STAND BY ME
"The Body" by Stephen King
A deep textured walk through the characters, the setting, and what the landscape does to them when childhood is already slipping away.
Castle Rock (1959)
A mill town in decline. Fathers work with their hands, tempers fray easily, and futures feel pre-written. Adults are tired, distracted, or cruel—not villains, just worn down.
Children live in the margins: Woods, junkyards, train tracks, and riverbanks become a parallel republic of childhood—lawless, imaginative, and perilous.
"The railroad is the town’s spine and scar: symbol of escape, danger, inevitability."
The Boys
Gordie
The Narrator & Survivor
The Writer
Rich, imaginative, painfully sensitive. His older brother’s death leaves him emotionally abandoned.
Chris
The Protector
The Leader
Intelligent, ethical, but branded a delinquent. He believes he’s good but doubts the world will let him be.
Teddy
The Wild Card
The Wounded
Reckless bravado masking terror. He idolizes an abusive father.
Vern
The Innocent
The Child
Comic relief with emotional honesty. He knows he’s weak and is terrified of being left behind.
Choose Your Character
Step into the shoes of one of the boys. Your choices will shape the journey, but the tracks always lead to the same place.
Player
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