The last 3 pages of a Stephen King book keep tricking people, here's the pattern I found

I noticed this after rereading The Stand for the 3rd time last year. Everyone talks about the abrupt ending with the hand coming out of the ground, but nobody points out that King does this same thing in like 5 of his books. It's not random weirdness, it's him building dread so the final scene feels like a gut punch. People on here keep saying the ending was a mistake or a cop out. It's not. The pattern is the main character thinks the threat is gone, then something tiny and ordinary shows up and ruins that. Think the kid with the lighter in It, or the dog in Cujo. That's the point. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. Has anyone else mapped this out across his earlier works, like Salem's Lot or The Shining?

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leo10715d ago

Damn, you just blew my mind with that, totally see it now!