10 Most Insane Stories Stephen King Ever Dreamt Up

7. The Long Walk

The Long Walk has quite the fan following among King aficionados. Originally published under King's pen name Richard Bachman, the Long Walk is an examination of our cultural fascination with winning it "all" - the lottery, game shows, all those contests that promise that instant life on easy street. In this case, it's a march, called the Walk, or Long Walk. Only, in this walk, if you fall behind, you die. It's an annual event: one hundred young men take part in the contest, where they must continue walking at a pace of no less than four miles per hour. Fall under the set speed for more than thirty seconds, get a warning. Get three warnings, and you are ticketed. Or, more accurately, your ticket is punched. By armed soldiers who follow the walk. There's no set finish line: the walk continues until only one boy is left - but he gets whatever he wants, for the rest of his life. However, due to the grueling nature of the walk, few winners seem to live very long. It's an insane concept, but what's more insane is that it works, even without a lot of time being spent on why America has fallen into the sort of chaos that would allow such a contest.