The mangle in the laundromat where Dawes works is nicknamed "The Mangler", because of "what would happen to you if you ever got caught in it." King had previously published a short story called "The Mangler" (1972), in which a demon-possessed mangle kills workers in an industrial laundry facility. Roadwork relates a story about a .22 caliber, single-shot rifle that Barton Dawes had bought as a boy: In Apt Pupil (1982), Todd Bowden sees an injured blue jay on the ground while cycling; the bird's beak opens and closes slowly. In Desperation (1996), the character Audrey Wyler recalls: References 1981 American novels Novels by Richard Bachman Fiction set in 1973 Fiction set in 1974 Signet Books books