The Bazaar of Bad Dreams Summary

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams Plot Summary

Covers the whole plot, including the ending.

1. Mile 81

   At a quiet highway rest stop in rural Maine, a mud-splattered, seemingly empty 1980s Ford Country Squire station wagon appears. Ten-year-old Pete Simmons, looking for a place to drink a forbidden beer, finds the car. He approaches it, curious, and finds it locked with no driver. Soon, other travelers arrive, drawn to the strange vehicle. The car, however, is not empty; it has a malicious, almost predatory mind. It begins to absorb anyone who touches it or gets too close, leaving only their clothes and belongings. Pete sees this horror and tries to warn others, but the car's magnetic pull and the victims' disbelief make his efforts useless as more people disappear into the car.

2. Premium Harmony

   Ray and Mary are a long-married couple with unspoken resentments. They are on a mundane shopping trip to a Walmart in rural Maine, arguing about small things like cigarettes and lottery tickets. While Ray is inside the store, Mary, who has a heart condition, waits in the car with their dachshund, Bizzy. When Ray returns, he finds Mary dead in the passenger seat from a heart attack. Ray struggles with grief, regret, and a strange sense of freedom. He thinks about their life together, the small cruelties they shared, and the sudden finality of death. He decides to continue their shopping trip as planned, even with his deceased wife in the car.

3. Batman and Robin Have an Altercation

   Sanderson 'Sandy' Dean regularly takes his elderly father, who has advanced Alzheimer's disease, to eat at a local fast-food restaurant. Their routine is a source of quiet comfort amid his father's declining mental state. During one outing, a confrontation occurs between Sandy and a group of young men who mock his father. Sandy, usually mild-mannered, surprises himself by fiercely defending his father. The fight triggers a vivid, painful memory from Sandy's childhood: an incident where his father brutally beat a man who had attacked Sandy's mother. This memory reveals the complex, often violent nature of his father's love and protection, making Sandy confront his own suppressed anger and his changing relationship with his aging parent.

4. The Dune

   Judge Harvey Beecher, an elderly, respected man, shares a strange and terrifying secret he has kept since childhood. As a boy, he found a deserted island in a Florida bayou, reachable only by canoe. On this island, a specific dune would show names written in the sand by an unseen force. Each name that appeared on the dune belonged to someone who would soon die in a bizarre, often gruesome accident. Harvey recounts visiting the dune, reading the names, and later hearing of their deaths, always in the order they appeared. He describes the chilling predictions and the moral problem of knowing but being unable to help. As he nears the end of his life, he revisits the island one last time, expecting to see his own name, but finds a different, equally unsettling revelation.

5. Bad Little Kid

   George Hallas, a successful lawyer, describes his torment from a 'bad little kid' — a supernatural, ever-present boy who appears only to George. This child, always in old-fashioned clothes, does not physically harm George directly but causes the deaths of everyone George loves or cares about. From his grandmother to his wife and even his dog, the child's appearance precedes a tragic accident or illness for each. George, driven to desperation, commits a crime to escape the curse, believing that if he is imprisoned, the child will have no one left to target. The story shows George's increasing paranoia and the psychological toll of being singled out for such a cruel, inexplicable fate.

6. A Death

   In a bleak, snow-covered town in 1889, Sheriff Barclay investigates the brutal murder of a young girl. The main suspect is Todd, a simple-minded, poor local known for his strange habits. Despite little concrete evidence and Todd's gentle nature, circumstantial clues and the town's prejudice quickly point to him. Barclay, under pressure from the community and his own biases, builds a case against Todd, leading to his conviction and hanging. The story examines justice, prejudice, and the legal system's flaws, making the reader question Todd's guilt and the sheriff's role in his death. The narrative is a somber look at how easily an innocent person can be condemned by a community's fear and a flawed investigation.

7. Obits

   Michael Anderson, a struggling online journalist, discovers he has a terrifying supernatural ability. While writing obituaries for a gossip website, he realizes that anyone whose obituary he writes immediately dies in a bizarre and often ironic way. He first dismisses it as coincidence, but after several undeniable instances, including the death of his former editor who wronged him, he accepts his power. Michael begins to use this ability to 'punish' those he deems deserving, from internet trolls to public figures he dislikes. However, the power starts to corrupt him; he becomes increasingly isolated and paranoid, realizing the immense responsibility and moral burden of his deadly gift. His vengeful actions spiral out of control, leading to a chilling end.

8. Morality

   Chad and Nora Callahan are a young, financially struggling couple. Chad is a writer, and Nora is a hospice nurse. Nora's wealthy, terminally ill patient, Mr. George Deters, offers her $200,000 if she will commit a specific sin: scream obscenities at him, curse God, and denounce morality itself, essentially 'damning herself.' Desperate for money, Nora agrees, despite Chad's initial doubts. The act is brief, but its psychological effects are deep. The money brings temporary relief but also introduces deep-seated guilt, suspicion, and resentment into their marriage. They both become more paranoid and morally compromised, leading to the gradual breakdown of their relationship and their individual integrity as the 'sin' slowly poisons their lives.

9. Afterlife

   William Andrews, a man who dies of colon cancer, awakens in a strange, sterile office building, a kind of purgatorial afterlife. He meets a 'Case Worker' who tells him he will live his life over again, exactly as it was, with no memories of his previous existence or the afterlife. However, he will face the same choices and make the same mistakes, trapped in an endless cycle. The Case Worker explains that this is a common fate, a form of cosmic bureaucratic recycling. William struggles with the futility and injustice of this eternal loop, trying to break the cycle or understand its purpose, but he is ultimately returned to the moment of his birth, destined to repeat his existence.

10. Ur

    College English instructor Wesley Smith, recently divorced, buys a mysterious, old-fashioned pink Kindle from a pawn shop. He soon discovers this device is no ordinary e-reader; it can access books, newspapers, and even entire literary works from alternate universes, specifically those where certain historical events or cultural shifts happened differently. More deeply, it allows him to read 'Ur' versions of reality, where events like the Kennedy assassination or the survival of certain authors took different paths. Wesley becomes obsessed, exploring these parallel worlds and trying to use the device to warn people in his own reality about disasters in other timelines, especially focusing on his ex-girlfriend's fate. However, his interference attracts the attention of mysterious, powerful entities who guard the multiverse.

11. Mister Yummy

    Ollie Franklin, an octogenarian gay man in a nursing home, reflects on his long life, his past loves, and the indignities of aging. He recounts his early experiences accepting his sexuality, the societal prejudices he faced, and the lasting love he shared with his partner, David. The story is a poignant look at memory, regret, and the search for dignity in old age. Ollie often sees a younger, handsome orderly he calls 'Mister Yummy,' a fleeting symbol of youth and physical attraction that contrasts sharply with his current physical decline. As his health worsens, Ollie faces the fear of oblivion and the desire to leave a meaningful legacy, finding comfort in his memories and the enduring power of love.

12. Blockade Billy

    Former baseball commissioner George Grantham recounts the astonishing and disturbing story of William 'Blockade Billy' Blakely, a catcher with a legendary but very brief career in the late 1950s. Billy was an almost superhuman player on the field, with incredible defensive skills and an uncanny ability to block the plate, but he also had a dark secret. The story unfolds as Grantham reveals that Billy was a psychopathic killer who murdered people and used their blood as a ritualistic good luck charm before games. His career ended abruptly when his crimes were discovered. The narrative looks at the hidden side of sports, the lengths people go for success, and the horrifying truth behind a seemingly mythical figure.

13. That Bus Is Another World

    Katherine, a man caught in traffic, sees a disturbing scene through a passing bus window: a man holding a bloody knife, seemingly having just committed a murder, with a woman dead on the seat beside him. The bus quickly drives away, leaving Katherine shaken and unsure if what he saw was real. He grapples with the moral question of whether to report it, the unreliability of perception, and the idea that countless hidden dramas happen around us constantly. The brief, shocking glimpse makes him confront life's fragility and the dark, unseen realities that exist just beyond his immediate perception, making him question his reality and the world's indifference.

14. DRONES

    In a near-future setting, a married couple, Roger and Marsha, are enjoying a peaceful retreat at a remote cabin in the woods. Their calm is broken when weaponized drones attack them. These are not ordinary drones; they seem to be sentient, operating with malicious intelligence, apparently hunting the couple. The story unfolds as a tense game of cat and mouse, with Roger and Marsha desperately trying to escape and fight off the relentless aerial attackers. The narrative explores fears of technology, surveillance, and machines turning against humanity. The couple's struggle for survival highlights their reliance on their wits and their strained relationship as they face an implacable, technologically advanced enemy in an isolated environment.

15. Summer Thunder

    In a post-apocalyptic world destroyed by nuclear war, two men, Joe and Tim, are among the last known survivors. They live in a makeshift shelter, scavenging for supplies and trying to maintain some humanity in a desolate landscape. The story reflects on the end of the world, detailing their daily struggles, their fading hopes, and their conversations about what little remains. They eventually find a dog, a brief symbol of life and companionship, but even that hope is fleeting. As their supplies run out and radiation sickness takes its toll, they face humanity's inevitable, lonely end. The narrative is a poignant meditation on survival, despair, and the ultimate futility of clinging to life in a destroyed world.

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