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The Glass Floor
Charles Wharton wishes to see the place where his sister Janine died. Anthony Reynard, her husband, refuses to allow the room, which has since been sealed, to be re-opened.
Eventually, Charles will find a way to enter the room with the glass floor, and he'll quickly discover that not all is as it seems...
Eventually, Charles will find a way to enter the room with the glass floor, and he'll quickly discover that not all is as it seems...
7 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1967
3 people are currently reading
428 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,394 books888k followersStephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 11, 2020
Interesting early tale. I liked the reference to Poe's Black Cat and the hidden room subject. But the main motif and the title remain a bit too vague. I would liked to have known more details about the floor, why the woman fell from the ladder and why her husband acted that way. Is it a cursed room? To me there are to many questions open at the end. This isn't the King from later on. Fascinating to see how Stephen King improved in writing over the years. Liked the story in a way, but you can leave it out.
July 30, 2015
THE GLASS FLOOR:
Written in 1967, The Glass Floor was King's first published story, for which he was paid thirty-five dollars.
A very short, very good read.
***
CONNECTIONS, COINCIDENCES AND CHESTNUTS:
A room with a glass floor appears in King's 2002 teleplay Rose Red.
October 19, 2018
This was Stephen King's 1st ever short story that he was able to sell for cash, which dates back to 1967. It's not bad, though you can tell he still had a ways to go to hone his craft.
This story isn't collected anywhere, though you can read it for free at:
https://books.google.com/books?id=DXd...
This story isn't collected anywhere, though you can read it for free at:
https://books.google.com/books?id=DXd...
May 20, 2023
Read in Cemetery Dance #68.
First published in Startling Mystery Stories (Fall 1967).
Later reprinted in:
Weird Tales #298 (1990)
Cemetery Dance #68 (2012)
Best of Cemetery Dance (2020)
Night Shift (illustrated edition from Cemetery Dance
First published in Startling Mystery Stories (Fall 1967).
Later reprinted in:
Weird Tales #298 (1990)
Cemetery Dance #68 (2012)
Best of Cemetery Dance (2020)
Night Shift (illustrated edition from Cemetery Dance
September 11, 2022
Not one of Stephen King’s strongest tales, but as it was his very first sold short story, it does have some importance among his work.
(Also included as a “bonus story” in the Cemetery Dance illustrated edition of Night Shift)
(Also included as a “bonus story” in the Cemetery Dance illustrated edition of Night Shift)
January 28, 2024
King’s first published short story is as awesome as anything he did later 🙌🏻
January 16, 2025
Really solid! Can definitely see why this was King’s first paid and not self published work.
October 24, 2019
This is Stephen King's first sold story, sold to a magazine when he was 20 years old for $35. It is available from Cemetery Dance in a volume of short stories. It is the story of Wharton, a man who has come to the home of his sister to find out more about her untimely death. There he meets Reynard, her widower who states that Wharton's sister died from falling off of a ladder. This story is only about five pages but it is very effective.
April 9, 2021
Me ha gustado, he leído la versión de Weird Tales 298 de 1990, en ella Stephen King escribe una carta diciendo que ha permitido republicar esta historia con la esperanza de mostrarle a jóvenes escritores que ellos pueden mejorar y ser publicados, lo cual siempre es algo que me gusta ver.
La historia como tal es interesante, pero parece muy desconectada, sin embargo el final me parece que esta muy bien hecho y hace que valga la pena de leer.
La historia como tal es interesante, pero parece muy desconectada, sin embargo el final me parece que esta muy bien hecho y hace que valga la pena de leer.
April 24, 2023
The Glass Floor
The Glass Floor oozes the same air as the gothic stories of HP Lovecraft and Poe, it's ominous and gritty telling of the atmosphere is quite chilling yet homely at the same time. Painting a picture of dark and dreary corners, Stephen King superbly captured the strangeness and other-worldly nature of the infamous Glass Floor.
The Glass Floor oozes the same air as the gothic stories of HP Lovecraft and Poe, it's ominous and gritty telling of the atmosphere is quite chilling yet homely at the same time. Painting a picture of dark and dreary corners, Stephen King superbly captured the strangeness and other-worldly nature of the infamous Glass Floor.
March 12, 2023
Written back in 1967, The Glass Floor was the first story King ever had published. As King himself admits, the writing is a little awkward and clunky in the first half of this short story, but in my opinion, it ends very well and is definitely worth a read, if you can find it.
February 22, 2019
Кажется, Кинг накануне написания Стеклянного пола перечитал Майринка.
December 28, 2020
Just as Stephen King thought: I didn't like the start very must however the end was worth while.
July 3, 2023
A good early short story by King that really shows what’s to come in his writing.
November 8, 2023
A very short read but interesting to read the authors first published work
June 18, 2025
young king's tentative
dipping into influences
but there's something here
dipping into influences
but there's something here
Read
November 3, 2017Pretty cool to finally read King's first published short story. Not bad at all.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews