Stephen King's Influence On The Literary World
Award-winning author Stephen King has greatly impacted the history of the literary world with his works in the genres of suspense, horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. His award-winning novels and other compositions are well known around the globe and have created room for him in the literary world. King’s novels have sold more than 350 million copies worldwide and have also made it to the big screen in theaters internationally to scare millions more with his horrifying works. No other author can top the, “King of Horror,” and his impactful works with relentless success in literature.
The history of Stephen King shows how he became one of the most impactful authors of all time. Stephen King was born on September 21, 1947 in Maine to his parents Donald and Nellie Ruth Pilsbury King. At a young age, Stephen’s parents split up as a result of his father abandoning their family. After his parents disconnection, King lived in both Indiana and Connecticut before moving back to his hometown of Portland, Maine with his mother and brother. He remained in Maine and attended a local high school called Libson Falls High School. King successfully made it through high school, graduating from Libson Falls in 1966.
While furthering his education at the University of Maine, King obtained a Bachelor’s of Science degree while also publishing his first collection of stories titled, “People, Places, and Things. ” As King went through college, his interests in horror,which made him famous, began to emerge. He started writing newspaper articles for his brother, then his horrific writing career took off with his story, “I Was A Teenage Grave Robber. ” King’s story was published in many magazines like “Comics Review. ” The first novel written by King, The Long Walk, was terribly rejected, but another novel entitled The Glass Floor, was not completely rejected, but still struggled with fame. Later, King’s first successful novels Carrie and Salem’s Lot were published within one year of each other.
King was severely affected by the death of his mother in 1974, which lead to the creation of his book called, The Shining. King eventually wrote for some well-known comics like X-Men and Batman. After graduating with an English degree, King wanted to start his path to becoming an educator, but had no luck. The struggling educator and writer eventually took a job in a hotel washroom, but that did not stop him from pursuing his passion. Shortly after receiving the job in the washroom, King got an offered position as an educator at Hampden Academy. In the same year in which King became an educator, he married fellow author Tabitha Spruce, whom he is still married to today. The “King of Horror’s” passion for writing developed strongly during his educational career, leading to the creation of his famous novels and his impact on society.
Stephen King’s novel Carrie was very influential and positively affected his impact on society and the literary world. This 1974 novel was pivotal in King’s fame, eventually making him one of the world’s most-read authors. Carrie, the main character, is abused by her mother at home and even her peers at school. She discovers her telekinetic powers and not long after, Carrie White gets invited to prom by her friend’s boyfriend. At prom, Carrie is the victim of an outrageous prank, which greatly angers her. Using her telekinetic powers, she kills all the people who attended prom then proceeds home to be stabbed to death by her mother.
After King published his gruesome first novel, he gained crucial success and recognition for his career which aided in the creation of a movie influenced by Carrie 2 years later. King challenged filmmakers to fully portray the imagery and overall development of his character to completely bring his novel to life. Carrie was influential to the literary world because it left a mark on the genre of horror, plus changed the way audiences and authors viewed horror as a whole. Not only did King sell more than 1 million copies of Carrie worldwide, it was nominated for a Golden Scroll at the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for Best Horror Film of the year. The film has also won 2 awards at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival. At the Edgar Allan Poe Awards in 1977, King’s film was nominated for Best Motion Picture. King’s novel influenced the most famous film in 1977, plus a sequel in 1999, a TV movie in 2002, and another film remake in 2013. Each of these films gave King and his works even more attention across the globe. Now, the original film and novel continue to grow throughout their many decades of fame.
King’s novel Carrie has left its mark on literature and society by influencing many other authors and filmmakers throughout its 4 decades of popularity. British horror novelist Sarah Pinborough said, “Stephen King has always been an inspiration to writers with his characterisation and in his portrayal of teenagers in Carrie, his first novel, I think he's at his deftest. ' Carrie also influenced society by providing its readers with a type of Cinderella tale with a crazy twist. Its readers are taken into a whole nother world within the tale of a lonely girl who just wants to fit in and go to prom to escape her abusive issues, but she could not escape them. King’s novel, Carrie, added glamour and horror to a basic high school girl’s life, which intrigued young readers, authors, and filmmakers. In addition, Carrie kicked off the rapid growth of Stephen King becoming the “King of Horror,” plus the genre of horror as a whole, especially in movies, TV shows, and novels.
King produced some of the most influential works, including his most popular novel, IT. IT tells about seven preteens who battle an evil demon in the form of a child-killing clown. Twenty-seven years later, the clown returns to their hometown so the characters reunite to finally put an end to the demon. Over a 4 year span of writing, Stephen used the classic Norweigian fairytale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, as inspiration for the novel. He expanded the idea of the bridge in the fairytale to an entire city in his novel and the troll became the inspiration for his killer-clown character. IT contained very detailed descriptions of events and characters within its 1,138 pages of horror, while also extending the expectations for authors around the world. Since the publication of IT in 1986, King’s marvelous work has influenced several filmmakers, turning his idea into one of the most well-known and horrific movies ever created. King’s novel was adapted into its first film in 1990, followed by another in 2017 with its sequel in 2019. In 1990, the film adaptation of IT brought in over $200 million just in its first two weekends and drew in over 30 million viewers. A number of critiques found the 2017 film adaptation to be very entertaining with its very realistic portrayal of King’s novel and a touch of comical dialogue. The enjoyable film officially has the third-largest opening weekend, even more than Spider-man: Homecoming. IT brought in a whopping $123. 1 million from 4,103 locations around the globe. IT: Chapter 2 in 2019 went bigger and scarier than any remake ever made. More than $91 million was acquired in the film’s opening weekend in the United States, plus an additional $94 million overseas.
Stephen King’s IT was very influencial to society and the literary world. Due to King’s use of detailed descriptions, imagery, characterization, and symbolism, he and filmmakers around the world truly brought the characters and setting of the novel to life. Authors, like Victor LaValle, have been influenced by IT. Some have tried to replicate the novel, but none compare to the “King of Horror’s” original work. IT has become a worldwide phenomenon, resulting in many readers falling in love with the novel itself, the horror genre, and the movies adapted from the novel. Stephen King’s IT has extended the expectations of other authors and filmmakers in literary world because of his style of writing, use literary techniques, and vivid scenes. Nobody can truly compare to Stephen King or write anything close to his horrific novel, IT.
Stephen King’s fifth novel, The Stand, was one of his most influential works and it highly impacted the literary world. The Stand takes place in a post-apocalyptic world activated by the breakdown of society after the exposure of a biological weapon. A dangerous strain of influenza from the weapon that severely affects the citizens, decreasing the population. This novel ended King’s contract with Doubleplay and he received his first agent, making him even richer. King’s writing style portrayed in the novel made it tower above the rest, adding thousands of more readers almost instantly. The Stand has everything from adventure and horror, to prophesy, fantasy, realism, and romance. King wanted to impress his readers with an epic story similar to that of The Lord of The Rings, and he was successful. James Smythe, PhD recipient from Cardiff University, describes The Stand as “a masterpiece. ” The fantastic work influenced Smythe to write novels, resulting in his successful sale of his first, The Testimony. Like other novels written by King, The Stand has been projected onto the big screen and scared its worldwide viewers. Filmmakers strived to reach the exact detail expressed in King’s writing to bring life to the setting and characters. A movie and a miniseries was made based on they storyline of The Stand, with a TV series planning to be released in the year 2020. King’s other novels have been an influence to many, and so has The Stand. The Stand has influenced many people worldwide and authors strive to have writing techniques like those expressed in The Stand. Filmmakers impacted by The Stand are working to put forth an adaptation of his novel and bring another novel to life once again.
Because of Stephen King’s works, he became one of the most influential authors in the entire literary world. No writer has even came close to dominating the genre of horror like King. King is the only author to have 30 of his 70 novels become best sellers. It is impossible to limit King’s creativity and the influence he has on anyone who knows his works. Over 4 decades, King has developed many culturally iconic novels which have influenced modernly popular films such as the TV series, Stranger Things. The use of detail, tone, imagery, style, character development, and other literary devices bring King’s works to life, allowing readers and viewers to completely submerge themselves in the composition and personally relate to the character. As he writes, he shows a realistic side to human nature, while contradicting it with the hidden darkness in life. People throughout the literary world are still influenced by King. LitHub says that many novelists, some from the horror genre like Bret Easton Ellis, and some from literary fiction like Haruki Murakami, describe King as a “formative inspiration” for their works. Not only is King influencing other writers, his great works impact academic scholars, like John Sears, to want to begin writing. When comparing authors like Dean Koontz to the “King of Horror,” it’s easy to see that King’s works top any. The imagination, creativity, and all around horrific details that King uses in his compositions cannot compare to the wordy and boring books by Koontz. According to Quora, readers prefer King over Koontz because of his complex stories. One reader says, “Koontz’ work is declining in quality, while King’s might even be improving. ”
Due to the complexity in Stephen King’s novels, many readers, authors, and filmmakers have been influenced by him as a person and as an author. Filmmakers have strived to bring his novels to life, but many cannot fully portray the characters because of King’s detailed character development, description of the setting, tone, and imagery. No author can compare to King and his legacy will never be topped.
