THE KING OF TERROR

Did You Know These 10 Stephen King Stories?

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Stephen King has truly earned his nickname "the King of Horror." Not only is it a fun wordplay on this iconic author’s last name, but it also perfectly describes his incredibly prolific career. With over 65 novels, 200 short stories, and no signs of slowing down, Stephen King has truly taken the horror genre to new heights.

In his almost 50-year-old career, King has written some of the most iconic and groundbreaking moments that redefined horror books and movies. We have selected ten of the most bloodcurdling King books as a way to honor this outstanding master of horror. Enjoy!

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We’ll start with King’s very first novel. Published in 1974, "Carrie" tells the story of a solitary and misunderstood teenager who one day discovers she has telekinetic powers. Ostracized and humiliated by her classmates, Carrie finally snaps and enacts revenge on the entire town that neglected her.

As bleak as this story is, the tale of how it was conceived is actually rather wholesome. King first drafted "Carrie" as a short story to be published in a magazine, but gave up on it since he felt it wouldn’t be successful. His wife Tabitha, however, encouraged him to keep on with it, inadvertently helping launch one of the most successful writing careers in modern history.

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Just like "Carrie", Stephen King’s novel "The Shining" might be best known for its 1980 film adaptation, directed by the legendary Stanley Kubrick. However, there is a huge difference between both movies: While Carrie is a fairly faithful adaptation of the original book, King has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s version. And, while the film is considered by many to be a masterpiece, the truth is that its vast differences with the source material have made the movie not a particularly faithful adaptation.

"The Shining" tells the story of Jack, Wendy, and Danny Torrance, a small family who moves to the empty Overlook Hotel in the Rocky Mountains, after Jack is hired as winter caretaker. Inspired by the real-life Stanley Hotel, the Overlook is a magnificent but mysterious place, filled with supernatural occurrences and ghostly apparitions. Locked in by the snow, Danny and Wendy must survive a suddenly deranged Jack, influenced by the evil pull of the hotel who wants to get ahold of the once-happy family.

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In case you didn’t know, people suffering from coulrophobia have an irrational fear of clowns. That being said, fearing clowns is way more common than you think: Some of us owe our fear of these colorful-haired entertainers to Stephen King’s classic 1986 novel, "It".

This book centers on a group of seven friends, who battle a shape-shifting monster (simply known as "It") that haunts the fictional town of Derry, Maine. While It can morph into whatever horrible form he chooses, his favorite shape is a dancing clown called Pennywise. Brought to life by Tim Curry in the 1990 mini-series (and then again by Bill Skarsgard in the 2017 film adaptation), Pennywise’s macabre antics have made him into one of the most iconic villains ever created.

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Leave it to Stephen King to turn a beloved American icon into a murderous machine. Published in 1983, the novel "Christine" features an unusual villain: a 1958 Plymouth Fury, possessed by an evil spirit hell-bent on revenge. After bespectacled and withdrawn high-schooler Arnie Cunningham buys Christine from a mysterious old man, strange occurrences start happening in his hometown.

Acclaimed horror filmmaker John Carpenter directed a film adaptation of "Christine" only 8 months after the publication of the book. Carpenter’s version is now considered to be a cult classic and, just like King, managed to make a seemingly mundane item into a bloodthirsty monster.

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Just like with "Christine", Stephen King manages to make one of the most adorable dogs in the world into the stuff of nightmares. The titular "Cujo" in the 1981 novel is a good-tempered St. Bernard, who becomes a rageful beast after being bitten by a rabid bat. King’s magistral take on this hellhound seems almost logical: Despite being friendly and caring, St. Bernards are humongous dogs and the prospect of one of them turning into a frenzy is a terrifying one.

King took inspiration for this story from a trip to a mechanic in his home state of Maine after having trouble with his motorcycle. When the author arrived at the garage, he was greeted by an angry St. Bernard who lunged for his hand. While King was left unharmed, the fear this enormous dog instilled in him drove him to create Cujo.

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How would you react if you woke up and found yourself sitting in a completely empty airplane? This existential question was posed by King in his 1990 novella, "The Langoliers". A group of ten people traveling on a red-eye flight to Boston discover that they are the only passengers on an airplane and make an emergency landing in Bangor, Maine. What follows is a bloodcurdling exploration into an eerily ghostly land on which time ceases to exist, devoured by otherworldly creatures called the Langoliers.

This novella was adapted into a TV mini-series in 1994. Stephen King himself makes a cameo, appearing as a businessman conducting an important shareholders meeting.

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Misty and foggy weather has always been a staple of horror novels: it is easy to picture a haunted mansion or a spooky castle shrouded in a thin layer of concealing mist. However, in most stories, mist is usually innocuous, and nothing more than a way to add to the gravitas of a spooky landscape. That is until Stephen King came along with his 1980 novella "The Mist".

After a massive thunderstorm hits Bridgton, Maine, an unprecedently thick mist covers the town and leaves a group of citizens stranded in a supermarket. While the lack of visibility is a concern, the mist hides something more sinister: supernatural creatures that attack whoever wanders into the foggy streets.

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Fans are one of the main sources of inspiration for lots of creative people: their support and continuous encouragement drive their favorite artists to create new work. However, as the 1987 novel "Misery" teaches us, there is a very big difference between admiration and obsession, and sometimes your biggest fan might become your worst nightmare.

King was inspired by the reactions of some of his own fans to his fantasy novel "The Eyes of the Dragon". The story of writer Paul Sheldon and how he is held captive by a deranged admirer of his books draw parallels to King’s own experiences with fans. King felt some of his fans had metaphorically trapped him in the horror genre, especially those who reacted negatively to "The Eyes of The Dragon" just because it wasn’t a horror novel.

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No, that’s not a typo: that’s the actual name of this book. But you probably already know that: this is one of Stephen King’s most famous works. It has been adapted into two movies, one in 1989 and another in 2019, and it even inspired a punk rock anthem by the legendary band The Ramones.

This book follows the Creeds, a family that moves to a house near the town of Ludlow, Maine. After a truck runs over the family cat, a neighbor advises burying their pet behind the old "pet sematary", an ancient and evil burial ground with the power to bring the dead back to life. However, Louis soon learns that some things should stay buried.

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We end this list with one of Stephen King’s most acclaimed books. The post-apocalyptic novel "The Stand" was one of King’s most ambitious projects: The complete edition, published in 1990, is the author’s longest stand-alone book to this day. This effort shows, though, since "The Stand" became a #1 bestseller and it is considered by many to be one of King’s best novels.

After a deadly virus extermines most of the human population, two opposing factions try to rally survivors to their side. This novel was the first appearance of Randall Flagg, one of King’s most iconic villains and the main antagonist of "The Dark Tower" series. "The Stand" was adapted into several TV shows, most recently in a 2021 adaptation starring Alexander Skarsgard.

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER? APPARENTLY, SOME THINGS DO!

Did You Know These 10 Food Items Never Go Bad?

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Everything has an expiration date—even the things that don’t really expire. The truth is, everything has an expiration date because the law says it has to, just to be on the safe side. As for the things that don’t expire, the list is not too long but it's probably longer than you expected it to be. For the sake of brevity, we narrowed it down to 10 items. Can you guess as to what you will find in it?

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This first one is quite obvious. A few years ago, a running joke on the internet had the picture of a Himalayan pink salt package with a label that proudly stated "Formed 250 million years ago" and, in the small print at the bottom, said "Expires in 1 month". The joke being that salt does not expire. This is because salt is a mineral and, as such, it is not subjected to the decaying nature of organic matter.

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This one is also quite legendary. Can you imagine smearing 3.000-year-old honey discovered in the tomb of Egyptian King Tut on your toast? Aside from the spectacular price tag such an item would go for, it would be perfectly safe for your health because, yes, you guessed it, honey lasts forever.

Bees create this elixir with almost no water, which is something microbes need to exist. And no microbes equals no decomposition. So, grab that honey jar at the bottom of the pantry and pour some on a cup of hot tea!

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This one might not be as legendary as the previous too but it surely deserves a spot on our list. White****vinegar has an indefinite shelf life thanks to its high acidity (above 4%). Microbes don’t grow in acidic conditions. This is why you often see pickled products preserved in vinegar: because this liquid prevents spoiling due to its high acidity.


A bottle that was bought ages ago for a barbecue or a Bloody Mary cocktail and then forgotten in the pantry or the refrigerator door is still perfectly safe to consume. Worcestershire sauce doesn't really go bad. This happens because it is mostly made of white vinegar, and we already know what’s the deal with white vinegar, right?

So, use it for your tomato juice and vodka drink, pour it on your steak, and then cast it aside for a year or two, the trusty fellow will be there waiting for you as if time hadn’t passed at all.

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Do you remember those old liquor cabinets, usually in grandparent homes, filled with ancient alcohol bottles that nobody ever really drank? There is a reason those dusty bottles never went bad and it is a single word: alcohol.

Bacteria do NOT like alcohol, and beverages with high alcohol content keep bacteria from growing, thus, decaying.

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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that powdered milk lasts between 2 and 10 years. We know that is nowhere near the shelf life of the other elements in this list but still, it's quite impressive for a dairy product. Some survival stores even sell non-fat dry powdered milk labeled with a 25-year shelf life.

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Every person who has ever bought dry beans knows that this product lasts a long time. How long, you might ask? Dry beans are usually given a shelf-life of 3 to 6 years under optimal storage conditions, in a low humidity environment. But there are recorded cases of dry beans lasting longer than 24 years without significant taste loss or hardening and even a case of a carbon-dated 1,500-year-old batch of white beans that could be planted and grown perfectly in normal conditions.

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In the same manner that we can count on salt forever, sugar is another thing that won’t go bad. Due to their resistance to microbial growth, commercial sugars have an indefinite shelf life.

While sugars are recommended to be used within 2 years, that is because of lumpiness or hardening in granulated sugars and crystallization of sugars in honey and syrup. It is still safe to use even when lumpy or crystals are present. The color and flavor of liquid sugars may change over time, but they can still be consumed.

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For most people, coffee is a comforting beverage to have around and, as such, it is nice to know that it won’t go bad anytime soon. Instant coffee, while unopened, has a shelf life of up to 20 years, depending on the package and the processing methods. Coffee, while it can lose some of its flavor over time, consistently proves itself as a long-lasting contender.

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Another comfort food, pure maple syrup can last a really long time, due to its high sugar content. According to various sources, the shelf life of pure maple syrup is pretty much eternal.

If stored properly, that is, in a dark and dry place, and, ideally, in a glass container, pure maple syrup will last indefinitely. If crystals form in the bottle, placing the vessel in boiling water will undo them and make the syrup as good as new.