You Like It Darker Stories — Content Guide for Parents
Found in this book
- ViolenceSupporting
- Scary contentCentral
- ReligionBrief
Not found
- Race & culture
- Climate
- Sexual content
- Gender roles
Couldn't confirm
- Profanity
- Gender & orientation
- Profanity: The sources do not quote the book's wording or say how much swearing it contains.
- Gender & orientation: The sources describe only some of the twelve stories and do not mention any LGBTQ+ characters or relationships.
Content themes
Factual summary of themes present in this book. No opinion — just the facts.
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Summaries and source quotes for every theme.
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Religion
PRESENTContains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.
About this book
WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR HORROR
FINALIST FOR THE 2025 LOCUS AWARDS
“Stephen King knows You Like It Darker and obliges with sensational new tales” (USA TODAY): From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King, an extraordinary collection of stories that are “a master class in tension and full of King’s dark humor” (The New York Times Book Review)—now with a bonus story, “The Music Room.”
“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel “the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind,” and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.
“Two Talented Bastids” explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny’s most catastrophically. In “Rattlesnakes,” a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In “The Dreamers,” a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. “The Answer Man” asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.
“King’s skills as a storyteller remain undimmed” (The Minnesota Star Tribune) and his ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace is unsurpassed. “The titular darkness promised is as riveting and all-consuming as ever” (New York magazine). You like it darker? You got it.
Frequently asked questions
Is You Like It Darker Stories appropriate for a 7-year-old?
Several stories involve harm to people, including a young man who is kidnapped and tortured, a murdered young woman, and boys killed by rattlesnake bites. This is an adult horror collection with ghosts, supernatural threats and menace in many of its stories.
Does You Like It Darker Stories have violence?
Found (Supporting): Several stories involve harm to people, including a young man who is kidnapped and tortured, a murdered young woman, and boys killed by rattlesnake bites.
Does You Like It Darker Stories have scary content?
Found (Central): This is an adult horror collection with ghosts, supernatural threats and menace in many of its stories.
Does You Like It Darker Stories have religion?
Found (Brief): In the story 'Finn', the main character's grandmother tells him God will give him good luck to balance his bad luck.
Does You Like It Darker Stories have race & culture?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does You Like It Darker Stories have profanity?
Couldn't confirm: The sources do not quote the book's wording or say how much swearing it contains.
Does You Like It Darker Stories have climate?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does You Like It Darker Stories have sexual content?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does You Like It Darker Stories have gender roles?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does You Like It Darker Stories have gender & orientation?
Couldn't confirm: The sources describe only some of the twelve stories and do not mention any LGBTQ+ characters or relationships.
