If you enjoy scary stories, then “Misery,” now running at Act II Playhouse, is the show for you. William Goldman’s adaptation of the 1987 Stephen King novel holds you in rapt suspense for the full 90 minutes of its run time.

It does not matter if you saw the hit 1990 movie version with Kathy Bates. Knowing “how it ends” just makes the terror more manageable. “Misery” lacks the supernatural touch of King’s Gothic-horror stories. Instead, it is an approachable, creepy tale of pathological obsession.

Stephen King tells us the core plot came to him in a dream during a plane flight. Paul Sheldon, a successful writer, crashes his car during a blizzard in the Colorado boondocks. Four days later, he awakens in the rural cabin of Annie Wilkes, a nurse who pulls him from the wreck.

Annie fixes his broken legs with makeshift splints and places his broken arm in a splint. Annie tells him the phone lines are down, promises to alert the authorities at the first opportunity, then consoles Paul with a revelation: “I am your number one fan!”

Turns out, Annie found Paul because she had been stalking him at his mountain retreat. She read all eight of his best-selling Misery Chastain novels, and proclaims only a “good person” could create such a moral woman. Then Annie buys the ninth “Misery” novel from the general store and is horrified by what she reads.

Veteran Barrymore Award-winning actor Mary Martello directs. At first, her pace is slow; it takes Paul Sheldon a while to realize he is a captive. Slowly, the pace picks up and builds to a frenzy that mirrors his burgeoning desperation. “Misery” proceeds at two levels. It is a horror-filled thriller; you root for Paul and try to anticipate his escape schemes. At the same time, “Misery” is an adroit character study.

Exemplary performances bring these two characters to life. Act II Playhouse favorite Sabrina Profitt is careful not to overact Annie’s pathology. For long stretches, Annie is just an officious, screwball version of the awe-struck fan. When her savage need to possess takes over, Annie, too, is a prisoner, shackled to her vicious inner nature.

Veteran actor Christopher Patrick Mullen’s portrayal of the tormented writer is intense. You root for Paul as he follows Annie lockstep, probing for a weakness. You feel his range of emotions. Occasionally, Paul delivers an ironic, resigned sarcasm, and you delight in watching it sail over the head of his obsessed captor.

Parris Bradley’s stage design separates the bedroom from the kitchen, with one door locked to effectively imprison Paul and the other open so you can see the comings and goings of Annie. Director Martello uses Lily Fossner’s light design and Adam Danoff’s sound effects to enhance dramatic tension and the sense of menace.

Martello tempers terror with comedic touches. Along with barbed remarks from Paul, Sheriff Buster twice enters the scene. Mark Swift even looks funny as the rural officer who bristles at the FBI’s big-shot demeanor. But, rightfully, Annie is never amusing; the pathologically obsessed lack humor.

This taut production at Act II succeeds as a fearful entertainment in the terror-thriller genre. But in a wonderfully ironic coda, we see that Paul has become both more authentic and scarred by the experience, so that it is not altogether far-fetched to also perceive the extremity of “Misery” as a metaphorical comment on relationships.

Act II Playhouse is located at 56 E. Butler Pike in Ambler. “Misery” will run through Nov 9. Tickets are available at 215-654-0200.