The story begins with the unnamed narrator recalling the outcome of an event that took place 12 years prior when he was aged 11: "there were twelve of us when we went in that night, but only two of us came out – my friend Kirby and me.

One night two months following Skybar's closure, the narrator's friend Brant Callahan - who is known for his dangerous and outlandish dares, such as persuading the group to stand facing railway lines on which bullets have been placed and await an oncoming train - persuades the group to sneak into Skybar and climb up the tracks to the top of the SkyCoaster.

Climbing with his eyes closed, the narrator is alerted by screaming and splashes, followed by the sound of a rollercoaster car moving along the tracks towards him.

In 1982, Doubleday published The Do-It-Yourself Bestseller: A Workbook, a book, edited by Tom Silberkleit and Jerry Biederman, to help readers write fiction.

"[1] Michael R. Collings describes "Skybar" as "demonstrating traditional King stylistics and techniques: brand names and a painfully precise realism as a backdrop for fear".