10 Weirdest Stephen King Stories You Need To Read

The Jaunt is a short story first published in Twilight Zone Magazine, then as part of King's Skeleton Crew collection.

It takes place in the 24th century, and centres around the titular “Jaunt” - a technology which allows humans to teleport across vast distances, including to other planets. The central character, Mark Oates, is preparing to relocate to a colony on Mars along with his family.

The story begins with Oates recounting the events of the discovery of the Jaunt to his children: the scientist who discovered the teleportation technology noticed that upon teleporting conscious lifeforms, strange and terrifying side effects had been observed, which is why everyone must undergo anaesthesia before Jaunting.

The Jaunt is essentially an episode of Black Mirror that came over two decades before the show. It is a horrifying jaunt (pun intended) into the unfamiliar territory that technology is capable of taking us to, and, while it is only a handful of pages, it is masterfully crafted.

Scary, thought-provoking and amusing, it ticks all of the boxes.