Stephen King is without a doubt, one of the most prolific and influential writers of all time. He’s best known for his horror novels, many of which have broken records and have been adapted onto both the big and small screen. We know that the Rebel Circus audience is packed with King fans, so we’ve curated some of our favorite facts about the author and his works. Take a look at our top 35 facts in gallery below, then let us know which fact surprised you in the comments section on social media.
-As a child, Stephen King witnessed a friend of his get struck and killed by a train.
-He initially had no memory of the event and found out later from his family what happened.
-King was inspired to become a horror author after reading a collection of short stories by H.P. Lovecraft.
-King was a big fan of horror comics, notably the anthology series “Tales from the Crypt.”
-King’s first published story was called “I Was a Teenage Grave Robber” and was published in “Comic Review” in 1965.
-King attended the University of Maine and intended to become a high school teacher, however, after graduation he was unable to find a job.
-As a young adult, King was arrested for stealing traffic cones and paid off the $250 petty larceny fine with a check for his short story, “The Raft.”
-Before focusing on writing full time, King taught at the Hampden Academy in Hampden, Maine.
-Although not the first novel he’d written, “Carrie” was King’s first published novel.
-“Carrie” was written on King’s wife’s portable typewriter and after almost giving up, she helped him to write the story from a female perspective.
-King’s second published novel, “‘Salem’s Lot” debuted in 1975 and a theatrical film adaptation is currently being made.
-After the death of his mother, King briefly to Boulder, Colorado where he wrote his third novel, “The Shining.”
-King became inspired to write “The Shining” after spending the night in The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
-Other stories that inspired King to write this story include “The Haunting of Hill House,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Masque of the Red Death” and “Burnt Offerings.”
-Initially, King had written a prologue for “The Shining” called “Before the Play,” which told the earlier events of the Overlook Hotel, as well as an epilogue called “After the Play.”
-In 1982, King published “Different Seasons,” a collection four novellas, three of which became motion picture films.
-The first of these stories was “Stand by Me,” based on King’s short story “The Body,” which premiered in theaters in 1986.
-The second of these stories was “The Shawshank Redemption,” based on King’s short story “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,” which premiered in theaters in 1994.
-In advertising from this film, King’s named was mostly omitted to draw in a different crowd.
-The final of these novellas to be adapted onto the big screen was “Apt Pupil,” which premiered in 1998 and was directed by Bryan Singer, who’d go on to direct many of the X-Men films.
-From 1982 through 2012, King published eight books and two short stories in “The Dark Tower” series.
-These stories were primarily inspired by a poem called “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” which was written by Robert Browning in 1852.
-King was also heavily influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien and his “The Lord of the Rings” books when writing this series.
-In 2007, a comic book series inspired by “The Dark Tower” series was published.
-A film adaption based on the series debuted in 2017, which starred Idris Elba as the gun slinging protagonist.
-“It” was King’s 22nd book and King became inspired to write the story after remembering the story of “Three Billy Goats Gruff.”
-King also became inspired to write this story after researching the history and construction of the sewer system in Bangor, Maine.
-King’s story has been adapted four times: a 1990 mini-series, a 1998 Hindi horror series and two feature films in 2017 and 2019.
-King made a cameo in “It Chapter Two” as the pawn shop owner who sells Bill his childhood bike.
-Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro was offered a cameo in the film as a janitor who flees from Pennywise, however, this wasn’t included in the final film.
-King has used a number of pseudonyms throughout his career, including John Swithen, Beryl Evans and Richard Bachman.
-King published a children’s book “Charlie the Choo-Choo: From the World of the Dark Tower” in 2016.
-In 2006, after publishing his novel “Cell,” King admitted that he doesn’t use cell phones.
-King’s longest book is “The Stand,” which has 1,153 pages.
-Thus far, King has published 61 novels and over 200 short stories. His upcoming novel, “Later,” is scheduled to hit stands on March 2nd, 2021.
