Stephen King teams up with long-time friend and award-winning author Richard Chizmar for the first time in this original, chilling novella that revisits the mysterious town of Castle Rock.There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974, twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong—if time-rusted—iron bolts and zig-zag up the precarious cliffside. Then one day when Gwendy gets to the top of Castle View, after catching her breath and hearing the shouts of kids on the playground below, a stranger calls to her. There on a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small, neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat… The little town of Castle Rock, Maine has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told—until now.

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers.?His recent work includes Elevation, The Outsider,?Sleeping Beauties?(cowritten with his son Owen King), the Bill Hodges trilogy End of Watch, Finders?Keepers,?and Mr. Mercedes?(an Edgar Award winner?for Best Novel and an AT&T Audience Network original television series). His novel?11/22/63 was named a?top ten book of 2011 by?The?New York Times?Book Review?and won the?Los Angeles Times?Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works?The Dark Tower?and?It?are the basis for?major motion pictures, with It now the highest grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient?of the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the?2014 National Medal of Arts, and the?2003 National Book Foundation Medal for?Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.?He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife,?novelist Tabitha King.Richard Chizmar is the founder/publisher of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Cemetery Dance Publications book imprint. He has edited more than thirty anthologies and his fiction has appeared in dozens of publications, including Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. He has won two World Fantasy awards, four International Horror Guild awards, and the HWA’s Board of Trustee’s award.