Type”.

Featured in A Creepshow Animated Special, the decision to execute this particular story in a fully animated comic book style was brilliant. Featuring voicework by Kiefer Sutherland and Fayna Sanchez, the segment recounts the harrowing tale of a surgeon who winds up shipwrecked with nothing but a dead woman’s body for companionship. As his limited supplies quickly dwindle, the surgeon takes measures so drastic that even King has said they go “a little bit too far.” Unsettling, to say the least, the animated format definitely helps keep a healthy distance between the more unsavory parts of the story a healthy distance away from reality.

First published in 1984 in Weirdbook magazine, “Gramma” boasts some of the more stealthy adaptations spawned from Skeleton Crew. First came an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1986, which featured Barret Oliver (D.A.R.Y.L.) as young Georgie, and Piper Laurie (Carrie) as his mysterious and witchy grandmother.

Next came a full-feature film adaptation in 2014. Directed by Peter Cornwell (The Haunting in Connecticut) and produced by Blumhouse and McG, this Universal Pictures film flew under the radar by being released direct-to-video under the title Mercy. Starring Chandler Riggs (The Walking Dead), Frances O’Connor (The Conjuring 2), Mark Duplass (Creep), and Dylan McDermott (The Clovehitch Killer), there are definitely worse King adaptations that one could watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Honorable Mention: The Dollar Babies

A special shoutout is needed for the dozens and dozens of Dollar Baby films that Skeleton Crew has produced and the crews that made them. There have been so many that it was, frankly, impossible to cover them all here. This incredible program created by King allowed filmmakers to adapt one of his short stories for one whole dollar. A true gift to many aspiring or new filmmakers, the Dollar Baby program came to an end in December 2023, but the plethora of films it produced will live on forever in our hearts, in our minds, and on YouTube.

“The Monkey”

Director, writer, and actor Perkins has seemingly always been professionally attracted to the darkly offbeat. With previous works that include films like Gretel & Hansel, The Blackcoat’s Daughter, and the 2024 marketing marvel Longlegs, the thread of black humor and left-of-center approach consistently runs through his projects. Therefore, when it was announced that he would bring “The Monkey” to life in collaboration with James Wan under his Atomic Monster banner, the union just felt right. Easily one of the best recent King adaptations out there, Neon’s 2025 adaptation of The Monkey proves there is still fertile King material to mine if done well.

The Monkey drums into theaters this Friday. Get tickets now and enter to win an exclusive 1/50 resin sculpt made from the original Monkey.