Warning: The following contains major spoilers for The Monkey.

For decades, horror fans have associated Stephen King with monsters. Whether a sinister clown lurking in sewers, a rabid dog patrolling the yard, or a toddler somehow brought back from the dead, King’s creatures practically leap off the page becoming cultural figures unto themselves.

But loyal Constant Readers know that an equally villainous entity lurks within the author’s second short story collection. Third in King’s 1985 tome Skeleton Crew, “The Monkey” follows a wicked windup toy who kills with a clash of his shiny cymbals. In parallel timelines, Hal Shelburn is stalked by this surprising villain who causes death and destruction wherever it goes.

This deep cut demon has not reached the ubiquity of Pennywise, Randall Flagg or Annie Wilkes, but it may be the author’s most overt and bizarre exploration of death. Forty-five years after its initial publication in Gallery magazine,...