The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It expands upon the scenario of a world decimated by a pandemic. The novel outlines the total breakdown of society after the accidental release of a strain of influenza that had been modified for biological warfare causes an apocalyptic pandemic, which kills off the majority of the world's human population.

Survivors struggle to establish new social systems and engage in confrontation between good and evil. The narrative follows groups of people on both sides of the emerging conflict and their moral, philosophical, and psychological journey in the aftermath of the catastrophe.