Insomnia

Insomnia (1994) is an urban fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. The novel follows Ralph Roberts, a retiree who begins experiencing insomnia in the wake of his wife’s death. His insomnia coincides with other paranormal experiences in the town of Derry, which include Ralph’s perception of auras and the appearance of ghostly figures who loom near scenes of death. When Ralph connects these events to the sudden shift in his neighbor’s behavior, he finds himself thrust into a larger conflict that puts thousands of lives at stake. The novel explores Overcoming the Fear of Uncertainty, The Complexities of Grief, and Free Will Versus Predestination.

Insomnia is connected to several other works in King’s oeuvre, most especially the Dark Tower series, though it functions as a standalone novel. Following its publication, Insomnia was nominated for the 1995 Locus Award and the 1994 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel.

This study guide uses the 1994 hardcover Viking edition.

Content Warning: The study guide and its source material include depictions or discussions of graphic violence, illness and death, physical abuse, animal cruelty and death, pregnancy loss and termination, cursing, gender discrimination, mental illness, emotional abuse, child abuse, child death, addiction, suicidal ideation and self-harm, and antigay bias. The novel also stigmatizes “madness” as an antagonistic character trait, which drives a bias against mental illness.

Plot Summary

In 1992, a retiree named Ralph Roberts sees his neighbor, Ed Deepneau, get into a minor car accident outside the airport in Derry, Maine. Ed’s uncharacteristically aggressive behavior shocks Ralph, especially when Ed accuses the other driver of carrying dead babies in his vehicle. Ralph placates Ed before rushing home to look after his wife, Carolyn, who has a brain tumor.

The month after Carolyn’s death, Ralph starts experiencing a form of insomnia that causes him to wake up prematurely. He refuses to consult his family physician out of resentment for the loss of Carolyn. Instead, Ralph resorts to personal research and home remedies to treat his insomnia, though nothing works toward relieving his symptoms. Ralph wakes up earlier each morning, which strains his mental health and consciousness in the daytime.

Ralph learns about growing tensions in Derry, which stem from a protracted community debate over abortion rights. These tensions become focused around plans to bring a pro-choice activist named Susan Day to Derry to speak in support of the local women’s center, WomanCare. Though Ralph is ambivalent on the issue of abortion rights, he is shocked to discover that Ed has physically abused his wife, Helen, after learning that she had signed the petition to bring Susan Day to Derry. Ralph and his housemate, Bill McGovern, confront Ed, who is soon arrested. Meanwhile, a WomanCare representative named Gretchen Tillbury reaches out to Helen to move her and her infant daughter, Natalie, into an abuse survivors’ house called High Ridge. Helen accepts the offer and reluctantly decides to divorce Ed for Natalie’s sake. She thanks Ralph for his help and friendship.

Ralph meets a pharmacist and sleep scholar named Joe Wyzer, who offers to connect Ralph with specialists to treat his insomnia. Shortly after Wyzer explains how insomnia may lead to a perceptual symptom called “hyper-reality,” Ralph starts to perceive the presence of auras all around Derry. These auras reflect the emotions and life energies of the inhabitants.

Tensions continue to escalate after Susan Day confirms her plans to come to Derry. Helen visits Ralph, warning him that anti-abortion extremists may try to harass him because of his association with WomanCare beneficiaries. She gifts Ralph with pepper spray, which he leaves at home. Later, Ralph is visited by an older man named Dorrance Marstellar, who advises Ralph to cancel his appointment with the “pin-sticker.” Ralph initially thinks this refers to the acupuncturist Wyzer referred him to, but then he is attacked by one of Ed’s collaborators, a man named Charlie Pickering, with a hunting knife. Ralph only resists Pickering because someone put the pepper spray into his jacket pocket. Ralph deduces that it was Dorrance, prompting him to take the older man’s advice more seriously.

Ralph observes the appearance of two bald men who resemble doctors on his street. Their visit coincides with the death of Ralph’s neighbor, making him believe that the doctors were responsible for it. Later, Ralph sees a third bald doctor, who carries around a rusted scalpel. Ralph confides in Bill about his experiences, but Bill expresses mild skepticism over Ralph’s refusal to consult his family physician. After walking out on Bill, Ralph sees the third doctor threatening the neighborhood stray dog, Rosalie. Ralph intervenes to save her life.

Ralph learns that his neighborhood crush, Lois Chasse, is also experiencing insomnia and has begun to perceive auras. While they are talking, the third doctor sneaks up on Rosalie and succeeds in cutting her life-cord, signaling the impending event of her death by car accident. This gives Ralph cause for concern, as he has seen the third doctor taking various tokens from each of his potential victims, which include Bill’s hat and Lois’s earrings. As Ralph’s perception of auras intensify, he begins to develop related abilities, which include the absorption of energy from other people’s auras and the creation of energy blasts, which he uses to ward off the third doctor.

Ralph and Lois seek out the first two doctors at Derry Home Hospital. The doctors introduce themselves as Clotho and Lachesis, and explain that they stimulated Ralph and Lois’s insomnia to enlist them in a mission to preserve the balance between Purpose and Random in the world. Clotho and Lachesis are agents of the Purpose, enacting natural death. Their counterpart in the Random is the third doctor, Atropos, whose job is to enact senseless death. Atropos has now enlisted Ed in a plot to bomb the Susan Day rally, which will cause the deaths of over 2,000 people unless Ralph and Lois find a way to cancel the rally. They soon learn that Ed plans to fly an explosive airplane into the Civic Center to fulfill the desires of a higher being called the Crimson King.

Ralph and Lois proceed to High Ridge to convince Gretchen to cancel the rally. When they arrive, they find the house under attack by Pickering and two other collaborators. Ralph and Lois use their abilities to infiltrate the house, neutralizing Pickering and liberating the hostages trapped inside. Though Gretchen is killed in the assault, Helen insists on pushing through with the rally. This convinces Ralph that the Purpose had an ulterior motive for sending them to High Ridge.

Dorrance points Ralph and Lois to Atropos’s lair, where they find a storage of the tokens Atropos has collected over the years. Among them is Ed’s wedding ring, which Ralph steals. Atropos intercepts Ralph and Lois, but the pair manage to overpower him. Ralph tortures Atropos, making him swear not to intervene in Derry until after the rally ends. Atropos shows Ralph a vision of someone dying, which angers Ralph.

Ralph summons Clotho and Lachesis to learn the Purpose’s true motives. The doctors reveal that the Purpose is interested in saving the life of a boy named Patrick Danville, who survived the assault on High Ridge and is at risk of being killed at the Susan Day rally. Ralph strikes a deal with the doctors in exchange for his cooperation. They reluctantly agree and teleport him into Ed’s airplane.

Ralph encounters the Crimson King, who tries to stop Ralph by projecting his greatest fears. Ralph overcomes the Crimson King using Lois’s earrings and a trap planted in his arm by Clotho and Lachesis. Soon after, Ralph beats Ed for control of the airplane, allowing it to crash into a nearby parking lot instead of the rally venue. Lois teleports into the airplane to save Ralph at the last second.

With Patrick’s safety guaranteed, the doctors thank Ralph and Lois for their help and relieve them of their abilities and insomnia. Ralph and Lois marry and live happily for the next five years.

In 1998, Ralph’s insomnia recurs. He realizes that he will soon fulfill the deal he made with Clotho and Lachesis to circumvent Atropos’s vision. Ralph prepares to sacrifice himself, revealing to Lois that Atropos means to kill Natalie. Lois tries to prevent Ralph from going, but Ralph uses his powers one last time to ensure Natalie’s safety. Ralph dies in the process. As a parting gift, Clotho and Lachesis bestow Ralph’s aura onto Lois, which consoles her.