"The Raft" is a horror short story by Stephen King. It was first published as a booklet included with Gallery in November 1982 and was collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew. Four college students – Randy, Deke, Rachel, and LaVerne – swim to a wooden raft on a remote Pennsylvania lake in October as a final outing before winter. Randy notices a mysterious black substance floating on the surface that appears to chase the girls as they reach the raft. Deke and LaVerne ridicule Randy's suspicions until Rachel remarks on the beautiful bands of colors on the patch's oily surface and touches it. The black patch pulls her into the water, coats her, begins to dissolve her and finally, wholly envelops her.
Adaptations (1)
The Raft was adapted into a 1987 film.
Creepshow 21987 · film · 92 min · dir. Michael Gornick · IMDb ↗Three macabre tales from the latest issue of a boy's favorite comic book, dealing with a vengeful wooden Native American, a monstrous blob in a lake, and an undying hitchhiker.
