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Humble beginnings -

Stephen King was born in the town of Durham, Maine, in 1947. He was raised by a single mother after his father abandoned them when King was still a toddler.

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The importance of Maine -

Fans of King’s work will know that the New England state of Maine is a common setting for his chilling tales. Many of his most famous books, such as ‘It’ and ‘Salem’s Lot,’ are set in small, blue-collar towns in Maine, some real and some fictional.

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Starting young -

King was a fan of speculative fiction from a young age, meaning he enjoyed stories that existed outside of our reality, featuring the supernatural or science fiction. He began writing seriously while studying at the University of Maine.

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Meeting the love of his life -

It was there, in 1969, that he met his wife Tabitha. They got married in 1971 and have been together ever since. King credits her with some of his greatest successes, as it was Tabitha who retrieved an early draft of ‘Carrie’ that she found thrown in the trash. She encouraged him to continue working on the story, and it became his first published novel. For her part, Tabitha is an author in her own right.

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The book: 'Carrie' (1974) -

‘Carrie’ was published in 1974, and instantly resonated with the public. It tells the story of a lonely teenage girl who suffers at the hands of her fanatically religious mother at home and of bullies at school. 'Carrie' became the literary embodiment of the horror of high school.

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The movie: 'Carrie' (1976) -

Two years after the book was published, the film adaptation by Brian De Palma premiered. The image of Sissy Spacek’s Carrie standing on stage at her high school prom after bullies have drenched her in pig’s blood is one of the most iconic images in cinematic history. The film had a budget of US$1.3 million and took in $33 million at the box office.

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The success of 'Carrie' -

“The movie made the book and the book made me,” King reflected in a 1979 interview with The New York Times. The success of the book and film gave him the go-ahead to become a full-time writer.

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A best-seller machine -

Stephen King is a famously prolific writer. He quickly began churning out some of his most beloved and successful novels. In the mid-seventies, he wrote 'Salem's Lot,’ ‘Rage,’ and ‘The Shining.’

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Record-breaking success -

He quickly followed them up with ‘The Stand,’ ‘The Long Walk,’ and ‘The Dead Zone’ in 1978 and 1979. Almost everything he wrote became an instant best-seller. In fact, King is the only author in history to have more than 30 no. 1 best-selling novels!

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'The Shining' (1980) -

By 1980, Stephen King was the best-selling author in the world. That was also the year that Stanley Kubrick released his film adaptation of ‘The Shining.’ The iconic horror movie might be the best-known and most culturally significant Stephen King film ever made, but the author himself has never been a fan.

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'The Shining' (1980) -

King tends to give full artistic freedom to those who make movies out of his books. In the case of Stanley Kubrick, this was problematic, as they had fundamentally different views on what fuels a horror story. In King’s opinion, ‘The Shining’ was a visual triumph, but little else.

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'The Shining' (1980) -

"The movie has no heart; there's no center to the picture," he said. "I wrote the book as a tragedy, and if it was a tragedy, it was because all the people loved each other ... here, it seems there's no tragedy because there's nothing to be lost."

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A serious writer? -

Despite the fact that King was producing best-seller after best-seller, as well as countless hit movies and TV adaptations, his association with horror and his financial success damaged his reputation in the literary world.

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Rejected by his peers -

Authors and critics alike refused to take his work seriously. He has said that he was perceived as a “rich hack” and was compared to the literary version of McDonald’s by another respected horror writer. Even when one of his short stories won the prestigious O. Henry Award in 1994, many critics were still dismissive of it.

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A change in perception -

It was his 1982 novella ‘Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption’ that started to turn the tides in his favor. It gained attention from critics as it proved that he was “more than a horror writer.”

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'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994) -

Of course, the 1994 film adaptation starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman was a runaway success. It was nominated for seven Oscars that year, and quickly became a classic. The image of Andy Dufresne standing free in the rain after his escape is another one of the most recognizable images in cinematic history.

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King in the 1980s -

Jumping back to the 1980s, this was notably one of the most productive periods of King’s career. He was putting out one or two books every year, some of them his most iconic works like ‘The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger,’ ‘Cujo,’ and ‘It.’

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Behind the scenes -

But it was during this period that King was struggling with alcoholism and substance abuse. Certain incidents in the early ‘80s made him realize that the amount he was drinking was a problem, so he decided he needed a solution. Unfortunately, that solution was cocaine.

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Intervention -

King worked under the influence of either alcohol or drugs for several years, and later admitted that he doesn’t really remember writing the 1981 hit novel ‘Cujo,’ one of his most famous books. His wife Tabitha eventually staged an intervention in 1987, which gave him the kick he needed to get sober. It was a couple of years before he published his next book, but luckily he discovered that drugs were not the source of his creativity or success.

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‘Dolores Claiborne’ -

In the early 1990s, he published more of his most famous novels, including ‘Gerald's Game’ and ‘Dolores Claiborne.’ A film adaptation of ‘Dolores Claiborne’ starring Kathy Bates was released in 1995.

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The accident -

On June 19, 1999, King was taking his usual daily walk when he was suddenly hit by an oncoming van that had swerved into the hard shoulder. He suffered severe injuries that very nearly cost him his life. His left leg was so badly damaged that surgeons debated whether or not to amputate it, eventually deciding it should stay.

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The coincidence of 'Misery' -

King was in the hospital in severe pain for a month before being released to continue a slow and painful physical therapy program. It’s interesting to note that he wrote the book ‘Misery’ more than a decade before this, which happens to detail the experience of an author who is seriously injured in a car accident, although the circumstances of his recovery are quite different!

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The coincidence of 'Misery' -

The injured protagonist in ‘Misery’ is found by an obsessive super fan who takes him to her home and uses his injuries to keep him under her control. The 1990 film adaptation stars Kathy Bates as the terrifying Annie Wilkes, a performance which earned her the Oscar for Best Actress.

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'Misery' and addiction -

While the book ‘Misery’ was written too early to be inspired by his own personal experience with serious injury, it was inspired by another dark period in his life. “Misery is a book about cocaine. Annie Wilkes is cocaine. She was my number-one fan.” Of course, Wilkes also traps and tortures the object of her obsession.

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'On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft' -

King briefly thought that he would have to quit writing after his accident, but found his way back to his craft. It was during his recovery that he wrote another seminal work, but this time it was non-fiction.

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'On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft' -

‘On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft’ explores King’s approach to writing and breaks it down into guidelines for those who want to learn. The book is considered a young author’s bible by some, but a little pedestrian by others. Regardless, King is uniquely prolific and successful as a writer, so an insight into his process holds a great deal of interest for many readers and aspiring writers.

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Back to work -

King continued to write steadily throughout the 2000s, adding sequels to his hit series ‘The Dark Tower.’ In 2006, he wrote the book ‘Lisey's Story,’ which was turned into a miniseries by J.J. Abrams in 2021, starring Julianne Moore and Clive Owen.

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'Doctor Sleep' -

In 2013, he released the book ‘Doctor Sleep,’ a sequel to ‘The Shining,’ which follows a grown-up Danny Torrance decades after the terrifying incidents at the Overlook Hotel. In 2019, the book was made into a movie by director Mike Flanagan. King expressed his amazement at how seamlessly Flanagan managed to weave a coherent sequel to Kubrick’s film while staying true to his books, despite the fact that they were fundamentally so different. ’Doctor Sleep’ starred Ewan McGregor as Danny Torrance.

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'It' (2017) -

The most famous of Stephen King’s more recent film adaptations is ‘It.’ The 2017 movie and 2019 sequel featured an incredible ensemble cast of young stars to play the Losers Club. Many of the young actors were simultaneously starring in ‘Stranger Things,’ a series undeniably influenced by King’s work.

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National Medal of Arts -

In 2014, President Barack Obama selected King as one of the recipients of the National Medal of Arts. "One of the most popular and prolific writers of our time, Mr. King combines his remarkable storytelling with his sharp analysis of human nature. For decades, his works of horror, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy have terrified and delighted audiences around the world," Obama said of King at the ceremony.

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'The Monkey' (2025) -

Director Osgood Perkins, known for his acclaimed 2024 movie 'Longlegs,' returns with another horror film set for release in 2025. 'The Monkey' is based on King's short story about two brothers who find an old monkey toy that belonged to their father. From that point on, a series of deaths begin to occur.

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Stephen King: the King of Horror -

It is difficult to quantify the impact that King’s work has had on literature, film, and popular culture. He can certainly be credited with reinventing the horror genre and changing its image in mainstream culture, and in doing so, dominating an entire genre in a way no other writer has ever done.

Sources: (Vox) (Britannica) (The Guardian) (The New Yorker) (Screen Rant)

See also: 30 of the greatest horror movies of all time

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