With 61 published novels and around 200 short stories, Stephen King is one of the best horror and suspense writers out there. If you’re an avid follower of the thriller genre, you are probably familiar with most of his stories, but one doesn’t have to be a reader to know his work to know who he is as King’s characters are widely known, being part of the pop culture.
Unlike readers, most of us only know his characters through their TV and film adaptations. If you want to delve deeper into King’s horror universe, here are five of his best novels that steal the show in that genre.
1) Carrie
Everyone’s heard of Carrie and watched the movies, but most of the movie watchers are not exactly aware of how extremely chilling the novel truly is. You might already know the premises of the story, but read the captivating novel to find out the genuine beauty of King’s writings.
2) Pet Sematary
If someone told you to read a novel about raising pets from the dead, would you read it? Well, I might as well go ahead and be the first one to do it. Millions of people have read King’s Pet Sematary and have found that the novel is actually quite convincing. The novel is relatable but truly disturbing and falls at the top of the horror genre. It’s about the lengths that people would go to in order to get their beloved pets back. Quite adorable, don’t you think?
3) It
Boomer or Gen-Z, we have all definitely heard of It and watched the movies. I don’t even think I need to talk it up (see what I did there?) to convince you how truly horrifying it is (I’m not sorry for the puns). If you truly think horror is not a proper genre, I challenge you to get through the thousand pages of this novel and not be scared for once.
4) Misery
Stephen King went traditional with his novel Misery, including in it a lot of blood and gore, and psychopathic characters that might as well visit you in your dreams. The story starts with a famous author (who has just been in an accident) who has been taken by a “number one fan” who holds him hostage and tortures him into writing a novel and bringing one of his characters into life.
5) The Shining
A serene plan of taking care of a beautiful hotel situated in a reclusive town turns upside down when the caretaker and his family find out that the hotel is actually haunted. The Shining should be your next read, especially if you loved the movie.
