The Dead Zone

Johnny Smith wakes after nearly five years in a coma, and touch now brings him visions of things he could not otherwise know. Some details stay out of reach in what he calls the dead zone. I think that is the unsettling part: imagine being shown something dreadful, then having to live with the bit you cannot see. I would be keeping my hands firmly to myself.

There is a serial killer in Castle Rock and a rising politician, Greg Stillson, whose path matters to Johnny's story. That gives the fear more than one shape. There is the immediate worry of what a vision might reveal, then the slower dread of knowing something may be coming and wondering what anyone can do with that knowledge. It sounds like a lot to carry when you have only just woken up.

I would put this on the reading pile for a quiet, properly dark evening, when you want tension that stays in your head rather than a quick jolt. If the thought of an ordinary touch becoming a source of terrible information bothers you, this may be a three-out-of-five sort of scare with a much longer aftertaste. Make a drink first. Johnny has enough to deal with without me forgetting mine.