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{{about|the 1998 Stephen King novel|the 2011 TV miniseries based on this novel|Bag of Bones (miniseries)|the 2012 album by Europe|Bag of Bones (album)|the 2008 single by Kevin Devine|Another Bag of Bones}}

{{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name         = Bag of Bones
| title_orig   =
| translator   =
| image        = Bagofbones.gif
| caption = First edition cover
| author       = [[Stephen King]]
| cover_artist = Frank Oudeman
| country       = United States
| language      = English
| series       =
| genre        = [[Horror fiction|Horror]]
| publisher    = [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]]
| release_date = September 22, [[1998 in literature|1998]]
| media_type   = Print ([[Hardcover]])
| pages        = 529
| isbn         = 978-0-684-85350-5
| preceded_by  =
| followed_by  =
}}

'''''Bag of Bones''''' is a 1998 [[horror novel]] by American writer [[Stephen King]]. It focuses on an author who suffers severe [[writer's block]] and delusions at an isolated [[summer house|lake house]] four years after the death of his wife. It won the 1999 [[Bram Stoker Award]] for [[Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel|Best Novel]], the 1999 [[British Fantasy Award]] for [[August Derleth Award|Best Novel]], and the 1999 [[Locus Award]] for [[Locus Award for Best Horror Novel|Best Dark Fantasy/Horror Novel]].<ref name="SFADB">{{Cite web|title=Stephen King Awards|url=http://www.sfadb.com/Stephen_King|access-date=2021-01-04|work=Science Fiction Awards Database|archive-date=2018-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721073158/http://www.sfadb.com/Stephen_King|url-status=live}}</ref>

The book re-uses many basic plot elements of [[Daphne du Maurier]]'s ''[[Rebecca (novel)|Rebecca]]'', which is directly referenced several times in the book's opening pages; however, the relation of these elements (including a wife who is dead as the book opens, her posthumous effect on future romance, a drowning, and house haunted by the memories of previous inhabitants) to the plot and characters is markedly different. When the paperback edition of ''Bag of Bones'' was published by [[Pocket Books]] on June 1, 1999 ({{ISBN|978-0671024239}}), it included a new author's note at the end of the book, in which Stephen King describes his initial three-book deal with Scribner (''Bag of Bones'', ''[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft|On Writing]]'', and a collection of short stories titled ''One Headlight'', which later became ''[[Everything's Eventual]]''), and devotes most of the piece describing the origins of the then-forthcoming ''[[Hearts in Atlantis]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.powells.com/biblio?show=MASS%20MARKET:USED:9780743436212:1.95&page=authorsnote |title=Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King - Powell's Books |publisher=Powells.com |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-date=2020-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203131613/http://www.powells.com/biblio?show=MASS%20MARKET:USED:9780743436212:1.95&page=authorsnote |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Background information==
Stephen King had been publishing his books with [[Viking Press|Viking]] since ''[[The Dead Zone (novel)|The Dead Zone]]'' in 1979. In October 1997,<ref>{{cite news |first=Doreen |last=Carvajal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/27/business/who-can-afford-him-stephen-king-goes-in-search-of-a-new-publisher.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |title=Who Can Afford Him?; Stephen King Goes in Search of a New Publisher |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1997-10-27 |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-date=2016-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306163021/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/27/business/who-can-afford-him-stephen-king-goes-in-search-of-a-new-publisher.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |url-status=live }}</ref> after Viking published King's then-latest novel, ''[[Desperation (novel)|Desperation]]'' (1996), and King's deal with Viking expired, it was being reported that King was seeking a large advance for his next novel ($17–18 million according to various reports) and 26% of gross sales, whereas his deal with Viking previously paid a $15 million advance per book.<ref>{{cite news |first=Paul D. |last=Colford |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-13-ls-53140-story.html |title=Stephen King, Unhappy With the Scenario, Rewrites Payday |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=1997-11-13 |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-date=2016-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306155312/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/nov/13/news/ls-53140 |url-status=live }}</ref> King also wanted to move to a more literary and prestigious publisher.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-nov-04-ls-49948-story.html |title=Stephen King Has the Publishers Terrified - Los Angeles Times |publisher=Articles.latimes.com |date=1997-11-04 |access-date=2013-02-16 |first=Paul D. |last=Colford |archive-date=2015-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912145627/http://articles.latimes.com/1997/nov/04/news/ls-49948 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ultimately, King left Viking and on November 6, 1997<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/07/business/the-media-business-stephen-king-and-simon-schuster-in-deal.html |title=The Media Business – Stephen King and Simon & Schuster in Deal |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1997-11-07 |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-date=2015-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527054153/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/07/business/the-media-business-stephen-king-and-simon-schuster-in-deal.html |url-status=live }}</ref> signed an initial three-book deal with [[Simon & Schuster]], with a $2 million advance for ''Bag of Bones'' in addition to 50% profit-sharing.<ref>{{cite news |first=Doreen |last=Carvajal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/09/business/stephen-king-unleashed-he-s-back-best-seller-list-but-now-he-wants-more-much.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |title=Stephen King Unleashed; He's back on the best-seller list. But now he wants more. Much more. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1998-11-09 |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-date=2016-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305182918/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/09/business/stephen-king-unleashed-he-s-back-best-seller-list-but-now-he-wants-more-much.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/books/news/9809/24/king.interview.salon/ |title=Salon: Stephen King interview - September 24, 1998 |publisher=CNN |date=1998-09-24 |access-date=2013-02-16}}</ref> The novel, first reported to be a thousand pages but turned out to be nearly half that, was billed as "a haunted love story", and this phrase was printed on the back cover of the hardcover first edition, which had a print-run of 1.4 million copies.<ref>{{cite news |date=1999-12-02 |title=Horror's home run king bats again |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/books/b706.htm |access-date=2017-08-24 |archive-date=2001-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011110075641/http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/books/b706.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Plot summary==
The narrator, Mike Noonan, a bestselling novelist, suffers severe [[writer's block]] after his pregnant wife Jo suddenly dies due to a brain aneurysm. Four years later, Mike, still grieving, is plagued by nightmares set at his summer house in TR-90 (an [[Unincorporated area|unincorporated town]] named for its map coordinates), [[Maine]]. He decides to confront his fears and moves to his vacation house on Dark Score Lake, known as "Sara Laughs".

On his first day, he meets Kyra, a 3-year-old girl and her young widowed mother, 20-year-old Mattie Devore. Mattie's father-in-law is Max Devore, an elderly rich man who will do anything to gain custody of his granddaughter, Kyra. Drawn to Kyra and Mattie, Mike hires John Storrow, a custody lawyer, for Mattie, and things start looking up. Mike begins to write again, and realizes that Jo's [[ghost]] is helping him to solve the mystery of Sara Tidwell, a [[blues]] singer whose ghost haunts the house. He also learns that Jo frequently returned to the town in the year before her death, without telling him.

Mike begins having recurring, disturbing dreams and visions, and realizes he shares a psychic connection with Kyra. Max and his personal assistant, Rogette, try to drown Mike but he survives with the help of his wife's spirit. Max unexpectedly commits suicide that same night. Mike sees a pattern when he sees that local inhabitants have names that begin with "K" or "C" and learns how relatives of townspeople have drowned in childhood.

While Storrow and the private detective he hired are celebrating the end of the custody battle, Mattie attempts to seduce Mike. As they are embracing, Mattie's trailer is subjected to a drive-by shooting, injuring Storrow and the detective 
and killing Mattie.  The detective is able to kill the driver and incapacitate the shooter with Mike's help. Mike then grabs Kyra and drives back to his home as a violent thunderstorm begins.  The shooter's buddies try to stop them, but refuse to follow him to "Sara Laughs".  Under the influence of Sara's ghost, Mike is tormented to drown Kyra and commit suicide himself. Jo's ghost prevents him and calls his attention to the novel he has begun to write. In the pages there are clues that lead Mike to discover documents Jo had hidden, among them a [[genealogy]] showing Mike's blood relationship to one of the town families.

Several families whose origin lay within the town had firstborn children with "K" names who were all murdered—Kyra, as a descendant of Max Devore, is scheduled to be the next to die. The genealogy also shows that Mike and Jo's child would have been the next firstborn child with a "K" name in the family line. Mike realizes this must be Sara Tidwell's curse for something that had been done to her. He leaves and searches for Sara's grave, stopped by the ghosts of several members of the old families. He learns in a vision that these men had viciously raped and killed Sara, and drowned her son Kito in the lake; 
all the "K" children who died were descendants of those men. Mike reaches Sara's grave and succeeds in destroying her bones, ending the curse.

Upon returning to the house, Mike discovers that Rogette has kidnapped Kyra. He follows them to the lake, where Mattie's ghost appears and knocks Rogette into the water. Rogette tries to pull Mike in with her, but is impaled by the storm's wreckage from the dock. Mattie's ghost says her goodbyes to Mike and Kyra.

The novel ends with an epilogue, revealing that Mike has retired from writing and is attempting to adopt Kyra. His status as a single, unrelated male complicates things, and the adoption has taken longer than anticipated. The outcome of the adoption is left unresolved at the end, but the reader is given hope that it will be positive.

==Reception==
''[[The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction]]'' reviewer [[Charles de Lint]] declared ''Bag of Bones'' to be "a powerful, moving novel."<ref>[http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/1999/cdl9902.htm Books to Look For] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505034347/http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/1999/cdl9902.htm |date=2012-05-05 }}, F&SF, February 1999</ref> [[Elizabeth Hand]] praised it lavishly: "What is extraordinary here is how good the writing is.{{nbsp}}... The characterizations are plummy, the dialogue sharp, and even the ghosts play second fiddle to Mike Noonan and his genuinely anguished midlife crisis."<ref>[http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/1999/eh9905.htm Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509031018/http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/1999/eh9905.htm |date=2011-05-09 }}, [[F&SF]], May 1999</ref>

==Awards==
* 1999 [[Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel]]<ref name="SFADB" />
* 1999 [[British Fantasy Award]]'s [[August Derleth Award]] for Best Novel<ref name="SFADB" />
* 1999 [[Locus Award for Best Horror Novel|Locus Award for Best Dark Fantasy/Horror Novel]]<ref name="SFADB" />

==Audio version==
The [[Audiobook|audio version]] of ''Bag of Bones'' is noteworthy in several respects. Like most Stephen King books, the audio version is [[Abridgement|unabridged]]. It is read by Stephen King himself, one of several books he has read himself for audio version publication, including ''[[Hearts in Atlantis]]'', ''[[Lunch at the Gotham Cafe]]'', and ''[[In the Deathroom]]''. Intermingled with the text are bits of music and a song sung by Sara Tidwell; this music and song were recorded specifically for the audio version of ''Bag of Bones''. Finally, the audio version of this book includes an interview with Stephen King.

==Tenth Anniversary Edition==
{{Infobox book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name         = Bag of Bones:<br>Tenth Anniversary Edition
| title_orig   =
| translator   =
| image        = Bag of Bones 10th.jpg
| caption =
| author       = [[Stephen King]]
| cover_artist = Frank Oudeman
| country       = United States
| language      = English
| series       =
| genre        = [[Horror novel]]
| publisher    = [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]]
| release_date = October 21, 2008
| media_type   = Print ([[Paperback]])
| pages        = 660
| isbn =  1-4391-0621-5
| preceded_by  =
| followed_by  =
}}

A [[Paperback#Trade paperback|trade paperback]] edition was published in the fall of 2008, commemorating the tenth anniversary of the novel's release in 1998. It contained a [[Question]]s & [[Answer (response)|Answer]]s with Stephen King, along with "[[The Cat from Hell]]," a short story from his then upcoming collection ''[[Just After Sunset]]''.

==Television adaptation==
{{Main|Bag of Bones (miniseries)}}
A {{frac|2|1|2}}-hour (approximately 4 hours with commercials) TV miniseries produced by Stewart Mackinnon and Mark Sennet, directed by [[Mick Garris]] and with teleplay by screenwriter Matt Venne aired on [[A&E Network|A&E]] in December 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212452/fullcredits |title=Bag of Bones (TV Mini-Series 2011) - Full Cast & Crew |work=IMDb |year=2014 |access-date=June 30, 2014 |archive-date=February 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221050001/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212452/fullcredits |url-status=live }}</ref> Irish actor [[Pierce Brosnan]] plays Mike Noonan,<ref>{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Stephan |url=https://ew.com/article/2011/07/22/stephen-king-bag-of-bones/ |title=Pierce Brosnan to star in A&E's 'Stephen King's Bag of Bones' |publisher=Entertainment Weekly |date=2011-07-22 |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-date=2015-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126111811/http://www.ew.com/article/2011/07/22/stephen-king-bag-of-bones |url-status=live }}</ref> with Broadway actress [[Anika Noni Rose]] taking the role of Sara Tidwell.<ref>{{cite news |last=Levine |first=Stuart |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118040844/ |title=Rose lands role in 'Bag of Bones' |publisher=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=2011-08-03 |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-date=2012-11-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108200947/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118040844/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Filming took place in and around [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], Canada in August and September 2011. The miniseries follows the book faithfully but changes minor details. Sara has a daughter named Kisha instead of a son named Kito. Mike is also well aware of his family's connections to Dark Score Lake, but not aware of the fact that his grandfather had been one of the men who attacked Sara. The miniseries also has Devore himself be the leader of Sara's attackers rather than his great grandfather. The ending of the miniseries was also slightly altered. Mike's confrontation with Rogette takes place in Mike's bathroom rather than near the lake. Mike kills her in self-defense with no aid from Mattie's ghost (though she does still appear at the end). The miniseries closes with Mike and Kyra going canoeing.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.stephenking.com/ Stephen King's official website]
*[http://www.myspace.com/bagofbonesmovie The film's official MySpace profile]
*[http://www.worldswithoutend.com/novel.asp?ID=1160 Bag of Bones] at Worlds Without End

{{Stephen King}}
{{DarkTower}}
{{Locus Award Best Horror Novel}}
{{Bram Stoker Award Best Novel}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bag Of Bones}}
[[Category:1998 American novels]]
[[Category:1990s horror novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Stephen King]]
[[Category:English-language novels]]
[[Category:American horror novels]]
[[Category:Novels set in Maine]]
[[Category:Novels about writers]]
[[Category:Novels about ghosts]]
[[Category:Novels about rape]]
[[Category:Metafictional novels]]
[[Category:American novels adapted into television shows]]
[[Category:American novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Locus Award–winning works]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Bag of Bones|access_date=2026-02-26}}