Stephen King: The King of Horror

There is no name more descriptive of terror and horror than that of Stephen King. The mere mention of his name is enough to send shivers down the spine of even the most brave. Born in Maine in 1947, Stephen is a second son raised in Indiana, Connecticut and Maine by a single mother who also cared for her aging parents.

Stephen attended and graduated from University of Maine, where he met his wife, Tabitha. He supported his wife and growing family by working as a laborer and later as a teacher. He was able to give up teaching with his first major paperback sale. The paperback? Carrie.

From that moment on, Stephen King became a household name. With about 50 novels, and countless comics, screenplays, poems, essays, short stories, novellas, and of course, the Bachman novels, Stephen clearly ranks with the greatest, and most prolific, writers of all time.

King's Work

Stephen King has written about the things that lurk in the shadows of little children's imaginations, and that tap incessantly at the back door of an adult's. With everything from an insane clown in It , to a variety of aliens in books such as The Tommyknockers and Under The Dome , he thinks of those nightmares that are universally terrifying...and makes them even more horrifying.

A master of horror, certainly, but he also can write the most hauntingly beautiful love story, as evidenced by Lisey's Story . His books are never shallow, short reads. With most books numbering 500 pages or more, they are always filled with plot, great characterization, and plenty to think about. Fully capable of giving you nightmares for months or even years, Stephen's books also leave you feeling as though you've lived them when you close the book for the final time.

Possibly one of his greatest claims to fame is his epic Dark Tower series. Currently consisting of seven books, with an eighth in the works, this series is about to become a movie trilogy and a television series.

The Dark Tower is not his first movie and/or television series, however. Many of his books have been made into movies: Cujo, Carrie, Christine, Desperation, The Tommyknockers, It, The Stand, 'Salem's Lot, andThe Shining are just a few of the movies based on Stephen's books.

My Favorite

My favorite novel by Stephen King would have to be Lisey's Story. With the perfect combination of horror and romance, with love intertwined inseparably with evil, this book hits every emotion with the reader. He perfectly highlights that there is a light and dark side to every love and that if love is true, it can handle both.

Conclusion

I love Stephen King for many reasons. His amazing imagination, his unfathomable talent, and his continuous output of incredible fiction are all valid reasons. But one of the biggest reasons I love him is his humbleness: he refers to his fans as "Constant Reader" and is always thankful that they continue to read his works. How could you not love an author whose fame is well deserved but who still knows that without his fans, he'd be nothing? The answer: You can't!