--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When dawn was still long hours away, bad…" description: "\"“When dawn was still long hours away, bad thoughts took flesh and began to walk. In the middle of the night thoughts became zombies.”\" — Stephen King" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/949/stephen-king-13_bad-thoughts_when-dawn-was-still-long-hours-away-bad_1882556.jpg" --- # When dawn was still long hours away, bad thoughts took… ![“When dawn was still long hours away, bad thoughts took flesh and began to walk. In the middle of the night thoughts became zombies.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/949/stephen-king-13_bad-thoughts_when-dawn-was-still-long-hours-away-bad_1882556.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/949/stephen-king-13_bad-thoughts_when-dawn-was-still-long-hours-away-bad_1882556.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/949/stephen-king-13_bad-thoughts_when-dawn-was-still-long-hours-away-bad_1882556.jpg) > ““When dawn was still long hours away, bad thoughts took flesh and began to walk. In the middle of the night thoughts became zombies.”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nighttime thoughts can become overwhelming, turning mental distress into vivid, haunting experiences. **In simple terms:** Bad thoughts feel like zombies. Key Takeaway Address negative thoughts early. Themes psychology fear creativity Mood anxious reflective Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - stress management - creative writing - therapy sessions Key Concepts mental health nightmares Questions to Reflect On - How do you calm a racing mind? - What coping tools help at night? A Different Perspective Some may find the imagery too intense. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-thoughts/) [Long hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-hours/) [Middle of the night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-of-the-night/) [Zombies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zombies/) ## Related quotes > [When the dawn was still long hours away, bad thoughts took on flesh and began to walk. In the middle of the night thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/when-the-dawn-was-still-long-hours-away-bad-thoughts-took-on-flesh/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [My thoughts took frantic flight, wanting to escape this prison, and seek out the wind so it could fan my hair and sting my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-thoughts-took-frantic-flight-wanting-to-escape-this-prison-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > ["Hi," I said. She came over, licked my hand discreetly, allowed herself to be scratched for a time, chased her tail in a dignified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-bing/hi-i-said-she-came-over-licked-my-hand-discreetly-allowed-herself-to/) [Stanley Bing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-bing/) > [“A boy with bad thoughts needs to be visiting a haunted house like he needs arsenic in his mouthwash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/a-boy-with-bad-thoughts-needs-to-be-visiting-a-haunted-house-like-he/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Lightning goes off inside huge thunderheads nine miles off the starboard wing. In the stutter-flashes of light, the clouds look like huge transparent brains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lightning-goes-off-inside-huge-thunderheads-nine-miles-off-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [In the stutter-flashes of light, the clouds look like huge transparent brains filled with bad thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-the-stutter-flashes-of-light-the-clouds-look-like-huge-transparent/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The World is Very Flat, There is no doubt of that. (Night Thoughts of a tortoise suffering fom insomnia on a lawn)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-rieu/the-world-is-very-flat-there-is-no-doubt-of-that-night-thoughts-of-a/) E. V. Rieu > [I hate when my late night thoughts are things from the past, things I wish I could forget forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-when-my-late-night-thoughts-are-things-from-the-past-things-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some nights, alone, he thinks of her, and some nights, alone, she thinks of him. Some night these thoughts, separated by miles and time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/some-nights-alone-he-thinks-of-her-and-some-nights-alone-she-thinks/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [“The Something" Here come my night thoughts On crutches, Returning from studying the heavens. What they thought about Stayed the same, Stayed immense and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simic/the-something-here-come-my-night-thoughts-on-crutches-returning-from/) [Charles Simic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simic/) > [Night thoughts aren't to be trusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-foley/night-thoughts-aren-t-to-be-trusted/) [Rae Foley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-foley/) > [“If you wake during the night, any thoughts and feelings you might have are from your Chimp and they are often very disturbing, catastrophic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-wake-during-the-night-any-thoughts-and-feelings-you-might-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I hate being up at night all alone, my thoughts get the best of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-being-up-at-night-all-alone-my-thoughts-get-the-best-of-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Legend says if you cant sleep at night , someone has you in there thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yosi-baby/legend-says-if-you-cant-sleep-at-night-someone-has-you-in-there/) Yosi\_baby > [The one thing you shouldn't be left alone with at night, is your own thoughts. They eat you alive until the next morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-one-thing-you-shouldn-t-be-left-alone-with-at-night-is-your-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... 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The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Bad thoughts quotes > [“Personally, I’m a mess of conflicting impulses—I’m independent and greedy and I also want to belong and share and be a part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-siken/personally-i-m-a-mess-of-conflicting-impulses-i-m-independent-and/) [Richard Siken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-siken/) > [When he went through the kitchen he kissed Rebeca on the forehead. "Get those bad thoughts out of your head," he told her. "You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/when-he-went-through-the-kitchen-he-kissed-rebeca-on-the-forehead-get/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Assumptions result in bad thoughts, bad thoughts result in jealousy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/assumptions-result-in-bad-thoughts-bad-thoughts-result-in-jealousy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The first duty of a Christian, of a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, is to deny himself. To deny oneself means to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innocent-of-alaska/the-first-duty-of-a-christian-of-a-disciple-and-follower-of-jesus/) Innocent of Alaska > [“Psychological thoughts are the ones that decide whether something is “good” or “bad”, and these are the thoughts that create our suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-elkrief/psychological-thoughts-are-the-ones-that-decide-whether-something-is/) [Noah Elkrief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-elkrief/) > [“No difference, good or bad. Thoughts like birds in mind. Some fly in. Some fly out. Some stay at water hole to drink. Beware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-wright/no-difference-good-or-bad-thoughts-like-birds-in-mind-some-fly-in/) [Natalie Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-wright/) > [“Do you want me to get your back for you?” Cringe. “No, I’m fine.” “Okay, then could you get mine? I don’t really want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-rae/do-you-want-me-to-get-your-back-for-you-cringe-no-i-m-fine-okay-then/) [Kristin Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-rae/) > [“Never go to sleep with bad thoughts and torturing memories. They will not help you to wake up whole and fully serene—the two states…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhan-gopal-mukerji/never-go-to-sleep-with-bad-thoughts-and-torturing-memories-they-will/) [Dhan Gopal Mukerji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhan-gopal-mukerji/) > [Assumptions result in bad thoughts and bad thoughts raises so many unanswered questions...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-mudau/assumptions-result-in-bad-thoughts-and-bad-thoughts-raises-so-many/) [Lawrence Mudau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-mudau/) > [My dear heart, never think you are better than others. Listen to their sorrows with compassion. If you want peace, don't harbor bad thoughts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/my-dear-heart-never-think-you-are-better-than-others-listen-to-their/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“Sometimes people need a good person to listen to their bad thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/sometimes-people-need-a-good-person-to-listen-to-their-bad-thoughts/) [Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/) > [It doesn't matter what has Happened to You, it doesn't matter where you Came From or where you were Born. It also doesn't matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-jenn/it-doesn-t-matter-what-has-happened-to-you-it-doesn-t-matter-where/) Jenn Jenn > [“Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-allen/good-thoughts-and-actions-can-never-produce-bad-results-bad-thoughts/) [James Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-allen/) > [How many bad thoughts do you have to string together to end up having a bad day?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kemp/how-many-bad-thoughts-do-you-have-to-string-together-to-end-up-having/) [Lee Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kemp/) > [“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. PROVERBS 17:22 SEPTEMBER 18 I visited my old hometown and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/a-cheerful-heart-is-good-medicine-but-a-crushed-spirit-dries-up-the/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 85 Bad thoughts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-thoughts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When dawn was still long hours away, bad thoughts took flesh and began to walk. 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