It can be said that 2024 has been a very rich year for Stephen King fans. The author's latest book – the collection You Like It Darker – arrived in May, Mike Flanagan's The Life Of Chuck premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, Gary Dauberman's Salem's Lot is now available to stream with a Max subscription, and multiple upcoming Stephen King movies and TV shows went into and/or completed production. As though all of that goodness weren't enough, though, we also have an exciting first: King has written his first original animated short, and it has arrived online just in time for Halloween.
I reported in last week's edition of my Stephen King-centric column The King Beat that the animated short was on the way, but an official release date had not been announced. Titled Lily, the video is part of a YouTube anthology series called Dark Corners that has assembled talented genre storytellers to tell spooky tales intended for younger viewers. Kate Siegel is one of the co-creators of the series, and she is credited as the director of King's contribution (and one can also recognize her voice as the narrator).
Lily is the story of a third grader named Robert who has the misfortune of having the sadistic Miss Sidley as his teacher at school. He is a shy kid, and when he needs to excuse himself to go to the bathroom in the middle of class, his cruel instructor uses it as an opportunity for cruelty. When he is finally excused to relieve himself, things go from upsetting to scary, as Robert makes a terrifying discovery in the boy's room.
While there are dozens and dozens of Stephen King movies and TV shows, this is actually only the second time that King and the medium of animation have come together. Lily is his first time writing an original animated short, but his story "Survivor Type" was adapted as one of the two segments in A Creepshow Animated Special in 2020 (featuring the voice of Stand By Me's Kiefer Sutherland). Should you care to give that a watch after you check out his new creation, you can get instant access to it with a Shudder subscription.
There are seven Dark Corners shorts in total including Stephen King's, and each one features a different animation style. The other videos are written by Kate Siegel, Paul Tremblay, Mali Elfman, Alanah Pearce, Krsy Fox, and Nightmare On Elm Street legend Heather Lagenkamp. At just under 10 minutes, King's story is the longest, and they are designed to help younger audiences get ingratiated into the horror genre, so binging the entire run could make for fun family entertainment this evening after trick or treating is done.
