What Stephen king story am I thinking of

[thinking123]

I think it was a novella or a short story. A man goes back to to home town for a funeral (I think). Whilst driving away he finds himself transported back twenty something years to the night his girlfriend was murdered (I think in a fair ground)

It's driving me mad trying to find it

Hideaway - Dean Koontz

I think the other one some are thinking of, but not the OP - don’t know that - is Funhouse, which is also a DK. Four teenagers are trapped in, well, a funhouse, with a psychotic killer.

I love Stephen King and am fairly familiar with his books and this rings no bells. Glad someone worked as it's probably not one of his!

I'm also a huge fan of King especially all the short stories & novellas but this doesn't ring a bell. I don't remember any story where the protagonist has murdered girlfriend. As many have said above, could be Dean Koontz? Or maybe Christopher Pike if it the book was from young adult years? The plot somehow doesn't sound typically King, as his "small town" stories tend to be very situational, creeping horror. Having the main character deal with the murder of a partner in flashback form seems somehow too direct for King. Time travel is also rarely used as a plot device unless it's explicitly in a sci-fi or fantasy setting.

The only vaguely similar SK short story i can think of is "You know they got a hell of a band"

Bag of Bones I think.

From the “vibe” of the OP, I think the OP might be talking about “Strawberry Spring”. It’s at least thirty years since I read it, but the guy goes back to his college town after twenty years, the scene of a series of gruesome murders whilst he was at college. I’m sure you can guess the rest. There is a “fair” but not the kind with rollercoasters, I recall it being more like a winter fair type of thing.

Thank you all. Think it is indeed strange highways

Love this one!

Thats good 😀

id absolutely consider myself a fan (of his earlier stuff at least) and I didn’t recognise it at all

pleased you found it

This thread

@JesusInTheCabbageVan

Perhaps we should take all the half remembered plots and combine them into one novel. Would be interesting reading....

So weird. As I read the title I thought "imagine if it was a Dean Koontz instead"

I'm sufficiently freaked out.

The weird thing is I'm
Not a dean Koontz fan as a rule.

Good story though

But while we are on the Stephen king topic. Wish he would write a sequel to the stand

NOOOO! The Stand doesn't need a sequel, it would only ruin it.

Can you tell this is one of my favourite books ever. Don't get me started on the TV series from the 90's (I think) where they ruined half the characters! The only one that was exactly as I imagined him was Gary Sinise as Stu Redmond.

@Farmageddon agree, the stand is one of my absolute favourites but I don't think a sequel would be a good idea. Especially now that his books have slipped in standard (it makes me sad to write that!), just finished Billy Summers and it was not good.

The recent TV series of the stand was appallingly bad, I didn't get the sense that the team enjoyed the book.

The stand is my favourite book. Just would love to know how all the characters are getting on 20-30 years after the book finished

Really dissapointed that it isn't Mrs. Todd's Shortcut, a favorite of mine which immediately came to my mind (which, upon reflection, only shares the vague theme of driving a car and some sort of timely distortion).