"The Mangler" is a short story 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 the December 1972 issue of Cavalier

Cavalier (magazine)

Cavalier is an American magazine that was launched by Fawcett Publications in 1952 and has continued for decades, eventually evolving into a Playboy-style men's magazine...

magazine, and later collected 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:...

.

Setting

"The Mangler" is set in an American town, and the action largely takes place in an industrial laundromat. Stephen King has stated that, among the many jobs he took to support his family before he became famous, he worked in an industrial laundromat.

Plot summary

A police detective investigating a sudden rash of grisly deaths caused by an industrial laundry press machine discovers that, through a series of unfortunate coincidences, the machine has become possessed

Demonic possession

Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...

 by a demon

Demon

call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...

. The story ends after the detective and his friend underestimate the demon's power; and in seeking to exorcise the machine, they instead goad it into ripping free of its moorings and prowling the streets in search of fresh prey.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

This story was adapted for the screenplay of a 1995 film (directed by Tobe Hooper

Tobe Hooper

Tobe Hooper is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the horror film genre. His works include the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre , along with its first sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 ; the three-time Emmy-nominated Stephen King film adaptation...

) of the same title

The Mangler (film)

The Mangler is a 1995 American and South African horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, based upon the Stephen King short story of the same name which appeared in his inaugural short story collection, Night Shift .-Plot:...

, though the brevity of the source material required significant additions not present in the original tale. The film, starring Robert Englund

Robert Englund

Robert Barton Englund is an American actor, voice-actor and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger, in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in...

 (of Freddy Krueger

Freddy Krueger

Frederick Charles "Freddy" Krueger is a fictional, horrifying character from the Nightmare on Elm Street series of horror films. He first appears in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street as a disfigured dream stalker who uses a glove armed with razors to kill his victims in their dreams,...

fame), was followed by two sequels, The Mangler 2

The Mangler 2

The Mangler 2 is a 2001 direct-to-video sequel to the 1995 film The Mangler. It features Lance Henriksen and Chelse Swain It abandons the original's premise of an industrial laundry machine possessed by a murderous demon, replacing it with a murderous, sentient computer virus taking over a school...

 and The Mangler Reborn

The Mangler Reborn

The Mangler Reborn is the 2005 follow up to the American horror film The Mangler in which the possessed machine from the first movie is bought by a repairman named Hadley . Hadley gradually becomes obsessed with the machine and, after awakening it with his blood and being "eaten" by it, is forced...

.