Nightmare Maker

Killer cars, malevolent clowns, cannibalism, vampires, telekinetic prom queens, nuclear fallout zones, strange shops filled with enticing items you’d be willing to sin for, mysterious mist, invisible domes, long walks down dangerous roads, dead bodies, more dead bodies and an awful lot of things that go bump in the night.

No one does shock, awe, horror and suspense quite like Stephen King. He has managed to churn out so many best-selling novels over the years, some under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, that he has even penned a best-selling writer’s guide called ‘On Writing’.

However, it often gets overlooked that part of Stephen King’s mastery is his ability to effortlessly encapsulate the everyday and much of his writing focuses on very real, though sometimes no less terrifying, human experiences as well. King’s books frequently reference autobiographical elements of his life as a writer - ‘Lisey’s Story’, ‘Misery’ and even ‘Salem’s Lot’ being some examples - while others such as ‘Dolores Claiborne’, his novella ‘The Body’(which also features in his anthology ‘Different Seasons’) and 'Hearts in Atlantis' deal with issues such as domestic violence, rape, bullying, violent crime and the pain and isolation ex-servicemen sometimes face when they return home.

I’ll be honest up until my forties I was somewhat of a literary snob and had only read one Stephen King novel ‘Needful Things’. I remember it being a fascinating read but refrained from reading more as I preferred highbrow pickings. Truth be told though I’ve recently returned to King’s work and realised how much fun I was missing out on. Maybe it’s time you took a deep dive too, though head’s up I’d avoid the drains, word is there’s some strange things lurking in the sewer system.

Relevant Stephen King titles available in store include:

Bag Of Bones

Black House

Cell

Cujo

Christine

Danse Macabre

The Dark Tower Volume1, 2, 3, 5 & 7

The Dead Zone

Desperation

Different Seasons

Dolores Claiborne

Dreamcatcher

The Eyes Of The Dragon

From A Buick 8

Gerald’s Game

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

The Green Mile (Serial Format: Parts 1-6)

It

Lisey’s Story

Misery

Nightmares & Dreamscapes

Night Shift

On Writing

Rose Madder

Salem’s Lot

Skeleton Crew

The Stand

The Talisman

The Tommy Knockers

Thinner

Under The Dome

Happy Reading from the Team At Dorothy Dickens Books & Music!