Case Study: 1408 by Stephen King AKA “The Door Was Crooked”

Lately I’m totally obsessed with Stephen King and his short story 1408. This is a story about writer Mike Enslin and his stay in a haunted room at the Hotel Dolphin in New York City. For anyone who hasn’t read 1408 yet, I highly recommend it. It really illustrates Stephen King’s understanding of the writing craft.

The reason I love this story so much is because it’s actually scary. Fear is one of the more difficult emotions to elicit in writing. The descriptions have to be on point such that the reader can properly imagine what’s going on and thus feel scared.

So without giving too much away, I’m going to pick apart this story a bit to understand why it’s so effective.

Part 1: Building Anticipation & Suspense

The first part of 1408 details Enslin’s meeting with the hotel manager, Mr. Olin. Olin tries very hard to dissuade Enslin from staying overnight in room 1408. Their conversation is a great set up for what will ensue in the room. Not only do we learn more about Enslin and why he’s doing this, but Olin also details exactly how the room is haunted and what will happen to Enslin if he spends the night in it. We basically get the story before getting the story, which builds spooky anticipation in the reader.

The reason this is so effective is because King starts with small details in order to build the suspense and anticipation. For example, the key to room 1408 is still an old fashioned hotel key.

“The Dolphin went to a MagCard system in 1979, Mr. Enslin, the year I took the job as manager. 1408 is the only room in the house that still opens with a key. There was no need to put a MagCard lock on its door, because there’s never anyone inside; the room was last occupied by a paying guest in 1978.”

Not only that:

“It is just as well that 1408 has never needed a MagCard lock on its door, because I am completely positive the device wouldn’t work.”

These are the first details the reader finds out about this haunted room. They are small, but mighty. The devil is in the details, as they say. I haven’t watched or read too many horror stories, but when I have I’ve found the most effective way to build suspense is to start small.

Then Olin continues in trying to dissuade Enslin by telling him what happened to some of the maids who have stepped foot inside the room.

“There were several who had weeping fits, one who had a laughing fit—I don’t know why someone laughing out of control should be more frightening than someone sobbing—but it is.”

Again, King is building expanding layers on top of each other.

So this is how the story starts, which I find extremely compelling. Before we even get to the actual story, we are treated to a detailed account of all the things that could possibly happen to the main character. This is effective because we already start to worry for him and are now anticipating all the terrible things Olin talked about.

Part 2: Setting Up Sights & Sounds

Part 2 of the story is interesting because we get two perspectives of what happens to Enslin in the room. We get a first-hand account following Enslin in real time, and we also hear what happened in the room after the fact through his mini tape recorder. I really like this narrative POV because sound is an extremely important element in horror, which might not normally be so strong in a written story. However, by making that the frame of reference here, King brings it to the forefront of events.

Once again, King starts off slowly, building up the scary details.

“His problems with 1408 started even before he got into the room. The door was crooked.”

This may seem like a small, insignificant detail, but I can’t tell you how much I love it. As I mentioned, the smallest little nothing detail can be eerie, or creepy, or frightening given the right context. And based on part 1 of the story, we already know that shit is going to hit the fan. This is only the beginning.

The tape recorder POV and narration adds another layer of unsettling eeriness. I think tape recorders are such a popular trope in horror movies because sound without sight activates a primal fear in us. We are visual creatures and feel comfortable when we can see what’s around us. Take that away, and we are left defenseless.

“It is not the voice of a man at work, but of a perplexed individual who has begun talking to himself without realizing it. The elliptical nature of the tapes and that growing verbal distraction combine to give most listeners a distinct feeling of unease. Many ask that the tape be turned off long before the end is reached.”

So there’s that.

The room itself is a regular looking hotel suite. Here again, King builds up the descriptions with small details that layer on top of each other for a terrifying experience. For example, there are three framed pictures on the wall and all three frames are crooked. Then Enslin feels the wallpaper on the walls and notes that the texture is off. Once Enslin has settled into the room, the eeriness escalates.

“There was a little night-table to either side of the bed. On one was a telephone—black and large and equipped with a dial. The finger-holes in the dial looked like surprised white eyes. On the other table was a dish with a plum on it.”

Sounds like your average setting description, right?

“Mike looked around the bedroom with wide, frightened eyes. There was no plum on the endtable to the left of the bed. No plate, either…He turned, started for the door leading back to the sitting room, and stopped. There was a picture on the wall. He couldn’t be absolutely sure…but he was fairly sure that there had been no picture there when he first came in. It was a still life. A single plum sat on a tin plate in the middle of an old plank table.”

Eeep!

One of my favourite passages in the story occurs at this point, but it’s quite long so I won’t quote it here. It’s just too good to give away. So read the story!

As 1408 progresses, sight and sound begin to take on an even more important, creepy role. The room begins to melt before Enslin’s eyes! By this point, we’re already all wound up. And the sound!

“The telephone continued to grind and spit, the voice coming from it now the voice of an electric hair-clipper that has learned how to talk: ‘Five! This is five! Even if you leave this room, you can never leave this room!’”

AH!