10 Most Insane Stories Stephen King Ever Dreamt Up

3. The Mangler

Not only is The Mangler a short story (collected in 1978's Night Shift) about an industrial laundry press possessed by a demon that begins killing people (insane enough, frankly), for some odd reason, it was adapted by Tobe Hooper into a full length feature film - that led to two sequels! All this for a story that is basically about industrial accidents. So how did The Mangler come to life? Well, the demon within was accidentally summoned when medicine containing nightshade, blood, and a live bat get into the machine. Yes, it takes some pretty heavy suspension of disbelief to accept that all three things made it into the laundry press within a small window of time. Of course, suspension of disbelief is a moot point by the end of the story, when the darn thing has ripped free of its moorings and is out hunting fresh victims on the streets. Still, the most insane thing - besides a free roaming killer laundry press - is that this weird little tale led to three movies.