First Time Reading New Stephen King Story -- "Willie the Weirdo" from YOU LIKE IT DARKER

[@alicenolfi2095]

“You want death? Get a mouthful.” Grim as can be. Then again, I wouldn’t want my death to become a child’s spectacle, either.

[@ashleyedwards6036]

Grandpa tells the story like Grandpa Simpson. "I tied an onion to my belt... Was the style at the time."

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

LOL!

[@Elle--lc7ep]

I want to say this comment wins for many reasons...mostly because you reference the Simpsons AND you have a bloody GIR for your icon!! But mostly because it's funny.😆

[@ashleyedwards6036]

@@Elle--lc7ep Thanks. 😁

[@anxioussamurai9017]

My big takeaway was how cool it was that Grandpa really did get to see a topless Cleopatra.

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Right? He's seen so much, and yet he still enjoys the simple pleasure of picking roast beef from his teeth XD

[@daniellewillis2767]

Reference to Pennywise in the potato clown ...and Willie flaunts himself outside a sewer grate on a rainy day....AND there are three minor bullies.

[@Mjmjmj66]

I caught that too

[@1tarawho]

I absolutely love Kings short stories!! Direct to the point and always good!! I got hooked on his short stories when I was in 5 th grade and still re read them often..

[@sebswede9005]

Yeah, he was a weirdo, that Willie. That boy ain't right. Because sometimes dead is bettah.

[@julierobinson3633]

The 'repeating tic' is the Grandpa (and eventually Grandpa as Willie) touching his face between his nose and his top lip. He does it constantly - and it is even the clue to the possession at the end! That 'repeating tic' is literally the key to the whole story at the end!

[@schizoidboy]

I kind of wonder if the Grandpa wasn't prepping Willie for this event and that Willie was more of a willing participant in the matter.

[@davidj.thompson]

I have that collection and, at story's end, it appears Grandpa was grooming him, so to speak.

[@-Reagan]

So, grandpa WAS a time traveler after all, he just kept switching the luggage 🧳

[@diesel4125]

Loved it! I was rather pleased that Willy got “replaced” so to speak. He wold have made a terrible teenager

[@LindaB651]

Well done! I cooked a father's day breakfast in bed for hubby, and cleaned up, all while listening to your wonderful video. Happy Father's Day!

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Hope everyone's having a great day!

[@zedorian6547]

Real talk: I’m REALLY enjoying this channel so far and I am most definitely looking forward to further uploads

[@thetheatredoc8550]

Grandpa as evil is up for interpretation. If Willie was heading toward serial killer superstardom, might being possessed by Grandpa and just taking one "life" at a time be the better path?

[@thecassandraeffectvsperilo6754]

*I'm ToTALLY doing a binge watch on ALL your videos* 😂 I subscribed to you like 11months ago *BUT I NEVER get notified of any of your videos coming out,* sooooo now I'm just getting caught up! You've taken some VERY liberal twists and turns in your content BUT I mean that in a REALLY positive, fantastic and genuine way! I can't imagine how much work goes into these connected prose 🤯 Seriously, *keep it coming* 💜

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Welcome back! Hopefully you'll get notifications more often :)

[@johneurek8181]

I’m Willie and King is grandpa! Awesome connection.

[@TishaRed]

This is the second time I've heard this story, snd the first time, I managed to miss that the grandfather soul moves into Willy. 😳

[@pudding7876]

You should maybe also add kids getting bullied/beat up on the card! 😁

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

That's another good idea!

[@romeoalpha68]

Read this book . Its really good . Several stories in this book . I think my favorite was Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream or The Answer Man . Great book .

[@davidj.thompson]

Very much like "Grandma" although the ending is more of a surprise! Also, the ending of your "Sometimes They Come Back" podcast almost made me levitate out my chair!

[@michaelshamman7780]

Gramma anyone? Also, does anyone else think Willie would have turned into a psychopath like Patrick Hockstetter until his grandfather intervened?

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Yes, definitely the bones of "Gramma" in this tale... Which is funny, because that was by chance the last read-along video we did, so it was fresh in my mind...

[@doriangrey9702]

Omg. Gramma. 😮

[@ryancoulter4797]

Of all the 80s TZ episodes that have plots similar to future SK stories (A Matter of Minutes/The Langoliers, Profile In Silver/11-22-63) didn’t think there’d be one cribbed from the TZ episode written by King himself.

[@eve3857]

I was thinking the same thing

[@juliashenandoah3965]

No, he is lacking the deep sadism and satisfaction coming from torturing small animals making them squeal for entertainment and making them feel fear and pain for his entertainment, psychopaths are all about power plays and sadism and enjoy the total control about torture and pain and death of animals (and later in life people.) His curiosity sounds more like being a bit in the high functioning asperger spectrum. Plus he is also lacking the constant strong urge to set small fires (for example trashcans or car tyres) and he also does not like destroy things that belong to others in general, which would be an indicator for the very similar sociopathy. He is just curious about morbid things - like many people are about the topic of death, but they would never admit that to themself because it is somehow frowned by society to have any morbid curiosities. Another indicator for Willie being unproblematic later in life is that he only bonds with his grandfather. A narcissistic psychopath would be very charming and bond with almost anyone (but also loosen these ties very quickly because you are either on the psychopath´s side or absolutely against him with no grey zones). So Willie not befriending literally anyone and being the super chaming jock and top of the food chain ins his class having hundreds of friends only to play them out against each other with intrigues and constant lying is also a good indicator for a healthy mind. Willie is no charming lying people-pleaser only living to utilize and prey on other people and also no pathologic liar in general which is a proof that he is also not at home in the psychopathic borderline or psychopathic narcissist end of the dark triade. So don´t worry about Stephen King having been too autobiographic here about his early life when describing little Willie in this story ;) my prognosis is he will become an interesting (but in no way dangerous and brutal and sadistic) character later on in life.

[@rhondaray6488]

Grandpa comes across as a body snatcher. He switched bodies with the kid, and has probably done so for thousands of years.

[@khher1979]

Isn't that just like Gramma?

[@daniellewillis2767]

Definitely getting some Hockstedder vibes from Willie AND Grandpa....also wouldn't be surprised if Grandad had seen Dussanders work first hand in WW2, or heard about it from HIS father or an older brother or uncle. I suspect Grandpa secretly had the same enjoyment of hearing about -or seeing firsthand- Dussander's "gooshy" doings...

[@onekthmatt]

My theory is that "grandpa" didn't die that night. Roxie and Mother go to check on him, and he's still alive, but still inching toward the big one. So Mother takes him to the hospital, like she said she would. He doesn't have "the virus", but as a precaution, the staff puts him in a refrigerated truck. He lives out the morbid fantasy he prescribed to some other old person, and freezes to death.

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Ooh, that's creepy... I love it!

[@offdutyenglishmajor9924]

One of these days, we will get a KINGO. One of these days...

[@gametheorymedia]

Another good job, here! As a potentially-helpful aside, I would suggest the slight 'expansion' of two of the Kingo squares: 1) The 'verbal tic' box should, I think, include physical gestures as well (in this case, the significantly-repeated rubbing of the upper lip), and, 2) the 'chambray workshirt' square should, I think, rather read 'chambray workshirt AND/OR engineer boots' :P In any case, keep up the good work!

[@diesel4125]

Ah! I thought the same thing. The lip rubbing should count as a repetitive tic.

[@Mymloch]

King paying homage to good old Lovecraft... Sort of a "Thing on the Doorstep" and "Case of Charles Dexter Ward" thing happening...

[@SingingSealRiana]

Though charles dexter ward had a different mechanism...those two are my faborote lovecraft stories, probably because they contain sympathetic characters 😅

[@Leslie12.66]

I enjoyed King's collection of short fiction. I got more out of this tale listening to your reading and analysis. Thanks!

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@anaiswinter9893]

Can anyone tell me where the illustrations come from? Willies pictures in particular fascinate me.

[@mikeyc9282]

Ah-ha! This spirit travels from person to person over the centuries.

[@joshuahoover6841]

Hey! Glad I'm up!

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Me too!

[@blueturtle-vb7jd]

Hello. Will you be reading/reviewing Cycle of the Werewolf? Thank you.

[@Queen.AnneBoleyn]

Now, this is my kind of book 📖 Creepy is the BEST.

[@MP-fh4xo]

I love your work! It’s so fun and imaginative!

[@Elle--lc7ep]

uh-oh, now I can't stop picturing the characters from Rick and Morty acting out the story while you're narrating! LOL

[@devonniewalker2675]

Here for it!!

[@Shadowfae69-cf9ux]

Good read. Thank you.

[@Dumpsterfiregrace]

Grampa at Gettysburg 😂☠️

[@robinhood2454]

I love it!!! Thank you

[@Goldie-Ro]

My favorite part about this story didn't occur to me until about an hour after I'd read it. It's implied that the traveler jumped from the grandmother (who died), into the grandfather. The father doesn't like the grandfather, and the grandfather stopped talking to the father after the grandmother died. That suggests they had a different relationship before her death. That, plus the late adoption of the father by the grandparents also implies that the grandmother intended to have a child of her own to inhabit, but couldn't. The adopted father was an intended target, but something went wrong, and so the traveler had to make an emergency exit into the grandfather.

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

I love this theory!

[@doriangrey9702]

Thank God. Please post more often if you can.

[@Stephenkingstan1]

I just got this book and I really like the You Like it darker fine so do I quote!

[@fistofthe1stben704]

Less than three minutes in and I went damn, where’s my “sexualizing an underage girl character” square?

[@arlesthegreat]

Becoming dim: the dragons eyes/ gunslinger/ talisman. Get that kingo

[@Beansareamagicalfruit]

Love the old man voice sounding like jim carry 😂

[@veedejames721]

👍😵‍💫😆 interesting. On a happier note Happy Father's Day.🤗🙂👋👣. Vee 👾

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Yeah, I wanted to get this in before Father's Day, LOL...

[@timsmalley7432]

The illustrations are really good. Maybe Grandpa has had past lives

[@glassandhoney]

Loved the kingo too

[@The_Original_Cujo]

I think for You Like It Darker you could add a new square to the Kingo board …Mentions Covid

[@melissacross5525]

Your voice is so soothing I excuse any and all interruptions of the reading. Btw, I noticed that the sound effect you use to transition to the bingo card is the same sound of transitioning scenes on Malcolm in the Middle. Nice!

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

LOL, is it really? I actually had no idea... I found it in an assortment of transition sounds on youtube!

[@MikoMoJo]

Excellent work! 👏🏾 LooKING forward to others from You Like It Darker (I do) this summer 😍. I finished it and loved it. ❤

[@Kyrrdis]

The stories remind me of the “Uncle B.S.” stories Tim Wilson used to tell.

[@nightshadeii9248]

You forgot the classic “super racist character” King trope.

[@00vie80]

And “describing children’s genitalia and what not”

[@messinalyle4030]

In the first paragraph, you missed your chance to include "references to breasts, even those of a pubescent" on your Kingo card.

[@Mjmjmj66]

Yeah King gives off the Pedo vibe

[@erickelm4974]

The Norman Rockwell-esque' depiction of the characters actually has "Roxy"looking... slightly older than 12... at least during the dinner scene.

[@teebee9232]

Thanks!

[@zedorian6547]

This is going to be a fun ride! Also. Are you going to tackle Stephen King’s Rose Red? I know its a mini series so im not sure if its in this channel’s wheelhouse

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Yes, we will eventually get to it... but we might tackle Storm of the Century first!

[@zedorian6547]

Can’t wait!

[@juliashenandoah3965]

Awesome a Stephen King book club with you discussing the stories? May I join? :)

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Of course! Welcome to the Club!

[@julianf147]

It’s true I’m from NY they did keep refrigerated trucks for dead body’s it was so many from all ages….i was able to see inside one of those trucks

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Yikes... Was it as disturbing as it sounds? :(

[@Dumpsterfiregrace]

10:03 So I was on Willie's side til the firefly thing. That...thats a bit unsettling. Before that he reminded me of a childhood friend lol odd but good kid. Turned into a awesome tattoo artist and still collects skulls to this day. 27:27 Roxie is definitely a brat.

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

After thinking about it, I wondered if I was too hard on Willie... He might have turned out to be a top notch mortician!

[@Dumpsterfiregrace]

@@stephenkingbookclub1054 That was one of my thoughts, too. (Not you being too hard on him) Better than a serial killer. Or he could've gone the Dexter route and been both!! 😂

[@michaelp772]

Drawing a clown in his mash potatoes could be a weak IT reference. Also, when Willie was watching the dead mole going down the stormdrain, I was waiting for a Pennywise reference.

[@vonniedemers5683]

The repetitive tic is the way the grandpa rubs his upper lip and when he dies the boy starts doing it.

[@alissahansen9439]

Please explore Lisey's Story ? There are many of us who love it. Thank you ❤

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Oh, we'll definitely get to it... if it be Ka's will.

[@the250mikec]

Super awesome

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Thank you so much 😀

[@SunnyProductions7]

So fun

[@daniellewillis2767]

Grandpa might be a Territories Man...

[@boldbearings]

Good read 😮😮

[@pondponder]

Enjoying the channel. Could Willie's clown in the mashed potatoes be a reference to Pennywise?

[@Dr.Thirteen-bb1ub]

If everyone thought Willie was weird before, wait until he tells his Civil War stories non-stop.

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

LOL!

[@johnw8578]

This reminds me of the JUMPERS from the Wild Card series of books edited (and some written by George R.R. Martin), In the book series, there is an alien virus that basically creates super heroes in our world. Anyway, there are a group of teens that are able to "swap" bodies with others (it's their power). I always thought that was a cool idea -- to be able to swap bodies with someone else.

[@KimberlyPinkney]

I am digging the Kingo card LOL! Wow, I thought you would have counted the clown face for IT , the grandpa wasting away to Thinner, or the desire from Stand By Me where the kids want to see a dead body. The sister looking down on him as a character doing evil things because she is evil, I mean, yeah he is weird, but she, jumped at the chance to make him sad about grandpa's fate, she has nothing at all nice to say about her brother and doesn't even try to do anything nice with him.

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Glad you like Kingo... Hopefully we'll have a couple more Kingo videos this summer!

[@jacquelinemacabra9672]

I wonder if the Grandpa-as-Willie will imitate Willie's personality to avoid suspicion, or act like himself. I mean, the grandpa was weird, but nowhere near as unhinged as Willie.

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

I have a feeling the family will assume that Willie is slightly less weird, LOL!

[@bluntmcbeefcake]

Really like your videos.

[@DWSmith-x6c]

"The Fifth Step," originally published in HARPER'S a few years ago, is the first of his pieces I read in its first release *before* it was collected, in this case of course in YOU LIKE IT DARKER. Just to...throw it out there. Edit: How the hell is this video not getting a copyright strike lol.

[@timsmalley7432]

H.P. Lovecraft "Suitable Flesh"

[@scottmaclean8198]

cemetery hill? great name grandpa, sign me up!!!

[@HiDesert004]

Please do “The Dreamers” next!

[@keymaster430]

There is another thing that I've noticed that he uses in several of his stories (though, not in this one). I'm curious to know if it's mentioned as much as I think it is. It's simply a .38 special revolver. Several of his stories mentions someone having or even using one. What do you think?

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

It does seem like that's a go-to gun for a lot of characters...

[@Poeknow]

I adore this channel and all of the stories. However, I wish the story would have come with a warning. Covid wasn't that long ago. Some of us are still grieving great losses.

[@RoostedFilms]

I enjoyed the read & your input. Story seemed kinda lazy with an already used ending.

[@sweetpea782]

THAT boy is the soul of the boy that past and pop is that vellr with his buddies who tried to look out for him 12 and in war.....

[@momsberettas9576]

I think soul transfer counts an an esp power no?

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Yeah, someone mentioned that -- so I think we could fill in another Kingo square!

[@StephenSinclair-d6n]

In the event of the yellow stone crap....drown in claret.

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

LOL!

[@xionitex]

Freezing to death, not because of the virus-freezer scene in The Stand. Check that box.

[@LyraStitchery]

Grandpa smoked three cigarettes a day. Wouldn't that count as a drug addiction?

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Hmm, that's a good point!

[@BeautifulEarthJa]

I did think you were going to mention the cigarettes 😂

[@brianrunyon266]

I've heard some compare Willie to Patrick from It, a lot of the same, shall we say, quirks.

[@SSheets]

He says the tin cup on tge flag boy was made by his partner at the time somebody somebody. I wonder if that might not be Gramma’s name. If I find out I’ll update.

[@dantedecastrolichi2987]

TAK

[@rebeccaimmel4160]

I’ve listened to the official audiobook … I prefer your narration to Will Patton’s. Someone should tell SK to just have you do the audiobook narrations going forward.

[@andreanguyen9926]

I think the tone just seems odd for a story set in 2020. Kids don’t “sound” like that. Maybe kids never sounded like that, but I’ve accepted it in older settings because how would I know. It could be that I’m incredulous because i have kids these ages. I’m new to King, but I feel tone should change to reflect new societal standards and voices. I have started reading some of King’s short stories thanks to this channel, so I appreciate the work you’re doing !

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Many other folks have said that Stephen King writes kid characters as if they are permanently in the 1950s, LOL -- so you aren't alone :) But for me, as a reader, since I grew up in the 70s and 80s, it's how I remember talking as a kid (even if that memory may be false), so it doesn't usually take me out of the story.

[@-Reagan]

I think you could have checked “A character is slowly going insane" as Willy might’ve been a weird kid who had little empathy and was fascinated with death but, he wasn’t doing anything illegal or even enough to get locked up in a mental hospital for life. However, I’m willing to bet he would have gone on to a complete psychopath.

[@jama1155]

You caught, "Ah HA" as a verbal tick but missed the physical tell (which King uses as evidence of the body swap). "He stroked the skin between his lip and nose with one finger." Also; PLEASE add MAGICAL NEGRO to the KINGO CARD. 🧙‍♂

[@SingingSealRiana]

I have massiv struggles with the magical negro trope in stephen king stories, cause I find it really hard so see racial stereotypes, when the exact same thing is done with non poc charactets too! black people aint any more magical then everyone else with a shining or such in the kingverse. Dick is the magical negro mentor, but danny is way more powerful, jack had it too, the whole losersclub had it with only one of them being black. Carrie is not black, nor the protagonists from firestarter.... I feel like it is really really not about race when it occurce unrelated to race most of the time. Especially for the shining, trauma is the main factor. Its weird that the fact he writes diverse characters becomes a "look out, he uses racist stereotypes" thing

[@insurancecasino5790]

I think the kid was set up by grandpa the whole time. He chose that kid, as he chose all the others. They are more susceptible and wide open for the exchange. Grandpa could even be a hero of sorts. Maybe he stops armageddon through people like the kid.

[@SisterCasendra]

Comparing this one and "Gramma", I think it makes me re-interpret the other story. Willie is replaced by Grampa for sure, but the boy in "Gramma" is still himself. I think it's the demon that his grandmother invoked through her witchcraft that takes that boy.

[@michaelp772]

When Jake was run over by Balazaar, he could also taste his own shit.

[@rangerchief8004]

Could the clown he was making in his mash potatoes refer to Pennywise ?

[@blazerbeak]

How do you become a Member?

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Thanks for asking! You should be able to become a member with this link: kzbin.info/door/AK49PjWJweW9DQ0inu1n0wjoin

[@shannonkey9926]

So it is very much like apt pupil. Ol grampy used to be a cop in selma sounds an awful lot like old guy used to be an ss officer. And the morbidly curious kid.

[@darnes12]

reference to another story, you said so.

[@kaykween-b4k]

All right. Crazy theory. What if grandpa groomed Willie to switch bodies with him upon his death?

[@stephenkingbookclub1054]

Whoa... Could be.. I wouldn't put it past the old man!

[@texasbluegrass567]

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