“Sometimes They Come Back” is a horror short story by American author Stephen King. It was first published in the March 1974 issue of Cavalier magazine and later collected in King’s 1978 anthology Night Shift. The story centers on Jim Norman, a schoolteacher who is haunted by the brutal murder of his older brother by a gang of greasers when they were children. Decades later, Jim returns to his hometown to teach, only to discover that the same greasers have inexplicably reappeared as teenagers in his class, seemingly intent on finishing what they started.
The tale blends supernatural revenge with King’s trademark exploration of childhood trauma and small-town dread. It has been widely read and discussed as one of King’s early effective forays into the theme of past sins returning to claim the present. The story’s unsettling atmosphere and cyclical violence have resonated with horror audiences, cementing its place as a notable entry in the Night Shift collection.
