The Manila Coffee Party

"The Man in the Black Suit"

A short story by Stephen King

Summary: The story tells of Gary, a nine year-old boy, whose brother had died not long before due to a bee sting. One day Gary goes out fishing and falls asleep. When he awakens, he finds a bee is hovering near his face. Due to the allergy he shared with his brother he is very scared, but then he hears a clap and the bee dies. He turns around and he discovers a man in a black three-piece suit with as is described in the story, glowing, burning eyes, as if there's a fire inside him, looming over him, with pale skin and claws for fingers, and horrible, sharp, shark-like teeth when he grins.
The man – whose body odor smells like burnt match heads – tells Gary terrible things: that his mother has died while he was away, and that the man intends to eat him. Gary does not believe at first, but soon realizes that this man is actually the devil, and makes his escape by throwing his caught fish at the stranger; he then runs off as the creature swallows the fish whole and pursues the boy to the outskirts of the forest. The things the man said were false, but Gary is still haunted by the incident for the rest of his life.

Gary tells the story from his perspective as an old, terrified man. He is haunted by his belief that he only escaped from the devil by either pure luck or his own skill. At the end of the story, he is frightened by the possibility of death. Will he go to God, whom he has prayed to all his life? Or will the man in the Black Suit return to take him away, now that he is too old to run away from him again?

A haunting and well written story. I recommend you read it. It's only a few pages long, but it will send a chill on you spine.

Read the story here: The Man in the Black Suit by Stephen King

-Roma