The Last Rung on the Ladder
Encyclopedia
"The Last Rung on the Ladder" is a short story by Stephen King
, first published in King's 1978 collection Night Shift
.
. He recounts one fateful day long ago when the two were children, playing in their family's barn. They had a game where they would take turns climbing to the top of a very tall ladder in their barn, and leap off into a huge haystack.
On one of his sister's turns, the rickety old ladder broke, leaving her dangling desperately to the ladder's last rung. He desperately piled hay below her, and when she couldn't hang on any longer he told her to let go and she did. The hay broke her fall and saved her life, but he was astonished when she told him that she hadn't looked down before letting go, and didn't know about the hay. She simply trusted him to save her.
He tells of how the intervening years were not kind to her, and how he was too wrapped up in his own affairs to come to her when she needed him. The story ends as he reads the final letter she had written to him a couple weeks before she jumped off a building to her death; one that would have made him realize how desperately she needed him to save her again.
. It is also the town next door to Gatlin, the location of "Children of the Corn
" and also part of Cell. "1922"
, from Full Dark, No Stars
also takes place in Hemingford Home.
Directed by Lucas Stewart, the film has had a large amount of support from the community as well as the New England School of Communications (NESCom). The screenplay adaptation was written by Godfrey Taylor and produced by Michael Magilnick and Joe Giordano.
Production finished in early May. There is a special presentation of the film that will be shown in Bangor, ME on Husson campus in November of 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBOxn4SMpjY
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 King's 1978 collection Night Shift
Night Shift (book)
Night Shift is the first collection of short stories by Stephen King, first published in 1978. Many of King's most famous short stories were included in this collection.-Stories collected:-Details:...
.
Plot summary
The protagonist (Larry) is burdened with deep guilt and regret after discovering that his estranged sister has committed suicideSuicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. He recounts one fateful day long ago when the two were children, playing in their family's barn. They had a game where they would take turns climbing to the top of a very tall ladder in their barn, and leap off into a huge haystack.
On one of his sister's turns, the rickety old ladder broke, leaving her dangling desperately to the ladder's last rung. He desperately piled hay below her, and when she couldn't hang on any longer he told her to let go and she did. The hay broke her fall and saved her life, but he was astonished when she told him that she hadn't looked down before letting go, and didn't know about the hay. She simply trusted him to save her.
He tells of how the intervening years were not kind to her, and how he was too wrapped up in his own affairs to come to her when she needed him. The story ends as he reads the final letter she had written to him a couple weeks before she jumped off a building to her death; one that would have made him realize how desperately she needed him to save her again.
Connections to other books
Hemingford Home is the town that Mother Abagail lives in in The StandThe Stand
The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It demonstrates the scenario in his earlier short story, Night Surf...
. It is also the town next door to Gatlin, the location of "Children of the Corn
Children of the Corn
"Children of the Corn" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March 1977 issue of Penthouse, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.- Plot summary :...
" and also part of Cell. "1922"
1922 (novella)
1922 is a novella by Stephen King, published in his collection Full Dark, No Stars .-Synopsis:1922 is a first-person account by Wilfred James, the story's unreliable narrator. He writes a lengthy confession for the murder of his wife, Arlette, in Hemingford Home, Nebraska, in 1922.Wilfred owns...
, from Full Dark, No Stars
Full Dark, No Stars
Full Dark, No Stars, published in November 2010, is a collection of four novellas by the author Stephen King, all dealing with the theme of retribution...
also takes place in Hemingford Home.
2011 Film Adaptation
Students of the New England School Of Communications in Bangor, Maine produced an updated film adaptation.Directed by Lucas Stewart, the film has had a large amount of support from the community as well as the New England School of Communications (NESCom). The screenplay adaptation was written by Godfrey Taylor and produced by Michael Magilnick and Joe Giordano.
Production finished in early May. There is a special presentation of the film that will be shown in Bangor, ME on Husson campus in November of 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBOxn4SMpjY