Stephen King's the Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance Revised and Updated (62 page)

UNNAMED COWBOY:
This unnamed cowboy had his face ripped off by the skin-man. W:75

MANNI COUPLE:
This young couple was on their marriage retreat when they were attacked by the skin-man. Two COWPUNCHERS who went to investigate the screaming saw the skin-man loping off with the woman’s lower leg in its jaws. W:45–46

SALTIES:
A number of salties were torn up by the skin-man, although we’re not told about these attacks in detail. W:64

SHEPHERD VICTIM (YON CURRY):
This sheepherder was killed by something that looked like a wolf, but ran upright like a man. His two dogs were torn to pieces by the monstrous attacker. W:45, W:57, W:63, W:64

SHEPHERD WITNESS:
This shepherd saw his partner attacked by the skin-man. The man’s two dogs, who tried to protect their master, were torn apart too. According to this witness, the attacking monster looked like a wolf but ran upright like a man W:45

TIMBERSMITH FARM:
Nine people were killed at the Timbersmith farm. SHERIFF PEAVY also found a little boy’s head stuck onto a pole. There were tracks all around it. The tracks were those of a big cat, but when Peavy’s posse followed the tracks, they changed into hoofs, then into the prints of a giant human being. Finally, they became the prints of a small man. W:63

BOY:
The skin-man stuck this young boy’s head on pole. The boy’s skull was smashed and his brain was scooped out. W:45, W:47, W:63

SKÖLDPADDA

See
GUARDIANS OF THE BEAM
: TURTLE

SLEEPY JOHN’S

See
CALIFORNIA (STATE OF)
: SACRAMENTO: SLEEPY JOHN’S,
in
OUR WORLD PLACES

SLIDELL, POKEY

See
CALLA BRYN STURGIS CHARACTERS
: WOLF POSSE

SLIGHTMAN, BEN

See
CALLA BRYN STURGIS CHARACTERS
: RANCHERS: EISENHART, VAUGHN

SLIGHTMAN, BENNY

See
CALLA BRYN STURGIS CHARACTERS
: RANCHERS: EISENHART, VAUGHN

SLIGHTMAN, EDNA

See
CALLA BRYN STURGIS CHARACTERS
: RANCHERS: EISENHART, VAUGHN: SLIGHTMAN, BEN (EISENHART’S FOREMAN)

SLOW MUTANTS

See
MUTANTS

SMACK, ARDELIA

See
WIDOW SMACK

SMA’ LADY MUFFIN

See
MID-WORLD FOLKLORE

S’MANA

See
GODS OF MID-WORLD

SMASHER

See
ELURIA CHARACTERS
: GREEN FOLK

SMA’ TOOT

When Roland was a boy, Sma’ Toot was a special two-car train that ran along MID-WORLD’S WESTERN LINE. Once the Western Line ran a thousand wheels or more to the MOHAINE DESERT, but in the years before GILEAD fell, it ran to DEBARIA and no farther. Beyond that, many tracklines had been destroyed by washouts and ground-shakers. Others had been taken up by harriers and roving bands of outlaws.

To the people of Gilead, Sma’ Toot looked like little more than a steam-driven toy, and they laughed to see it puffing over the bridge to the west of the PALACE. However, the small train with its isinglass windows and velveteen seats that folded out into uncomfortable beds did serve an important purpose. It brought Roland and JAMIE to Debaria, where they investigated the vicious murders committed by the SKIN-MAN.

W:40–44, W:48, W:51, W:62, W:63, W:294, W:303

ENGINEER TRAVIS (ENG, ENJIE):
Sma’ Toot’s engineer was a broad-shouldered, bow-legged plug of a man. After Sma’ Toot went off her rails, Roland and JAMIE DeCURRY rode to get help. But before they left, Engineer Travis warned the boys not to stop at the women’s retreat of SERENITY. The Eng maintained that the SISTERS OF SERENITY ate men. (Obviously, he was wrong.) Engineer Travis made another brief appearance later in our tale. He traveled with SHERIFF PEAVY, KELLIN FRYE, VIKKA FRYE, Roland, and Jamie to the JEFFERSON RANCH, just after the massacre. He didn’t have the stomach for all the blood he saw there. W:43–44, W:48, W:62, W:63, W:70–74
(present at Ranch; mentioned on 70, 72; 74 says “seen enough”),
W:294

FIXING CREW:
W:44
(mentioned),
W:63, W:294

SERVANT:
This old man served Roland and JAMIE their meals while they traveled on Sma’ Toot toward DEBARIA. When the train derailed he was flung all the way back to the door between the car and his little kitchen. His false teeth flew out of his mouth and into his lap.W:41, W:42–43, W:62, W:63

WIFE:
After Sma’ Toot derailed, the old servant decided to quit his job. Otherwise he feared he wouldn’t outlive his nag of a wife. W:43

SMITH, BRYAN

See
KING, STEPHEN

SNEETCHES

See
APPENDIX I

SNIP

See
DEBARIA CHARACTERS
: JEFFERSON RANCH CHARACTERS

SNUGGLEBUT

See
CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK
: CALLAHAN’S PRESENT ASSOCIATES

SOBIESKI, MARY JEAN

See
DEAN, EDDIE
: EDDIE’S PAST ASSOCIATES

SOLDIERS OF THE CRIMSON KING

See
WARRIORS OF THE SCARLET EYE

SOMBRA CORPORATION (SOMBRA GROUP)

NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS, LaMERK INDUSTRIES, and MILLS CONSTRUCTION AND SOMBRA REAL ESTATE are all part of the Sombra Group, a corporate conglomerate which serves the CRIMSON KING. Like its subsidiary North Central Positronics, Sombra has been a leader in mind-to-mind communication since the ten thousands. Mills Construction and North Central Positronics were responsible for building the MIND-TRAP under the DIXIE PIG. They are also refurbishing the PLAZA–PARK HYATT hotel where SUSANNAH-MIO stays during her trip to 1999 NEW YORK.

Incorporated in NASSAU, Sombra is a closed corporation that deals in technology, real estate, and construction. This dangerous conglomerate is after both the Vacant LOT and the magical ROSE which grows there. As CALVIN TOWER realizes when he hesitates at selling the Vacant Lot to them, if Sombra can’t appeal to a person’s greed, they will resort to terrorizing them. Just as the servants of the Red King use the WOLVES of END-WORLD to steal the children of the BORDERLANDS, the Red King’s men use BALAZAR and his thugs to intimidate those who stand in their way in our world.

Not only are Sombra’s employees determined to destroy the DARK TOWER, the Lot, and the Rose, but they also bear grudges against those who hunt down the VAMPIRES who serve the Outer Dark. When the vampire-killer FATHER CALLAHAN is working at the LIGHTHOUSE SHELTER in DETROIT, the Sombra Corporation lays a trap for him. Telling Callahan and his associates that their shelter has been awarded a million dollars, they lure the unsuspecting men to the TISHMAN BUILDING (982 Michigan Avenue), so that they can pick up their check. However, rather than receiving the money, Callahan finds himself in the hands of the evil RICHARD P. SAYRE, the LOW MAN who is also Sombra’s
executive vice president. Rather than submitting to the bites of Sayre’s AIDS-infected TYPE THREE VAMPIRES, Callahan jumps out the window. He awakes in MID-WORLD’s WAY STATION.

V:68–69, V:95–106
(and rose),
V:188
(Mills Construction and Sombra),
V:451, V:453–57, V:503, V:522, V:527, V:528, V:539, V:550, VI:91–92, VI:109, VI:202, VI:219, VI:269, VI:336, VI:359, VI:381, VII:37, VII:48, VII:75, VII:125, VII:127, VII:492

SAYRE, RICHARD P.:
See
CAN-TOI
,
listed separately

SKANK, BANGO:
See
SKANK, BANGO
,
listed separately

SOMBRA ESCORT:
V:451

SOMBRA SECRETARIES:
V:454

SOMBRA SUBSIDIARIES:

LAMERK INDUSTRIES
:
Listed separately

MILLS CONSTRUCTION AND SOMBRA REAL ESTATE:
Listed separately

NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS:
Listed separately

SONESH, TASSA OF

See
WARRIORS OF THE SCARLET EYE
: DEVAR-TOI CHARACTERS: HUMANS

SOO LINES

Once upon a time, the Soo Line trains ran to the DEVAR-TOI. By the time our
tet
reaches THUNDERCLAP, the line no longer runs. However, one of their boxcars is still stalled on the tracks just southwest of the Devar’s fence. Roland, JAKE, and EDDIE hide behind this stalled car (as well as some of the others) while they are waiting to attack the Devar.

VII:340

SOOBIE

See
TULL CHARACTERS
: KENNERLY, JUBAL

SOPHIA (SISTER BLUE)

See
DEAN, SUSANNAH
: ODETTA HOLMES’S ASSOCIATES

SOUTH AMERICAN SEABEES

According to FRANK ARMITAGE, one of the humes who recruits BREAKERS to work in END-WORLD, back in 1946 a consortium of wealthy South American businessmen hired U.S. engineers, construction workers, and roughnecks to work for them. These workers were known as the South American Seabees. The consortium gave the North Americans four-year contracts. The workers were extremely well paid, but were not allowed to go home during their term of employment. Like the South American Seabees, Armitage explains, the workers that he hires also have to remain in their place of employment until their contracts expire. However, what this servant of the CRIMSON KING neglects to tell TED BRAUTIGAN and the other recruits is that their term of service in the DEVAR-TOI will not expire until the (literal) end of the world.

VII:284

SOUTH STAR

See
GODS OF MID-WORLD
: OLD MOTHER

SOYCHAK, MR.

See
KING, STEPHEN

SPALTER

See
CALLA BRYN STURGIS CHARACTERS
: OTHER CHARACTERS

SPEAKING-RING DEMON

See
DEMON ELEMENTALS

SPICS OF SUPREMACY

See
DEAN, SUSANNAH
: DETTA WALKER’S ASSOCIATES

SPIDERS, LORD OF THE

See
CRIMSON KING

SPIER, JOHN T.

See
KING, STEPHEN
: FAN MAIL/HATE MAIL

SPINELLI, FRANK

See
CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK
: CALLAHAN’S HOME SHELTER ASSOCIATES

SPIRIT OF THE SNOW COUNTRY

See
NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS

SPIRIT OF TOPEKA

See
NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS

SPLINTER HARRY

See
TREE VILLAGE CHARACTERS

SPOT HUNTER

See
TREE VILLAGE CHARACTERS

STARKBLAST

A starkblast is a type of powerful, fast-moving storm which is unique to Mid-World. Its features include steep and sudden drops in temperature accompanied by strong winds. It has been known to cause great destruction and loss of life in civilized portions of the world. In primitive areas, entire tribes are often wiped out by it. When Roland was a boy, starkblasts used to come down on the GREAT WOODS north of NEW CANAAN once or twice a year, though luckily for the people living in GILEAD, the storms usually rose into the air and dispersed before reaching the city. Unfortunately, those living farther north were not so lucky. Roland remembers seeing cartloads of frozen bodies being drawn down GILEAD ROAD soon after a starkblast. He assumed that the corpses were those
of farming families that didn’t have BILLY-BUMBLERS to warn them about the coming storm.

Most starkblasts originate in the northernmost reaches of Mid-World, where the snows never end and New Earth never comes. When warm southern air reaches that northerly clime, a great funnel begins to form. This funnel breathes like a lung, sucking up the frigid air from below, which in turn makes it swirl faster, creating a self-sustaining energy pump. Soon enough, this funnel-like storm finds the nearest PATH OF THE BEAM and begins to travel along it toward human habitations.

Days before a starkblast is due to blow, the weather becomes unseasonably warm. To those without bumblers to alert them to the approaching danger, it might seem pleasantly balmy. However, those with bumblers will begin to notice their furry companions’ strange behavior. First of all, the bumblers will sit very still, their noses lifted to the coming storm, their eyes bright and dreamy, and their little corkscrew-like tails tucked around their bodies. As the storm comes closer, the excited bumblers will begin to turn in circles. In fact, some (like JAKE’s pet bumbler OY) will become so mesmerized by the approaching storm that they will not seek shelter. (Luckily, Jake grabbed Oy and carried him into the safety of the GOOK Meetinghouse before the storm could freeze him and sweep him away.)

When the starkblast finally descends it hits full force. In less than an hour, the temperature falls as much as forty limbits below freezing. Ponds freeze in an instant, with a sound like bullets breaking window-panes. Birds turned to ice-statues and fall from the sky like rocks. Grass turned to glass. Yet the cold is only part of the horror. The winds of a starkblast are gale-force, snapping the frozen trees like straws. Such storms often roll for three hundred wheels before lifting off into the sky as suddenly as they came.

Strong winds, especially the winds of the starkblast, unify the three interlinked stories of
The Wind Through the Keyhole.
At the beginning of the novel, ROLAND, EDDIE, SUSANNAH, Jake, and Oy are traveling along the Path of the Beam toward CALLA BRYN STURGIS, completely unaware of the trouble about to beset them. Thanks to Oy’s strange behavior, and also the observations of the ancient WHYE ferryman BIX, Roland’s
tet
has enough forewarning to hide up in the MEETING HALL of a deserted village called Gook. They collect firewood and get a fire blazing just in time.