Questions tagged [stephen-king]

Stephen King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction.

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Novel about immortality but it isn’t nice, people still age and decay

I’m looking for a novel by either Stephen King or Dean Koontz. A central idea in the novel is that immortality exists but the immortal person still ages and decays like an ordinary mortal. I think I ...
Paul's user avatar
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What does this sentence mean in Stephen King's IT?

What does "He had put away nearly three sixpacks during the baseball game, and he was shagged." mean at the end of the paragraph? Tom was nearly asleep when the phone rang. He struggled ...
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Connections to "The Dark Tower" in "Carrie", "Misery", "The Tommyknockers" and in "The Green Mile"

Both the English Wikipedia article and its Polish counter-part list following of Stephen King books as supposedly having a connection to The Dark Tower series: Carrie Misery The Tommyknockers and ...
trejder's user avatar
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What about biochemistry in Stephen King's Autopsy Room Four? [closed]

I have just listened to (the Polish version, if that matters) of "Autopsy Room Four" by Stephen King. Either I am missing some part or something obvious or the whole story is simply ...
trejder's user avatar
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16 votes
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Story about a man who transforms into a monster from a mouldy can of beer

A man is a heavy drinker, I recall the story says he drinks 12 or 20 beers a night and sends his son (nephew?) who is the story's narrator to buy then for him. After drinking a beer which is 'bad' he ...
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In 'Black House' who is "a young fellow in upstate New York who shows great promise"?

Towards the end of Black House, the foul Charles 'Burny' Burnside is killed by Tyler Marshall. When Mr Manshun, a servant of the Crimson King, finds the body of his former minion... He looks back ...
Mr. Boy's user avatar
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4 votes
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Stephen King "fanfiction:" King himself attacked by his characters, meets arbitors of the universe

This was a story I read on Fanfiction.net around 13 years ago, though I believe the story had been around for a few years before that. The key part of this story is that the writing style was ...
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In the novel "It", where exactly does Ben Hanscom live?

Maybe I haven't been giving enough attention, but I am really unaware of the location of Ben's house. I'm in the last part of Chapter 4 of Stephen King's It and Ben is standing over the canal bridge ...
3N4N's user avatar
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3 votes
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833 views

Stephen King and steam/diesel/cyber-punk

Has Stephen King written anything that either is or approaches the steampunk genre? Same question goes for diesel-punk and cyberpunk genres. I tried looking for something along those lines but didn't ...
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Is the term "strawberry spring" something made up by Stephen King for the short story?

In the short story Strawberry Spring by Stephen King, which in my opinion has enough hints of the supernatural to qualify for this site, the "strawberry spring" of the title is a false spring, much ...
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How much influence does King's "The Dark Tower" have on Overwatch?

This reddit post implies that some Overwatch characters may have been created under The Dark Tower influence. Namely, McCree and Reaper might be based on Roland and The Man in Black respectively. I ...
Nikita Neganov's user avatar
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1k views

In the book Pet Semetary, why does Jud Crandall seem younger than his age?

I finished the book recently, and I keep thinking about how Jud was repeatedly described as seeming younger and more spry than his age (83) would imply. It's never explained, but it seems like it has ...
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Are any of Stephen King's works not connected to The Dark Tower?

Its pretty well known in Stephen King fandom that most if not all of his works are connected through The Dark Tower series. But I'm curious if there are any of Stephen King's works which are ...
sanpaco's user avatar
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Rosy Real / Really Rosy / Rose Madder: One and the same?

In Stephen King's work Rose Madder, there were several suggestions at Rose Madder's identity, but it was never outright said. Those suggestions were: Rose Madder was said to have had the exact ...
Neil's user avatar
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Why were the Losers successful but infertile?

In It, by Stephen King, all the Losers parted after 1958, and grew up to have successful lives. However, they found out to all be unable to conceive children. Why? Was that It's doing, or the Other's ...
BlueMoon93's user avatar
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What are It's powers?

In It, by Stephen King, we find that It is a female entity, just like the Turtle, created by some higher power, eternal, ruler of the universe, and member of the macroverse. It assumed a physical ...
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Why did It kill Henry Bower's underlings, Victor and Belch?

In It, by Stephen King, Henry Bowers and his two friends, Victor and Belch, follow the Losers into the sewers in 1958. Somewhere along the way, both Victor and Belch, which were in a trance, and were, ...
BlueMoon93's user avatar
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4 votes
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How did Henry Bowers leave the sewers?

In It, by Stephen King, Henry Bowers follows the Losers into the sewers in 1958. They defeat It, and escape the sewage after a strange out-of-context orgy. They never meet Henry again. How does he ...
BlueMoon93's user avatar
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What was Hubie Marsten and why did he kill his wife?

I just finished reading "Salem's Lot" and I was sort of confused by this. It seems that Hubie Marsten was a human allied with Barlow, much in the same way as Straker. But two things aren't clear to ...
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What are the differences between the abridged and unabridged versions of The Stand?

There are two versions of Stephen King's The Stand ᠆ the original release (1978) and the "Complete and Uncut Edition" (1990). I tried Googling for the differences between them but only found bits and ...
sudhanva's user avatar
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12 votes
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Why did the men have to go to Las Vegas in Stephen King's The Stand?

In her death bed, Mother Abagail tells the Free Zone Committee that the only way to defeat Randall Flagg is for Stuart, Glen, Ralph and Larry to walk all the way to Las Vegas. Once they (three of ...
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Has real Robert Gray actually existed?

At least in two occasions, the It creature introduces itself as a "Robert Gray, better known as Pennywise the dancing clown". First Mrs Kersh tells about him: "My father [...] His name was Robert ...
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How accurate is the film adaptation Desperation by Stephen King, compared to the actual novel?

I've read dozens of works by Stephen King and recently encountered a movie (oldie) based on his book Desperation. Even though I have never read the book version, I do think it was interesting and I am ...
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2 votes
1 answer
311 views

Crimson King's role in Roland's Ka

The Crimson King is clearly written as Roland's enemy throughout the series. However, the man in black has shown to help Roland. Either it was Ka and the Crimson King had no say-so in the matter, ...
Neil's user avatar
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Is there a backstory behind Pet Sematary? [closed]

As you may know, Stephen King has its own shared universe, bookwise, this sometimes leads to hilarious implications, such as Pennywise's greatest enemy being the Space-turtle-Jesus. Given that, I ...
Mephistopheles's user avatar
10 votes
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Why does King specifically reference Kubrick's "The Shining" in light of his own opinion of it?

I seem to remember that Stephen King was never a big fan of Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of The Shining, stating that Kubrick missed the point of the story and shifted its emphasis from the inherent ...
TARS's user avatar
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1 vote
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Did Ellie and Rachel have the shine?

In Stephen King's plethora of novels, many of his characters have some sort of mental ability, be it pyrokinesis, telekinesis, or others. This ability is called "the Shine." In the book Pet Sematary,...
Donatello Swansino's user avatar
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How does Maximum Overdrive connect to the wider King-verse?

It seems to me that all of Stephen King's books/films are connected, usually through small details. However, I do not know how the "classic" film Maximum Overdrive and the short story it was based on ...
Donatello Swansino's user avatar
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Reading order/reading plan for the wider Dark Tower universe?

As well as the now 8 books in the main dark tower series, many of Stephen King's stories have links with this universe. Some such as Salem's Lot tie in quite directly, others are more subtle or ...
Mr. Boy's user avatar
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What is the name of this horror story about apocalypse? (Could it be from Stephen King?)

I remember a story about a guy that had a little brother. This brother was a genius and somehow he managed to find a "formula" that managed to put bees in a non-aggressive state. The older brother ...
stack man's user avatar
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Dark Tower references in other works of Stephen King or vice versa

I recently started re-reading the Dark Tower saga (just finished part IV: Wizard and Glass, probably my favorite part in the series) and noticed some links with other work of Stephen King. For ...
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3 votes
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When is the first mention of the Horn of Eld?

In the Dark Tower series, when is the Horn of Eld first mentioned? I'm trying to understand how far into writing the series Stephen King planned things.
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Where do we hear about the Crimson King's sigul being destroyed?

The two authoritative analyses of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series claim that the Crimson King was "tower-pent" - that is, trapped on a balcony outside the Tower itself - because he had removed a ...
Wad Cheber's user avatar
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14 votes
3 answers
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Is this a real quote from the Dark Tower series?

I found this line (attributed to Jake Chambers, and referring to the rest of his Ka-tet) in Bev Vincent's analysis The Road to the Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus: “I love them, but ...
Wad Cheber's user avatar
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Besides Stephen King himself, what actor has appeared in the most Stephen King supernatural film/TV adaptions and/or audio works?

I was watching The Green Mile the other day and noticed an actor that seemed familiar from another Stephen King movie, Jeffrey DeMunn. I had also remembered DeMunn from a Stephen King audio book ...
beichst's user avatar
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2 votes
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The Dark Tower: Unwritten Version?

Based on clues throughout the original edition of The Gunslinger, can we reconstruct the "lost" version of the story that was foreshadowed there? Have Stephen King, Robin Furth, or Bev Vincent ...
Perseus Ayo's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
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What are all the differences between all the editions of the first book of the Dark Tower series?

Wad Cheber had said (in chat) that there are differences between each version of the first book (I understand there is a large gap between books 1 & 2 being written): Like, there are two (or ...
AncientSwordRage's user avatar
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4 votes
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Intentional parallels between Little Sisters of Eluria and Wolves of the Calla?

In the Dark Tower short story The Little Sisters of Eluria, Roland encounters a stray dog with an injured leg and a patch of fur on his chest that is shaped like a cross. The dog eventually attacks a ...
Wad Cheber's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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What was the age difference between Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain?

Roland's childhood friends and fellow gunslingers were named Alain and Cuthbert. What was the age difference between the three?
Wad Cheber's user avatar
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20 votes
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Are we the Great Old Ones?

In Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, Roland lives in a sad, post apocalyptic world that has been poisoned by an ancient race of people called "the Great Old Ones". These people had remade the ...
Wad Cheber's user avatar
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7 votes
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Where did the name "Captain Trips" come from?

Characters in The Stand start unanimously referring to Project Blue as "Captain Trips" about midway through the book. Problem is, I have no clue why they all came to that name. The only Captain Trips ...
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1 vote
1 answer
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Stephen King's Cell Novel: Tom sexual orientation

In the Stephen King's novel Cell, the main character Clay sometimes teases Tom McCourt with some allusions of his sexual orientation. In the wiki page of the novel Tom is presented as a "gay man", ...
MikeKeepsOnShine's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

Are Roland's revolvers single-action or double-action?

In Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, the main protagonist, Roland, carries a pair of ancient revolvers. Perhaps because King admittedly knows nothing about guns, the descriptions of the guns' ...
Wad Cheber's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
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In 11-22-63, why Jake didn't bring high tech devices?

In the 11-22-63 (TV series), Jack goes back in time to... ...to change the course of time. But since he has such an easy way to go back in time, why doesn't he bring high-tech devices to spy on ...
burcu's user avatar
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7 votes
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What happened to the guns, holsters, belts, and ammo Roland stole from the cops?

In The Dark Tower: Book II: Drawing of the Three, Roland enters our world, buys some ammo, and robs two cops before going back to his own world. He takes the cops' guns, belts, holsters, and spare ...
Wad Cheber's user avatar
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9 votes
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Why are there cover art variations in the Plume trade paperback edition of The Waste Lands?

Someone posted two pictures of two versions of the Plume trade paperback edition of The Dark Tower Book III: The Waste Lands on a Facebook group for fans of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. ...
Wad Cheber's user avatar
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2 votes
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What happened to Robeson?

In book I of The Dark Tower, titled The Gunslinger, Roland and Cuthbert overhear Hax the cook and a guard named Robeson conspiring to poison the residents of Taunton. Later, Hax is hanged for capital ...
Wad Cheber's user avatar
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How does Jake travel back to the present in 11.22.63?

In the pilot episode of 11.22.63, Jake is shown that he can travel back to 1960 by walking in the closet in the diner. Before he takes on the task of preventing JFK's assassination, he comes and goes ...
Shevliaskovic's user avatar
17 votes
1 answer
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Why did the main antagonist truck in “Maximum Overdrive” (1986) have a Green Goblin mask on its front grille?

Stephen King’s 1986 film Maximum Overdrive—which was an adaptation of his 1978 short story, Trucks—featured a killer truck that had a Green Goblin mask on its front grille; see screenshot below. ...
Giacomo1968's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
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Was JK Rowling inspired by IT (Stephen King)?

In the novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Remus Lupin teaches how to fight the boggarts, which are "amortal shape-shifting non-being that takes on the form of the viewer's worst fear." ...
MikeKeepsOnShine's user avatar