The Science of Stephen King

The Black Death was a plague that ravaged Europe, Africa, and Asia from 1346 to 1353. With an estimated death toll between seventy-five and two hundred million people, this bubonic plague devastated entire continents. Symptoms include fever and chills, headache, muscle pain, general weakness, and seizures. The disease is caused by a bacterial strain called Yersinia pestis which is found in animals throughout the world and is usually transmitted to humans through fleas. The risk of plague is highest in areas that have poor sanitation, overcrowding, and a large population of rodents. This disease is not eradicated but the total number of cases per year is down to one to two thousand.

The flu pandemic of 1918 infected over five hundred million people in the world and it’s estimated that around fifty million people died from it. The strange and scary thing about this particular flu was that it killed those who were normally very healthy and hearty while it is the very old and very young who are normally the most in danger. In order to try to reduce the spread of the disease, many businesses and schools were closed for periods of time. People were discouraged from gathering in large groups and from spitting on the sidewalk. In Minnesota, a Dr. Delmore in Roseau County advised eating squirrel soup! The symptoms of this particular strain of flu could come on quickly and some people died within the same day that they began experiencing them. In 2008, it was discovered why the disease was so deadly. “A group of three genes enabled the virus to weaken a victim’s bronchial tubes and lungs and clear the way for bacterial pneumonia.”6

The 20 percent death rate of the 1918 flu pandemic vastly exceeds a typical flu which kills less than 1 percent of those infected.7

HIV/AIDS is considered a pandemic and has killed over thirty-six million people since 1981. The symptoms include rapid weight loss, recurring fever or profuse night sweats, extreme and unexplained tiredness, prolonged swelling of the lymph glands in the armpits, groin, or neck, diarrhea that lasts for more than a week, sores of the mouth, anus, or genitals, and pneumonia. New treatments and education have helped lower the death rates from this horrific disease and have helped those who live with it have a better quality of life.

While in the midst of the coronavirus panic, it’s interesting to note that the medical community is aware of how big a problem a modern-day pandemic can be. According to an article in Medical News Today, “It can take months or years for a vaccine to become available, because pandemic viruses are novel agents. Medical facilities would be overwhelmed, and there could be shortages of personnel to provide vital community services, due to both the demand and illness.”8 Only time will tell what this current health crisis will hold for the future of our world but in the meantime, stay well, dear reader, don’t forget to wash your hands, and curl up with a good book.

CHAPTER SIX

Nightshift

Stephen King released his first short story collection in 1978 with Nightshift. Nine of the twenty stories featured in the book had appeared in publications throughout the 1970s. With his popularity rising, students began approaching King about adapting his short stories into plays or short films. He approved the policy of the “Dollar Baby,” which allows the creator to adapt his work for the price of $1. Numerous works have been created over the years through this program, giving filmmakers a unique opportunity to work with the Master of Horror’s fiction.

Gray Matter

Surveys conducted at the Monell Chemical Senses Center found that nearly 100 percent of females and 70 percent of males experienced a food craving in the past year.1

One of the short stories in Nightshift was adapted for the screen on the television show Creepshow in 2019. “Gray Matter,” which was first published in 1973, takes place in the evening during a snowstorm. Richie Grenadine is a recluse who hasn’t appeared in public for a while. He sends his son to the local convenience store to pick up his beer but this evening, Richie’s son seems worried. The group of men at the store decide to deliver the beer to Richie themselves so they can get an idea of what is happening in the home. They discover that the beer Richie has been drinking has turned him into a horrible beast.

There are over seven thousand beer breweries in the United States.