Gramma (short story)
Encyclopedia
"Gramma" is a short story
by Stephen King
first published in Weirdbook magazine in 1984, and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew
. Certain characters/creatures/unearthly powers featured in the works of H.P. Lovecraft also appear in this story, making it a story set in the Cthulhu Mythos
.
. George's mother must go into the city, an hour away, to visit Buddy in the hospital
, but someone must stay home to watch her own mother, a huge, cantankerous, ancient, bedridden woman. George reluctantly volunteers.
As George sets about the kitchen after his mother leaves, he begins to think about his "Gramma" and recalls the first time she came to the house. He had been six years old, and the old woman demanded that he come to her that she could "give him a hug." George was terrified of this concept, and he cried endlessly. His mother eventually pacified Gramma, promising that he would hug her "in time."
George waits for his mother to return. As the hours pass, strange thoughts - events he had witnessed earlier
- begin to surface in his mind. He recalls overhearing his mother's siblings begging her to care for the old woman: "You're the only one who can quiet her down, Ruth." Eventually, Ruth was forced to leave San Francisco and move to Castle Rock, Maine to care for their mother. George also recalls that Gramma had been kicked out of her church for owning particular books. He finally remembers that the woman had been infertile
for a long while, any pregnancies she did achieve ending in miscarriage
s or stillbirth
s and it was only after being excommunicated that she became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy child.
George suddenly hears a scraping sound on sheets; he imagines Gramma's long, ragged fingernails rubbing against her bed. He enters to check on her and watches the obese, white, almost formless woman for a few moments. Quite suddenly, he recalls other memories: his Gramma uttering strange words
one night, and relatives dying the next morning. George abruptly realizes that his grandmother is a witch, having gained dark powers from reading the forbidden tomes.
As George makes this realization, he realizes that his Gramma has died. Though terrified, he checks her pulse and holds a mirror before her nose, making sure. Once he is convinced, he prepares to make a phone call to the doctor, only to find that the phone is dead. George opts to wait for his mother to come home, and thinks of the praise he will gain for handling the situation so calmly...until he realizes that he did not cover his grandmother's face. He imagines his brother tormenting him endlessly for this "cowardly" action.
Determined, George enters the dead woman's room and places a sheet over her flabby face. As he does, her hand suddenly wraps around his wrist and holds it for a few moments. George flees the room, injuring his nose in the process. As he tries to rationalize the movement, he hears groaning from the next room, as though the corpse was trying to get off of the bed. He then hears his Gramma calling him: "Come here, Georgie...Gramma wants to give you a hug."
George is terrified and races from the room. He hears the enormous woman stumbling after him, and even guesses that as a witch, she waited until she was alone with him to die. His Aunt Flo calls, and he tries to explain the situation as Gramma enters the kitchen. Aunt Flo tells him that he must invoke the name of Hastur
and tell Gramma to "lie down" in his name. Gramma knocks the phone from his hand, and George screams the phrase repeatedly: "You have to lie down! In Hastur's name! Lie down!" Gramma wraps her arms around him.
The story jumps to an hour later, with George sitting calmly at the kitchen table. When Ruth returns, George runs to her, explaining that Gramma died. His mother fearfully asks if "anything else happened." George denies it and goes off to his room to sleep. It is implied that Gramma has possessed George, turning the boy into an evil warlock
, as he used a spell to strike down his Aunt Flo with an aneurysm
. The story ends with George grinning wickedly, imagining the kind of torture he will be able to inflict on his brother.
of The New Twilight Zone
in 1986; the screenplay was written by Harlan Ellison
. Some of the voice over for "Gramma" was done by Piper Laurie
, who had previously starred in the first film adaptation of King's novel Carrie
.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
first published in Weirdbook magazine in 1984, and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew
Skeleton Crew
Skeleton Crew is the second collection of short fiction by Stephen King. The first collection, Night Shift, was published seven years prior in 1978. Different Seasons, a collection of four novellas, was published between the two in 1982. Skeleton Crew was originally published in hardcover form by...
. Certain characters/creatures/unearthly powers featured in the works of H.P. Lovecraft also appear in this story, making it a story set in the Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a shared fictional universe, based on the work of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft, who used the name of the creature Cthulhu - a central figure in Lovecraft literature and the focus...
.
Plot summary
An eleven-year-old boy named George Bruckner is at home with his mother when the two find out that elder son Buddy, age thirteen, has injured his leg playing baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. George's mother must go into the city, an hour away, to visit Buddy in the hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
, but someone must stay home to watch her own mother, a huge, cantankerous, ancient, bedridden woman. George reluctantly volunteers.
As George sets about the kitchen after his mother leaves, he begins to think about his "Gramma" and recalls the first time she came to the house. He had been six years old, and the old woman demanded that he come to her that she could "give him a hug." George was terrified of this concept, and he cried endlessly. His mother eventually pacified Gramma, promising that he would hug her "in time."
George waits for his mother to return. As the hours pass, strange thoughts - events he had witnessed earlier
Repressed memory
Repressed memory is a hypothetical concept used to describe a significant memory, usually of a traumatic nature, that has become unavailable for recall; also called motivated forgetting in which a subject blocks out painful or traumatic times in one's life...
- begin to surface in his mind. He recalls overhearing his mother's siblings begging her to care for the old woman: "You're the only one who can quiet her down, Ruth." Eventually, Ruth was forced to leave San Francisco and move to Castle Rock, Maine to care for their mother. George also recalls that Gramma had been kicked out of her church for owning particular books. He finally remembers that the woman had been infertile
Infertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
for a long while, any pregnancies she did achieve ending in miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
s or stillbirth
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
s and it was only after being excommunicated that she became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy child.
George suddenly hears a scraping sound on sheets; he imagines Gramma's long, ragged fingernails rubbing against her bed. He enters to check on her and watches the obese, white, almost formless woman for a few moments. Quite suddenly, he recalls other memories: his Gramma uttering strange words
Incantation
An incantation or enchantment is a charm or spell created using words. An incantation may take place during a ritual, either a hymn or prayer, and may invoke or praise a deity. In magic, occultism, witchcraft it may be used with the intention of casting a spell on an object or a person...
one night, and relatives dying the next morning. George abruptly realizes that his grandmother is a witch, having gained dark powers from reading the forbidden tomes.
As George makes this realization, he realizes that his Gramma has died. Though terrified, he checks her pulse and holds a mirror before her nose, making sure. Once he is convinced, he prepares to make a phone call to the doctor, only to find that the phone is dead. George opts to wait for his mother to come home, and thinks of the praise he will gain for handling the situation so calmly...until he realizes that he did not cover his grandmother's face. He imagines his brother tormenting him endlessly for this "cowardly" action.
Determined, George enters the dead woman's room and places a sheet over her flabby face. As he does, her hand suddenly wraps around his wrist and holds it for a few moments. George flees the room, injuring his nose in the process. As he tries to rationalize the movement, he hears groaning from the next room, as though the corpse was trying to get off of the bed. He then hears his Gramma calling him: "Come here, Georgie...Gramma wants to give you a hug."
George is terrified and races from the room. He hears the enormous woman stumbling after him, and even guesses that as a witch, she waited until she was alone with him to die. His Aunt Flo calls, and he tries to explain the situation as Gramma enters the kitchen. Aunt Flo tells him that he must invoke the name of Hastur
Hastur
Hastur is a fictional entity of the Cthulhu Mythos. Hastur first appeared in Ambrose Bierce's short story "Haïta the Shepherd" as a benign god of shepherds. Robert W...
and tell Gramma to "lie down" in his name. Gramma knocks the phone from his hand, and George screams the phrase repeatedly: "You have to lie down! In Hastur's name! Lie down!" Gramma wraps her arms around him.
The story jumps to an hour later, with George sitting calmly at the kitchen table. When Ruth returns, George runs to her, explaining that Gramma died. His mother fearfully asks if "anything else happened." George denies it and goes off to his room to sleep. It is implied that Gramma has possessed George, turning the boy into an evil warlock
Warlock
The term warlock in origin means "traitor, oathbreaker".In early modern Scots, the word came to be used as the male equivalent of witch ....
, as he used a spell to strike down his Aunt Flo with an aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
. The story ends with George grinning wickedly, imagining the kind of torture he will be able to inflict on his brother.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The story was made into an episodeGramma (The Twilight Zone)
"Gramma" is the first segment of the eighteenth episode from the first season of the television series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:...
of The New Twilight Zone
The New Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is the first of two revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1950/60s television series of the same name. It ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.-Series history:...
in 1986; the screenplay was written by Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
. Some of the voice over for "Gramma" was done by Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie is an American actress of stage and screen known for her roles in the television series Twin Peaks and the films The Hustler, Carrie, and Children of a Lesser God, all of which brought her Academy Award nominations...
, who had previously starred in the first film adaptation of King's novel Carrie
Carrie (novel)
Carrie is American author Stephen King's first published novel, released in 1974. It revolves around the eponymous Carrie, a shy high-school girl, who uses her newly discovered telekinetic powers to exact revenge on those who tease her...
.