All hail
the
the complete guide to stephen king
the complete guide to stephen king
More than 50 years after his horror debut, when he scared the crap out of a generation of readers and movie-goers with 1974’s Carrie, Stephen King is just as prolific and potent as ever. HBO’s new series The Outsider is based on his 2018 book. It almost feels like his 1980s renaissance never ended. But that’s just a sliver of what the horror master has cranked out in his 50-year career. King's been so prolific, it's almost scary. Have a look for yourself.
'70s
'80s
'90s
'00s
'10s
'70s
The Shining
night shift
carrie
the long walk
the dead zone
salem's lot
rage*
Carrie
salem's lot
The stand
Jan. 1977
Feb. 1978
April 1974
July 1979
Sept. 1978
August 1979
Oct. 1975
Nov. 1976
Nov. 1977
Nov. 1979
King's first book written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. He later let it fall out of print because of its all-too-prescient plot—a young man terrorizes his school at gunpoint.
rage
Technically King's fourth finished novel, Carrie was the first to be published, and was finished only after King's wife fished the first few pages out of the trash and made him reconsider.
Carrie
'80s
may 1980
The Shining
Despite the film's success and legacy, King has called it "cold" and a poor portrayal of women.
"Shelley Duvall as Wendy is really one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film, she's basically just there to scream and be stupid and that's not the woman that I wrote about."
The Shining
Sept. 1980
Firestarter
March 1981
Roadwork*
Danse Macabre
april 1981
Sept. 1981
Cujo
In his 2000 memoir On Writing, King says he wrote Cujo while on a cocaine binge, saying that he "barely remembers writing at all."
Cujo
May 1982
Running Man*
May 1982
Creepshow
June 1982
The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger
August 1982
Different Seasons
Nov. 1982
The Plant
Novels
Films
Non-Fiction
Short Stories
Show All
nov. 1982
Creepshow
April 1983
Christine
August 1983
Cujo
Dead Zone
Oct. 1983
Nov. 1983
Cycle of the Werewolf
Dec. 1983
Christine
1984
The Eyes of the Dragon
MarCH 1984
Children of the Corn
May 1984
Firestarter
nov. 1984
The talisman
nov. 1984
Thinner*
april 1985
Cat's Eye
june 1985
Skeleton Crew
The Bachman Books*
oct. 1985
oct. 1985
Silver Bullet
July 1986
Maximum Overdrive
augUST 1986
Stand by Me
sept. 1986
It
May 1987
Creepshow 2
May 1987
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of
the Three
june 1987
Misery
nov 1987
The running Man
nov 1987
The Tommyknockers
Pet sematary
Apr 1989
sept 1989
My Pretty Pony
The graphic novel based on King’s five-story horror film collection featured interior illustrations by Bernie Wrighston, illustrator and co-creator of the Swamp Thing.
Creepshow
nov 1989
The dark half
The first in King’s eight-novel magnum opus was illustrated by Michael Whelan, the first living person to be inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2009.
The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger
Originally titled “The Napkins,” King says that this is one of the only books of his that his daughter likes. “She has very little interest in my vampires, ghoulies, and slushy crawling things.”
The Eyes of the Dragon
King’s sole directorial effort was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards: Worst Director and Worst Actor (Emilio Estevez).
Maximum Overdrive
The novel's maniacal antagonist, a superfan who holds her favorite author hostage until he finishes a novel, is described by King as an allegory for cocaine: “She was my number one fan.”
Misery
Graphic Novels
Novels
Films
Non-Fiction
Short Stories
Graphic Novels
Show All
nov. 1983
Pet Sematary
* written under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman
'90s
may 1990
TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE
Sept. 1990
FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT
oct. 1990
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
It
nov. 1990
nov. 1990
Misery
may 1991
SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK
Oct. 1991
Needful Things
Apr. 1992
Sleepwalkers
may 1992
gerald's Game
nov. 1992
Dolores Claiborne
april 1993
The Dark Half
The Tommyknockers
may 1993
aug. 1993
Needful Things
may 1994
The Stand
sept. 1994
The Shawshank Redemption
march 1995
Dolores Claiborne
march 1995
The Mangler
may 1995
The Langoliers
june 1995
Rose Madder
march-aug. 1996
The Green Mile
Desperation
sept. 1996
sept. 1996
The Regulators*
APRIL 1997
The Shining
MAY 1997
Quick Silver Highway
NOV. 1997
The Night Flier
NOV. 1997
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
OCT. 1998
Apt Pupil
FEB. 1999
Storm of the Century
The Girl who loved Tom Gordon
SEPT. 1999
SEPT. 1999
Hearts in Atlantis
DEC. 1999
The Green Mile
july 1991
GOLDEN YEARS
aug. 1991
The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands
OCT. 1996
Thinner
SEPT. 1998
Bag of Bones
sept. 1994
Insomnia
Sept. 1993
Nightmares & Dreamscapes
Novels
Films
Non-Fiction
Short Stories
Television
Show All
DEC. 1999
On Writing
Novels
Films
Non-Fiction
Short Stories
Television
Show All
Illustrated by surrealist Dave McKean, known for his work on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and a 1989 Batman comic.
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
King had to dial back his criticism of Kubrick's film in order to get the director to sign off on this TV miniseries, which Mick Garris directed and King associate directed for ABC.
The Shining
Rob Wood created a real-world set out of clay and wood that he used as reference to paint the cover.
Gerald's Game
The only King novel to be illustrated by Ned Dameron, a sci-fi artist who illustrated several of the Dungeons and Dragons books.
The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands
Rob Wood designed this cover in under an hour after spending all weekend on another writer's book cover that was later rejected.
Four Past Midnight
Novels
Films
Short Stories
Television
Show All
Novels
Films
Short Stories
Television
Show All
'00s
march 2000
Riding the Bullet
dec. 2000
Trucks
march 2001
Dreamcatcher
Hearts in Atlantis
sept. 2001
sept. 2001
Black House
jan. 2002
Rose Red
oct. 2003
Dreamcatcher
nov. 2003
The Dark Tower IV: Wolves the Calla
march 2004
Secret Window
march 2004
Kingdom Hospital
june 2004
Salem's Lot
The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah
june 2004
sept. 2004
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
sept. 2005
Faithful
jan. 2006
Cell
may 2006
Desperation
july 2006
Nightmares & Dreamscapes
Oct. 2006
Lisey's Story
dec. 2006
The Secretary Dreams
feb. 2007
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger born
1408
june 2007
june 2007
Blaze*
jan. 2008
Duma Key
nov. 2008
Just After Sunset
jan. 2009
Stephen King Goes to the Movies
NOV. 2009
Under the Dome
March 2002
Everything's Eventual
sept. 2002
From a Buick 8
nov. 2007
The Mist
oct. 2005
The Colorado Kid
oct. 2004
Riding the Bullet
King developed this series, based on the Danish miniseries The Kingdom by Lars von Trier.
Kingdom Hospital
The film was shot with four possible endings, an homage to the original short story, which left the resolution ambiguous. Director Mikael Håfström ultimately chose one for the theatrical release, after scrapping the first ending when test audiences felt it was too depressing.
1408
King says he "doesn't like Dreamcatcher very much." It was written in 2001 during his recovery from a car accident, while he was under the influence of Oxycontin
Dreamcatcher
Novels
Films
Non-Fiction
Short Stories
Television
Show All
Graphic Novels
Novels
Films
Non-Fiction
Short Stories
Television
Graphic Novels
Show All
Back to top
Back to top
Back to top
1980s
1970s
'10s
april 2010
Blockade Billy
nov. 2010
Full Dark,
No Stars
nov. 2011
11/12/63
Bag of Bones
dec. 2011
feb. 2012
The Wind Through the Keyhole
jan. 2013
Guns
oct. 2013
Carrie
Sept. 2013
Doctor Sleep
june 2014
Mr. Mercedes
oct. 2014
A Good marriage
nov. 2014
revival
11.22.63
nov. 2015
nov. 2015
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams
june 2016
End of Watch
Aug. 2017
The Dark Tower
Aug. 2017
Mr. Mercedes
Sept. 2017
Gerald's Game
Sept. 2017
It
Sept. 2017
Sleeping Beauties
Oct. 2017
1922
The Outsider
May 2018
July 2018
Castle ROck
April 2019
Pet Sematary
Sept. 2019
It: Chapter Two
Sept. 2019
The Institute
Sept. 2019
Creepshow
june 2013
Joyland
June 2013
Under the Dome
Oct. 2018
Elevation
june 2017
The Mist
june 2016
Cell
The conclusion to King’s clown-thriller franchise became his second-highest grossing film adaptation ever—only trailing the first It film from 2017.
It:
Chapter Two
The questionable child orgy scene from the novel was scrapped in favor of a blood oath in the film.
It
King started crafting this JFK assassination revisionist history in the early ’70s but abandoned it, believing that such a historically heavy piece would require far too much research and authorial ability than he had.
11/22/63
Novels
Films
Non-Fiction
Short Stories
Television
Show All
Novels
Films
Non-Fiction
Short Stories
Television
Show All
Back to top
oct. 2019
In the Tall Grass
nov. 2019
Doctor Sleep
Jan. 2020
The Outsider
june 2015
Finders Keepers
and beyond
and beyond
oct. 2014
Riding the Bullet
This Netflix film was based on a 2012 novella written by King and his son, Joe Hill.
In the Tall Grass
2020s
* written under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman
* written under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman
In the mid-1970s, still learning how to cope with fame and success in the aftermath of Carrie, King struggled to comprehend whether he hit the jackpot because of talent or luck. As an experiment, he decided to release a number of novels under a pseudonym, with extremely little marketing, to test his thesis. (Additionally, the prevailing sentiment in the ’70s was that authors should publish no more than one book a year to prevent market saturation—Bachman gave King the ability to circumvent that unwritten rule.)
Using the name “Richard Bachman” as a tribute to Bachman-Turner Overdrive, King published five pseudonymous books from 1977 to 1984 before being “outed” as Bachman by bookstore clerk Steve Brown in 1985. Brown noticed similarities between the writing of the two authors, did some digging, and uncovered a note in the Library of Congress that listed all of copyrights for Bachman’s books as registered to King or King’s agent, Chuck Verrill.
the story
of richard bachman
While Stephen King’s works are ubiquitous, he rarely appears in the adaptations of his novels. He has, however, made a select few appearances on the silver screen. In Maximum Overdrive, the 1986 comedy-horror film loosely based on his short story “Trucks,” King makes a cameo appearance as a man at an ATM. King also directed the film—his only directorial credit (and one not very well received).
Additionally, King made a cameo as “Johnny B. Goode” in the 2004 TV series Kingdom Hospital and as “Bachman” in 2010’s Sons of Anarchy. The latter is a reference to his pseudonym of the mid-1980s, Richard Bachman. King’s most recent appearance was as a pawn shop owner in It: Chapter Two.
The cameos
In his career, King has worked extensively with the music industry—not to mention his own music career as a member of the rock supergroup The Rock Bottom Remainders (comprised wholly of other writers). In 1988, King collaborated with Blue Öyster Cult to record a spoken intro for the radio re-release of its single, “Astronomy.”
dabbling in music
In 1996, King helped Michael Jackson develop the story for his short film, Ghosts. The 40-minute music video won a Guinness World Record in 2002 for the longest music video in history, though it’s since been surpassed by Pharrell’s “Happy.”
Finally, in 2012, King and John Mellencamp co-wrote a musical called Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. It debuted in Atlanta and starred Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley.
In the mid-1970s, still learning how to cope with fame and success in the aftermath of Carrie, King struggled to comprehend whether he hit the jackpot because of talent or luck. As an experiment, he decided to release a number of novels under a pseudonym, with extremely little marketing, to test his thesis. (Additionally, the prevailing sentiment in the ’70s was that authors should publish no more than one book
a year to prevent market saturation—
Bachman gave King the ability to circumvent that unwritten rule.)
Using the name “Richard Bachman” as a tribute to Bachman-Turner Overdrive, King published five pseudonymous books from 1977 to 1984 before being “outed” as Bachman by bookstore clerk Steve Brown in 1985. Brown noticed similarities between the writing of the two authors, did some digging, and uncovered a note in the Library of Congress that listed all of copyrights for Bachman’s books as registered to King or King’s agent, Chuck Verrill.
the story
of richard bachman
While Stephen King’s works are ubiquitous, he rarely appears in the adaptations of his novels. He has, however, made a select few appearances on the silver screen. In Maximum Overdrive, the 1986 comedy-horror film loosely based on his short story “Trucks,” King makes a cameo appearance as a man at an ATM. King also directed the film—his only directorial credit (and one not very well received).
Additionally, King made a cameo as “Johnny B. Goode” in the 2004 TV series Kingdom Hospital and as “Bachman” in 2010’s Sons of Anarchy. The latter is a reference to his pseudonym of the mid-1980s, Richard Bachman. King’s most recent appearance was as a pawn shop owner in It: Chapter Two.
the cameos
In his career, King has worked extensively with the music industry—not to mention his own music career as a member of the rock supergroup The Rock Bottom Remainders (comprised wholly of other writers). In 1988, King collaborated with Blue Öyster Cult to record a spoken intro for the radio re-release of its single, “Astronomy.”
In 1996, King helped Michael Jackson develop the story for his short film, Ghosts. The 40-minute music video won a Guinness World Record in 2002 for the longest music video in history, though it’s since been surpassed by Pharrell’s “Happy.”
Finally, in 2012, King and John Mellencamp co-wrote a musical called Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. It debuted in Atlanta and starred Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley.
dabbling in music
In the mid-1970s, still learning how to cope with fame and success in the aftermath of Carrie, King struggled to comprehend whether he hit the jackpot because of talent or luck. As an experiment, he decided to release a number of novels under a pseudonym, with extremely little marketing, to test his thesis. (Additionally, the prevailing sentiment in the ’70s was that authors should publish no more than one book a year to prevent market saturation—Bachman gave King the ability to circumvent that unwritten rule.)
Using the name “Richard Bachman” as a tribute to Bachman-Turner Overdrive, King published five pseudonymous books from 1977 to 1984 before being “outed” as Bachman by bookstore clerk Steve Brown in 1985. Brown noticed similarities between the writing of the two authors, did some digging, and uncovered a note in the Library of Congress that listed all of copyrights for Bachman’s books as registered to King or King’s agent, Chuck Verrill.
the story
of richard bachman
While Stephen King’s works are ubiquitous, he rarely appears in the adaptations of his novels. He has, however, made a select few appearances on the silver screen. In Maximum Overdrive, the 1986 comedy-horror film loosely based on his short story “Trucks,” King makes a cameo appearance as a man at an ATM. King also directed the film—his only directorial credit (and one not very well received).
Additionally, King made a cameo as “Johnny B. Goode” in the 2004 TV series Kingdom Hospital and as “Bachman” in 2010’s Sons of Anarchy. The latter is a reference to his pseudonym of the mid-1980s, Richard Bachman. King’s most recent appearance was as a pawn shop owner in It: Chapter Two.
The cameos
In his career, King has worked extensively with the music industry—not to mention his own music career as a member of the rock supergroup The Rock Bottom Remainders (comprised wholly of other writers). In 1988, King collaborated with Blue Öyster Cult to record a spoken intro for the radio re-release of its single, “Astronomy.”
In 1996, King helped Michael Jackson develop the story for his short film, Ghosts. The 40-minute music video won a Guinness World Record in 2002 for the longest music video in history, though it’s since been surpassed by Pharrell’s “Happy.”
Finally, in 2012, King and John Mellencamp co-wrote a musical called Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. It debuted in Atlanta and starred Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley.
dabbling in music
Demystify
the great stephen king
In the mid-1970s, still learning how to cope with fame and success in the aftermath of Carrie, King struggled to comprehend whether he hit the jackpot because of talent or luck. As an experiment, he decided to release a number of novels under a pseudonym, with extremely little marketing, to test his thesis. (Additionally, the prevailing sentiment in the ’70s was that authors should publish no more than one book a year to prevent market saturation—Bachman gave King the ability to circumvent that unwritten rule.)
Using the name “Richard Bachman” as a tribute to Bachman-Turner Overdrive, King published five pseudonymous books from 1977 to 1984 before being “outed” as Bachman by bookstore clerk Steve Brown in 1985. Brown noticed similarities between the writing of the two authors, did some digging, and uncovered a note in the Library of Congress that listed all of copyrights for Bachman’s books as registered to King or King’s agent, Chuck Verrill.
the story
of richard bachman
While Stephen King’s works are ubiquitous, he rarely appears in the adaptations of his novels. He has, however, made a select few appearances on the silver screen. In Maximum Overdrive, the 1986 comedy-horror film loosely based on his short story “Trucks,” King makes a cameo appearance as a man at an ATM. King also directed the film—his only directorial credit (and one not very well received).
Additionally, King made a cameo as “Johnny B. Goode” in the 2004 TV series Kingdom Hospital and as “Bachman” in 2010’s Sons of Anarchy. The latter is a reference to his pseudonym of the mid-1980s, Richard Bachman. King’s most recent appearance was as a pawn shop owner in It: Chapter Two.
The cameos
In his career, King has worked extensively with the music industry—not to mention his own music career as a member of the rock supergroup The Rock Bottom Remainders (comprised wholly of other writers). In 1988, King collaborated with Blue Öyster Cult to record a spoken intro for the radio re-release of its single, “Astronomy.”
In 1996, King helped Michael Jackson develop the story for his short film, Ghosts. The 40-minute music video won a Guinness World Record in 2002 for the longest music video in history, though it’s since been surpassed by Pharrell’s “Happy.”
Finally, in 2012, King and John Mellencamp co-wrote a musical called Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. It debuted in Atlanta and starred Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley.
dabbling in music
tweet
share
Share
tweet
share
Share
Get stunning visual
stories every week.
'70s
'80s
'90s
'00s
'10s
and beyond
Story By Alyssa Mercante & Tom devoto
Design by Tri Vo