Author Language English Publisher Doubleday | Country United States Published in Night Shift | |
Genre(s) Horror, Science fiction short story | ||
"I Am the Doorway" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March 1971 issue of Cavalier magazine, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.
Contents
Plot summary
The story relates a disabled former astronaut's account of the terrifying change he undergoes after being exposed to an extraterrestrial mutagen, during a space mission to Venus (similar to the canceled Manned Venus Flyby, but using a "Saturn 16" rocket). Arthur, the narrator, begins the story with his hands bandaged, and complains of a terrible itching both after the mission and currently. The change takes the form of numerous tiny eyeballs which break out on his fingertips. These eyeballs act as the titular "doorway" for an alien species, allowing them to see into our world, but, seeing from an alien perspective, they view humans as horrifying monstrosities which, Arthur perceives, they fear and hate intensely.
Soon, the alien presence is not only able to see through this doorway, but take control of Arthur's shattered body, using him to commit terrible murders. In a desperate attempt to maintain his humanity, Arthur douses his hands in kerosene and sets them on fire, only to find out that once the doorway has opened, it cannot be so easily closed. He manages to make the alien presence go away for nearly seven years. But after the eyes reappear on Arthur's chest, he reveals that he plans to kill himself with a shotgun to prevent the aliens from committing any more atrocities.
Film adaptation
In 2009, the Czech director Robin Kašpařík obtained rights from King to adapt his short story into a non-profit short film. The film, Jsem brána (I Am the Doorway), was shot using the fulldome technology. As of 2015, the film was in postproduction.