Rainy Season is a short story found in the collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen King. The story begins with a young couple, John and Elise Graham coming to a small town called Willow, Maine so that John can finish his latest, greatest novel. As we all know, nothing good happens when young people arrive in a small town and Rainy Season does not disappoint.
The young couple arrives at the local ‘Mom & Pop’ shop for supplies to take to the house they’ve rented when an old man who introduces himself as Henry Eden, alongside his constantly farting dog, and a local lady named Laura Stanton begin to warn them about “rainy season” which occurs once every seven years and happens to be the very night they have arrived. The old people warn the couple out of town, at least for one night. The story is so unbelievable that the young couple thinks the old townies must be some sort of wacko welcoming committee putting them on.
Later that night, John and Elise discover that rainy season is a true story, the people at the shop were really trying to warn them and now they cannot run fast enough to save themselves. They try to barricade themselves in the house, thinking they will be safe but the sky is full of falling toads the size of footballs with large, needle-sharp teeth, huge, pulsating warts and glowing red eyes. There is a lot of blood and yucky squishy noises in a short period of time and when the “rain” stops the people in the small town mourn yet another young couple that came to their small town and didn’t heed their warning. Rainy Season is a quick, satisfying read that will leave you jumping in the night the next time you hear a toad croak.
