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I Know a Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours — Ghost Stories

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I Know a Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours

Name: I Know a Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours
Price: 21.99 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9798897320165

✍️ Stephen King

Reader Score

4.6

(2 reviews)

$21.99 ~~$26.00~~ Save $4.01 (15%)

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📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

A collection of dark short stories by Stephen King exploring terrifying everyday locations.

This book operates as a travelogue through twisting side streets and alleyways where darkness has eyes and teeth. Nat Cassidy serves as the guide for these destinations, which include a rest stop in the middle of the night and a dingy apartment. The novella Rest Stop anchors the collection, supported by original works some of which have never been published before. The stories focus on specific, isolated environments rather than general hauntings. Readers encounter a yoga retreat in the desert and a doctor’s office with lingering traces of distress. The structure moves from one dark detour to another, emphasizing the intrusion of horror into ordinary spaces. The tone remains consistently ominous, avoiding any sense of safety or resolution until the final moments.

Key Themes

haunted rest stops dingy apartments desert screaming

Literary Context

Published by Shortwave in 2026, this work continues the tradition of American horror fiction. It draws on the legacy of supernatural tales while updating them for contemporary readers. The inclusion of Rest Stop highlights its critical acclaim within the genre.

Stephen King

📚 all books by this author (530) →

Difficulty

●● Medium

Recommended For Fans Of

Clive Barker · Poppy Z. Brite · Shirley Jackson

👻

Ghost Stories

🏛 Shortwave 📅 2026 🌐 English 📔 Paperback ISBN: 9798897320165

📝 Description: I Know a Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours

Stephen King presents a collection of unsettling tales in I Know a Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours. This volume gathers original short stories alongside the Bram Stoker Award-nominated novella Rest Stop, which Esquire recognized as one of its Best Horror Books of 2024. The book functions as a guide through locations where shadows overpower the light, inviting readers into spaces defined by their eerie emptiness or hidden dread. The narrative journey includes a suspiciously empty gas station rest stop littered with googly eyes, a doctor’s office holding a bottle of booze and a tear-stained folder, and a tech millionaire’s haunted kitchen. Other destinations feature a Bible-quoting ventriloquist’s dingy apartment and a yoga retreat in the desert that is silent except for screaming. These stories draw on gothic and supernatural traditions, focusing on the terror found in mundane settings turned sinister. This collection suits readers who enjoy atmospheric horror and dark detours into the unknown. It may not appeal to those seeking lighthearted fiction or traditional ghost stories without modern twists. The text relies on vivid imagery of specific, isolated places rather than broad supernatural landscapes. Each story offers a distinct perspective on fear, culminating in a final image that leaves the reader questioning the safety of their own surroundings.

💎 Our verdict on I Know a Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours

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🩸

Horror Reads editorial team

Horror desk

This work functions as a guide through locations where shadows overpower light, inviting readers into spaces defined by eerie emptiness. The narrative journey includes suspiciously empty gas stations and haunted kitchens, drawing on gothic traditions to highlight terror in mundane settings. While the structure emphasizes the intrusion of horror into ordinary spaces effectively, it may not suit those seeking resolution or safety. The text relies heavily on vivid imagery of isolated places rather than broad supernatural landscapes. Readers expecting traditional ghost stories might find the modern twists unsettling. However, for fans of psychological horror and dark detours, the consistent ominous tone delivers a compelling experience that questions the safety of familiar surroundings.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

Readers who appreciate atmospheric horror and the intrusion of dread into ordinary spaces will find this collection deeply engaging. It appeals to those who enjoy navigating twisting side streets where darkness possesses eyes and teeth, guided by Nat Cassidy through destinations like silent desert yoga retreats and dingy apartments. The book offers a distinct perspective on fear through specific, isolated environments rather than broad supernatural landscapes. Those seeking lighthearted fiction or traditional ghost stories without modern twists should look elsewhere. This volume provides a consistent tone of ominous unease, making it ideal for enthusiasts of cosmic horror, vampires, and true crime aesthetics who value vivid imagery and the terror found in mundane settings turned sinister.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Horror Reads —

⭐ HorrorReads editorial review Editorial rating 4.6/5

★★★★★

Fans of atmospheric dread and King's later work will love this. If you prefer lighthearted whimsy or classic ghost stories without modern twists, look elsewhere.

Reader rating

4.6

Based on 2 reviews

Emily M.

April 10, 2026

A modern classic

First order from this shop. Genuinely unsettling in places, and it earns it without cheap tricks. The audiobook crowd will want the paper copy for the margins. Highly recommend.

❓ Frequently asked questions

It features original tales alongside the Bram Stoker-nominated novella 'Rest Stop,' offering a mix of lengths but unified by themes of isolation and eerie emptiness.

They are intensely unsettling, focusing on psychological dread and sinister transformations of ordinary places rather than gore. Expect vivid imagery and hidden terror in mundane settings.

📖 Who should read this

Fans of atmospheric dread and King's later work will love this. If you prefer lighthearted whimsy or classic ghost stories without modern twists, look elsewhere.

📜 Historical context

King continues his long tradition of invading the mundane with the macabre, echoing gothic roots where everyday settings conceal lurking terror. This collection bridges his classic supernaturalism with contemporary anxieties, proving that horror thrives not in haunted castles, but in sterile offices and isolated desert retreats, challenging readers to fear the familiar.