Stephen King has found yet another way to give you nightmares.
The master of horror unveiled the cover of his latest book via Entertainment Weekly, and it’s a creepy one.
If It Bleeds, scheduled for release next year, is a collection of four novellas, titled Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat, and If It Bleeds. The cover features the head of a black cat whose eyes and nose form the face of an equally scary mouse.
Here's your first look at Stephen King's next book, If It Bleeds https://t.co/NLUUU523LF
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) October 3, 2019
The title of the book appears to be a reference to “If it bleeds, it leads,” an aphorism referring to journalists’ supposed habit of spotlighting violent and lurid news items.
On a webpage for the book, King’s publisher, Scribner, says the novellas will pull readers “into intriguing and frightening places.”
“The novella is a form King has returned to over and over again in the course of his amazing career,” Scribner said. “If It Bleeds is a uniquely satisfying collection of longer short fiction by an incomparably gifted writer.”
The famously prolific King has written 10 collections of short fiction and more than 60 novels. His latest book, The Institute, was published last month. His last collection, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, was released in 2015.
If It Bleeds is slated for publication on May 5, 2020.
Michael Schaub is an Austin, Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.