You Like It Darker: Stephen King’s next short story collection includes the Cujo sequel Rattlesnakes

A year and a half ago, legendary literary master of horror Stephen King mentioned that he was writing a novella called Rattlesnakes, which he referred to as a sequel to his 1981 novel Cujo (buy it HERE), which was turned into a movie (watch the movie HERE) that King thought should have earned star Dee Wallace an Academy Award. Although the events of Cujo are referenced in other King stories, it has never gotten a direct follow-up – which makes sense, since it’s about a rabid St. Bernard dog that doesn’t survive past the final pages. But now Entertainment Weekly has revealed exactly how Rattlesnakes is connected to Cujo: the lead character happens to be Vic Trenton, whose wife Donna and son Tad were the characters trapped in a car by the rabid St. Bernard. They have also revealed that Rattlesnakes is going to be one of the twelve stories featured in King’s latest short story collection, You Like It Darker!

Here’s the full list of You Like It Darker stories:

“Two Talented Bastids”
“The Fifth Step”
“Willie the Weirdo”
“Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”
“Finn”
“On Slide Inn Road”
“Red Screen”
“The Turbulence Expert”
“Laurie”
“Rattlesnakes”
“The Dreamers”
“The Answer Man”

Entertainment Weekly also had some information on the stories: Included in the new stories is “Rattlesnakes,” a sequel to King’s 1981 novel Cujo, in which a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance — with major strings attached. The other tales include “Two Talented Bastids,” which explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills, and “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” about a brief and unprecedented psychic flash that upends dozens of lives. In “The Dreamers,” a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored while “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.

Scribner will be publishing You Like It Darker on May 21, 2024. The book’s cover can be seen at the bottom of this article. If you’d like to read an excerpt from Rattlesnakes, click over to the Entertainment Weekly link.

Are you a fan of Stephen King’s writing, and will you be buying You Like It Darker to read the Cujo sequel Rattlesnakes? Let us know by leaving a comment below.