| "The Fifth Quarter" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Stephen King (as John Swithen) | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Short story |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Cavalier (1st release), Nightmares & Dreamscapes |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Publisher | DuGent Publishing Corp |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
"The Fifth Quarter" is a short story by American author Stephen King, originally published in the April 1972 issue of Cavalier (under the pen name John Swithen) and later collected in King's 1993 collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes. It was filmed as an episode of the TNT miniseries Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King.
In the notes for this story, King remarks "Bachman again or maybe George Stark", a reference to his pseudonym Richard Bachman whose "relationship" with him was the basis of the character George Stark for the novel The Dark Half. It is the only work of short fiction that King ever wrote under a pen name.[1]