Night Shift — Stephen King's first collection of stories — is an early showcase of the depths that King's wicked imagination could plumb. In these 20 tales, we see mutated rats gone bad ( Graveyard Shift ); a cataclysmic virus that threatens humanity ( Night Surf, the basis for The Stand ); a smoker who will try anything to stop ( Quitters, Inc. ); a reclusive alcoholic who begins a gruesome transformation ( Gray Matter ); and many more. This is Stephen King at his horrifying best.