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Mrs. Todd's Shortcut: From Skeleton Crew
Ophelia Todd is always looking for a shorter distance between two points, so she just wrinkles the map a little--until she gets caught in one of the wrinkles.
Description: 1 audiocassette (78 min.) : analog, Dolby processed.
Description: 1 audiocassette (78 min.) : analog, Dolby processed.
Audio Cassette
First published May 1, 1984
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About the author
Stephen King
2,574 books886k 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 - 30 of 158 reviews
December 25, 2018
A few Christmases ago, one of my dear friends sent me this story, cut from the anthology, bound into a new little book, saying I would love it. I lost it behind a shelf for all of those months in between and only rediscovered it this Christmas. It felt appropriate to read it on the day she'd intended, even if it wasn't the year.
And I did love it. What a delightful tale on driving, time, magic, and regret.
And I did love it. What a delightful tale on driving, time, magic, and regret.
February 18, 2023
Story 3.5 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Dana Ivey
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Dana Ivey
March 18, 2021
OT: Mrs. Todd's Shortcut
Whimsical tale of a lady and her car gone missing.
The narrator tells us of his friend Homer who worked for the Todds, a wealthy couple living in Castle Rock. Homer once told him how Mrs. Todd, whom he was secretly in love with, got obsessed with finding more and more ways to shorten her drives from Castle Rock to Bangor. Until one day the route got impossibly short.
Homer initially had his doubts, but then he agrees to go on one of those trips with Mrs. Todd. And what he sees during that drive might not be of this world.
A story that really captures the imagination.
Who knows what we might find on all those roads less taken?!
Up next in my quest to read all the stories in the Castle Rock Cycle: The Dark Half
Whimsical tale of a lady and her car gone missing.
The narrator tells us of his friend Homer who worked for the Todds, a wealthy couple living in Castle Rock. Homer once told him how Mrs. Todd, whom he was secretly in love with, got obsessed with finding more and more ways to shorten her drives from Castle Rock to Bangor. Until one day the route got impossibly short.
Homer initially had his doubts, but then he agrees to go on one of those trips with Mrs. Todd. And what he sees during that drive might not be of this world.
A story that really captures the imagination.
Who knows what we might find on all those roads less taken?!
Up next in my quest to read all the stories in the Castle Rock Cycle: The Dark Half
September 26, 2023
3.49 stars
February 26, 2016
This story was my February 2016 pick for my full moon reading project. Skeleton Crew has some great stories: Gramma, The Monkey, The Reaper's Image, Uncle Otto's Truck and The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet are all excellent. Mrs. Todd's Shortcut is my favorite though.
I like what the story has to say about aging, commitment. romantic attraction and the tendency of "progress" to erase the weird, magical parts of the world from our minds. I'm also a sucker for a frame story. The way this story is structured takes it to the very top level of the form by giving it a narrative voice that's the perfect vehicle for a lush, creepy trip. Ayuh.
I like what the story has to say about aging, commitment. romantic attraction and the tendency of "progress" to erase the weird, magical parts of the world from our minds. I'm also a sucker for a frame story. The way this story is structured takes it to the very top level of the form by giving it a narrative voice that's the perfect vehicle for a lush, creepy trip. Ayuh.
December 25, 2020
Es una historia para pasar el rato. La premisa está bien y es como todo lo que escribe el señor King: se queda en el inconsciente para asociarlo con algo en el momento menos pensado.
March 11, 2022
3.5
I thought some of the descriptive lines were really nice, and the overall idea of the story is really cool, but it also really dragged for a short story. Especially the first half. Also, normally I like a story within a story but it was mostly confusing here. To be fair, I read it on my phone.
I thought some of the descriptive lines were really nice, and the overall idea of the story is really cool, but it also really dragged for a short story. Especially the first half. Also, normally I like a story within a story but it was mostly confusing here. To be fair, I read it on my phone.
July 29, 2015
Awesome story of literary quality. A strange love story, mystery and other-worldly phenomena.
July 19, 2024
Loved this story! Whimsical and magical with a smidgen of horror mixed in. Favorite so far.
December 3, 2025
One of the more interesting stories included in the Skeleton Crew anthology. It's about a wild pretty lady named Mrs. Todd that loves taking unusual shortcuts in her car, including pathways through the woods to reach her destinations at record times. She lives around Castle Rock and makes frequent drives through Derry. Both are creepy places where bad supernatural stuff tends to happen. The shortcuts that Mrs. Todd takes seem to be these nightmarish wormholes that defy time, space and reality, odd creatures and bizarre paranormal phenomena lurking just outside the speeding car whenever she's on one of her thrill rides.
The story is written from the perspective of someone that once took a ride with her on one of her shortcuts and it was so enthralling that it terrified him to his core and made him fall in love with the intense woman at the same time.
It's weird, romantic and creepy all at once. It has some subtle connections to Cujo, The Dark Half and IT.
The story is written from the perspective of someone that once took a ride with her on one of her shortcuts and it was so enthralling that it terrified him to his core and made him fall in love with the intense woman at the same time.
It's weird, romantic and creepy all at once. It has some subtle connections to Cujo, The Dark Half and IT.
July 18, 2017
The true Stephen King is readily found in the books he wrote between the eighties and nineties. There is something about the stories related to Castle Rock that I really enjoy and love returning to from time to time. The one sentence that made this story a solid four stars was the quick reference about Joe Camber being killed by his dog. Anybody remember who said "dog" is? King is a master of what he does and I will always be a fan even if I DON'T agree with his political views... :) :) :)
April 23, 2022
I was probably 12 or 13 when I read my first Stephen King book and it was Skeleton Crew. That’s where my love for this author began. One day soon I’ll reread the entire book again but this story from that collection was one that didn’t sound familiar to me so decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did. Great story that’s both magical and creepy and I could see this being made into a movie someday. Highly recommended.
May 16, 2017
Me gustó, no sabía exactamente hacia donde iba la trama y eso fue lo que me terminó por enganchar y la resolución me encantó. Si tiene esas divagaciones que me molestaban en La Niebla, pero acá no eran tan pesadas y al ser un relato más corto pasa desapercibido. Lindo viaje.
November 23, 2010
This is my absolute favorite Stephen King short story.
October 15, 2018
4 stars
September 5, 2022
so i didn’t totally get it, but it was a fun time nonetheless!! a fun little short story about time travel, parallel universes, cars, regret, and magic
✶ 3 stars
✶ 3 stars
May 25, 2022
Some say that Stephen King is not a literary writer. To a certain extent, this must be acknowledged; he does it so himself. When talking of Suffer the Little Children, he writes: "Put another way... [the story] is a ghastly sick-joke with no redeeming social merit whatever. I like that in a story." Someone who says this is not likely, I imagine, to be writing works that probe in the human mind; stories that must have that "social merit" to be considered achieving their goal. (What is a person but his social condition?)
Nevertheless, such claims are erroneous. King is often--very often, in fact--a literary writer, something that can be evidenced from his texts themselves, and from his commentary upon those texts. One must not forget that he admits (in On Writing) he began to write stories with overarching themes with The Stand. (And works like Carrie are clearly stories the delve heavily into theme, with the novel just mentioned being about the women's rights movement.)
One must not also forget stories like this one.
Mrs. Todd's Shortcut is an overtly literary piece, in which ideas about youth, freedom, knowledge, and material reality are probed, feared, and desired. This is effected through the story of Mrs. Ophelia Todd, who has an obsession with cutting time off her drives, but which we later learn has a deeper meaning: she, like an Olympian who can run a mile in under 4 minutes, desires to prove the proven wrong; she desires the unknown. All others in the story do not want this "unknown". It is provably dangerous, and what may happen within the realm of this "unknown" (a place where the main narrator, Homer, is taken into) is rather uncertain. This wish for the unknown--to dare to do--is connected with the young. Todd becomes younger as she delves more into the world of the unknown, for example. This unknown is also linked to freedom, where one is defining freedom as being taken from previous restrictions, and with knowledge in that all the areas found by Todd are possible to be found if only one looked. Indeed, the narrator of the piece (the man who does not go with, one may say), describes what seems to be an alien encounter. This encounter he believes when he sees it, but soon it becomes as a vision to him; it is dream-like, and this ability for reality to be erased is what one must mean by knowledge here. We do not seek out this extraordinary knowledge because it is abnormal, dangerous, we are too old, etc., but it is out there, and, perhaps, it may be worth finding. This last proposition is what Todd wants (although she is described as two women--a woman who searches, and the normal woman), and this proposition is what Homer accepts (even as he was afraid of it upon his first visit, and even afraid of it during his main narrator) when he goes with Todd. Even the narrator suggests a desire for it, if also a desire subdued; he merely thinks of it and wants to smoke.
In my above hurried analysis, it is probable that the reader can understand where some influences upon this story may have come from. One, I think, would be H. P. Lovecraft and the fear of the unknown. I thought King was going to write a story like Revival, in which this fear is vindicated, but here we see a story that goes beyond it's root--it morphs into a story that is about humans: the benefits and negatives derived from this unknown.
It is entirely possible the story does not come to definite conclusion. In some sense, the romance between Todd and Homer must be considered a conclusion: they go off into a land of unknowns, into a place which our narrator cannot enter, and where the goddess version of Todd has become (seemingly) immortal; it suggest rather that there is a difference between Todd & Homer and our narrator. One must ponder such a thing to find the conclusion, and this thought must needs lead us to conclusions based upon naught more than our philosophies. It is ambiguous.
One interesting part of the story I failed to mention is the idea of the "goddess" or "god". One thinks of this and perceives a controlling force. A god is useless unless he has power, the same with a goddess, and the desire to be such a thing--as Ophelia points out--is the driving force (to her) behind all people, men and women. A woman, so says she, does not want to be a lay-about, to eat grapes whilst lounging--no, she wants to grapple, she wants to "drive", she wants to be "in the clear" to walk or run as she wants, etc.--she wants freedom.
Nevertheless, such claims are erroneous. King is often--very often, in fact--a literary writer, something that can be evidenced from his texts themselves, and from his commentary upon those texts. One must not forget that he admits (in On Writing) he began to write stories with overarching themes with The Stand. (And works like Carrie are clearly stories the delve heavily into theme, with the novel just mentioned being about the women's rights movement.)
One must not also forget stories like this one.
Mrs. Todd's Shortcut is an overtly literary piece, in which ideas about youth, freedom, knowledge, and material reality are probed, feared, and desired. This is effected through the story of Mrs. Ophelia Todd, who has an obsession with cutting time off her drives, but which we later learn has a deeper meaning: she, like an Olympian who can run a mile in under 4 minutes, desires to prove the proven wrong; she desires the unknown. All others in the story do not want this "unknown". It is provably dangerous, and what may happen within the realm of this "unknown" (a place where the main narrator, Homer, is taken into) is rather uncertain. This wish for the unknown--to dare to do--is connected with the young. Todd becomes younger as she delves more into the world of the unknown, for example. This unknown is also linked to freedom, where one is defining freedom as being taken from previous restrictions, and with knowledge in that all the areas found by Todd are possible to be found if only one looked. Indeed, the narrator of the piece (the man who does not go with, one may say), describes what seems to be an alien encounter. This encounter he believes when he sees it, but soon it becomes as a vision to him; it is dream-like, and this ability for reality to be erased is what one must mean by knowledge here. We do not seek out this extraordinary knowledge because it is abnormal, dangerous, we are too old, etc., but it is out there, and, perhaps, it may be worth finding. This last proposition is what Todd wants (although she is described as two women--a woman who searches, and the normal woman), and this proposition is what Homer accepts (even as he was afraid of it upon his first visit, and even afraid of it during his main narrator) when he goes with Todd. Even the narrator suggests a desire for it, if also a desire subdued; he merely thinks of it and wants to smoke.
In my above hurried analysis, it is probable that the reader can understand where some influences upon this story may have come from. One, I think, would be H. P. Lovecraft and the fear of the unknown. I thought King was going to write a story like Revival, in which this fear is vindicated, but here we see a story that goes beyond it's root--it morphs into a story that is about humans: the benefits and negatives derived from this unknown.
It is entirely possible the story does not come to definite conclusion. In some sense, the romance between Todd and Homer must be considered a conclusion: they go off into a land of unknowns, into a place which our narrator cannot enter, and where the goddess version of Todd has become (seemingly) immortal; it suggest rather that there is a difference between Todd & Homer and our narrator. One must ponder such a thing to find the conclusion, and this thought must needs lead us to conclusions based upon naught more than our philosophies. It is ambiguous.
One interesting part of the story I failed to mention is the idea of the "goddess" or "god". One thinks of this and perceives a controlling force. A god is useless unless he has power, the same with a goddess, and the desire to be such a thing--as Ophelia points out--is the driving force (to her) behind all people, men and women. A woman, so says she, does not want to be a lay-about, to eat grapes whilst lounging--no, she wants to grapple, she wants to "drive", she wants to be "in the clear" to walk or run as she wants, etc.--she wants freedom.
February 16, 2022
This is my absolute favorite thing i have read from stephen king so far. I havent read everything hes written, but he is one of my most read authors, if not the most, so its still relevant. Its also interesting that its not even close to being horror, which is what stevie usually does.
Its... magical realism, i would maybe say? Which is a genre i am not very well versed in, but i intend to be. Its quite short, but its home to the most highlighted quotes for a single story in my entire sk collection, including one that is one of my all time favorite quotes about the female experience, even though it feels a little treacherous of me, coming from a middle aged white male millionaire. Regardles: he kinda hit the nail on the head with it and i gotta give it to him.
Its very poignant. A lot of his short stories i enjoy in the moment but i immediately forget. This one lives in me, for some reason. I am very very fond of it, and i reread it every now and again, and i like it more with every reread. I am also a little in love with ophelia. Idk folks, i love this one a lot.
Its... magical realism, i would maybe say? Which is a genre i am not very well versed in, but i intend to be. Its quite short, but its home to the most highlighted quotes for a single story in my entire sk collection, including one that is one of my all time favorite quotes about the female experience, even though it feels a little treacherous of me, coming from a middle aged white male millionaire. Regardles: he kinda hit the nail on the head with it and i gotta give it to him.
Its very poignant. A lot of his short stories i enjoy in the moment but i immediately forget. This one lives in me, for some reason. I am very very fond of it, and i reread it every now and again, and i like it more with every reread. I am also a little in love with ophelia. Idk folks, i love this one a lot.
January 15, 2024
This short story is a brief look into the lives of New Englanders. Yes, it's about Ophelia Todd and her desperate search for the shortest distance between two points, but it's also about the caretaker to her summer home, and the relationship between those that live in a place year round and those that simply vacation there. This is a story King revisits often. A story at which he excels.
I am perpetually lost. I am never looking for a shortcut because I am lucky to simply get where I am going, much less shave time off the trip! 'Phelia Todd however, has never met a shortcut she didn't want to know better. Mrs. Todd not only believes you can find the shortest route between two points (as the crow flies), but also thinks it might just be possible to "fold the map" and get there even sooner! Oh, but only if this were so.
I am perpetually lost. I am never looking for a shortcut because I am lucky to simply get where I am going, much less shave time off the trip! 'Phelia Todd however, has never met a shortcut she didn't want to know better. Mrs. Todd not only believes you can find the shortest route between two points (as the crow flies), but also thinks it might just be possible to "fold the map" and get there even sooner! Oh, but only if this were so.
February 25, 2021
A truly fun and whimsical tale, Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut follows the obsession of one Mrs. Todd with finding the shortest and quickest path to Bangor, Maine. The story is told through the eyes of Homer, an elderly gentleman, who is telling the story about this strange person in his past to a younger friend.
It begins with Mrs. Todd relating to Homer that she’s finding shorter and shorter routes. At first, it’s not all that remarkable, but one day she returns with evidence that the trip was impossibly short. Homer reluctantly offers to tag along as a passenger and soon finds himself on a journey that’s not entire of this world. I won’t spoil the ending, but will just say that it fits perfectly. A dash of horror with a generous helping of whimsy, this story is just plain fun.
It begins with Mrs. Todd relating to Homer that she’s finding shorter and shorter routes. At first, it’s not all that remarkable, but one day she returns with evidence that the trip was impossibly short. Homer reluctantly offers to tag along as a passenger and soon finds himself on a journey that’s not entire of this world. I won’t spoil the ending, but will just say that it fits perfectly. A dash of horror with a generous helping of whimsy, this story is just plain fun.
March 5, 2025
"But in her heart what every woman wants to be is some kind of goddess, I think -- men pick up a ruined echo of that thought and try to put them on pedestals (a woman, who will pee down her own leg if she does not squat! It's funny when you stop to think of it) -- but what a man senses is not what a woman wants. A woman wants to be in the clear, is all. To stand if she will, or walk... Her eyes turned toward that little go-devil in the driveway, and narrowed. Then she smiled. 'Or to drive, Homer. A man will not see that. He thinks a goddess wants to loll on a slope somewhere on the foothills of Olympus and eat fruit, but there is no god or goddess in that. All a woman wants is what a man wants -- a woman wants to drive!'"
May 27, 2018
A tale of fantastic reality and beauty, of parallel realities and supernatural beings, but in the style of Stephen King, where here and there may be signs of some somber deaths.
The story recalls the fantastic tales of the nineteenth century, but King is often more prolix. I do not know if it is happen due the literary market at the time that him published this story or whether that was a feature of his own form to write : /
But it is a tale in which probably many broken lines about roads and empty details, would turn into remarkable marks in the hands of Hoffmann or Bierce, for example.
Anyway: there are many pages for this tale. But its a good theme.
The story recalls the fantastic tales of the nineteenth century, but King is often more prolix. I do not know if it is happen due the literary market at the time that him published this story or whether that was a feature of his own form to write : /
But it is a tale in which probably many broken lines about roads and empty details, would turn into remarkable marks in the hands of Hoffmann or Bierce, for example.
Anyway: there are many pages for this tale. But its a good theme.
April 10, 2025
I read this a few years ago, and it is one that I have thought about over the years. This review is not technical, only about the feelings a story can create, about seeing through the everyday to the mystery and horror that is there just under the surface, always, about wanting to disappear into it, like Ophelia did. There are really places in the narrow and overgrown lanes that feel like a different dimension.
August 27, 2011
I believe i read somewhere that this is one of Steven kings favorite short storys that he has written and i would have to agree with him, It sure makes you think twice about taking shortcuts a very entertaining read
September 6, 2023
I'm always amazed how Stephen King can turn a simple idea into a captivating story. There is not always a satisfying solution or a surprising twist, but events are always intriguing enough to keep you reading.
January 21, 2013
This is one of favorite SK short stories, so much so that we have a cat that goes by the name of Mrs Todd...
August 24, 2013
Sweet and clever short story.
Leaves you with a sense of hope and wonder, not to mention a smile on your face!
Leaves you with a sense of hope and wonder, not to mention a smile on your face!
September 17, 2015
I have always loved to look out of the passenger window, daydreaming of what was in the trees beside the road. I may close my eyes on my next road trip.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews