"The Green Mile" by Stephen King

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Stephen King is widely considered to be a literal king of the horror genre. Some of his best-known works include “It” (1986), “Carrie” (1974) and “The Shining” (1977). These are books with a lot of classic horror elements, including terrifying characters and copious amounts of death.  

Not all of King’s work is like big-screen scares, though. His 1996 novel “The Green Mile” is one of his less grotesque but more thought-provoking pieces, and it is a great read for this Halloween season. 

“The Green Mile” is set in Alabama, and the backdrop of 1930s race relations looms heavily throughout the entire piece. It starts with the assault and murder of twin girls, which is believed to have been done by John Coffey, a Black man found at the scene of the crime.  

However, as narrator Paul and his friends working at the prison Coffey is in find out, there is much more to John than they could have ever imagined. 

As with much of King’s work, there is an element of mystery woven throughout the plot. The entire point is to figure out who actually murdered the girls, something that Paul discovers but does not share until much later in the timeline. I thought I figured this one out pretty quickly, but I just kept second-guessing myself. It seemed far too obvious to be true.  

I would not dream of spoiling it. 

Paul is one of the most interesting narrators I have ever encountered in a book. Most of the work is told from Paul’s perspective during the time he knew John, about 60 years before when he was writing his book. 

There are some flashes of Paul as an old man, and these little chapters really give readers a sense of how haunted he is by many of his experiences. 

I would argue this is where the true fear factor of “The Green Mile” comes from – psychological scarring. There are very few elements of traditional horror within this story, even a limited number of on-page deaths, so the majority of the terror comes from traumatic experiences.  

For example, Dean, another of the prison guards, has a near-death experience with the story’s primary villain, William Wharton. The imagery of Dean being choked, threatened and imagining his children losing their father is something that sticks with readers as much as it sticks with other characters. 

What shines the most in this novel are the questions of life and death. John’s divine gift for healing means he can take even deathly wounds away from others and extend their lives – but what does that really mean for them? By the end of the story, Paul is a suffering man of over 100 years who has lost almost every important person in his life.  

Readers must ask, is Paul’s life better because he lived longer? Would it have been better and more natural for him to live outhis normal lifespan? 

I am not usually an emotional reader, but the end of this book actually made me cry. It is one of the most profound endings I have ever read, wherein Paul is philosophizing on life, death and karma. It is a scene that truly reminded me that not all fears are things that go bump in the night. 

If you decide to pick up this work, be warned that there are still some triggering subjects. Assault, graphic death and animal abuse are all present in this text, even though it is one of King’s lighter pieces. 

I think a work like “The Green Mile” can really change how people view the horror genre. King’s book gave me a run for my money when trying to figure out the crime, and it genuinely made me think about its subject matter. It may not be the typical Halloween ghosts and ghouls, but I give this story a 10/10.