In the middle of all the terror in King's work, one can find this bits that make all the horror worth it to his protagonists... and his readers.
- 1408
- Carrie
- While Laurie has scary elements involving an old man fighting an alligator, the core story is just about a widowed old man bonding with a small dog he names Laurie. Despite not wanting her at first, he bonds with her over time to the point he can't imagine being without her. For added bonus, despite the alligator attack killing Don in a graphic manner, Lloyd and Laurie live normally after that.
- The novella "Ur", which appears in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. A college professor mistakenly receives a magic Kindle which can display works and news articles from other timelines. Unlike many a King character who gets their hands on such a MacGuffin, he uses his newfound knowledge and power entirely for good, saves the lives of his girlfriend and her student basketball team by changing the events that would have led to their deaths, and though he gets a slap on the wrist from the inter-dimensional police and loses his magic Kindle, he gets an untarnished happy ending.
