The (Stephen) King of Horror Feat. Lindsay Ellis | It’s Lit

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Few writers have had the sheer staying power, popularity, and prolific output as Stephen King. From insatiably flesh-hungry clowns and sentient cars to telekinetic teenagers and mystical gunslingers, if there’s one author who has taken up valuable real estate in that part of our imaginations, it’s Stephen King. But it’s not just his monsters that have lasting power-it’s also the very human and very psychological elements in his work that linger.
So come with me, Constant Reader, while I lead you through the dark and twisted world of Uncle Stevie, the King of Horror…
Hosted by Lindsay Ellis and Princess Weekes, It’s Lit! is a show about our favorite books, genres, and why we love to read. It’s Lit has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.
Hosted by: Lindsay Ellis
Written by: David McCracken
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Editors: Derek Borsheim, Sara Roma
Writing Consultants: Maia Krause
Executive Producer (PBS): Adam Dylewski
Editorial Producer (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
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[@nattmazzoni]

LINDSAY ELLIS, YOU CAN'T HINT AT AN ENTIRE KZbin CHANNEL DEDICATED TO STEPHEN KING LIKE THAT, NOW I NEED IT!

[@edisonlima4647]

HEAR, HEAR!

[@BaldingClamydia]

Yes, please!

[@constantreader1422]

this is the channel I've always wanted to make but she would do it better

[@achegal90]

YAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[@Sammyyaam]

Same

[@Eff_Average_109]

2020 is basically just one giant Stephen King novel.

[@Lefhalas]

Then why hasn't his editor suggested he cut 400 pages of it? Huh No comments? If that is your real name at all???

[@edisonlima4647]

If it were, we would have met up with relatable characters already.

[@acompletelynormalhuman6392]

Nobelium

[@Dearest_orugitas]

Yes except we don’t get to peek into Annie Wilkes window or run away from It or travel back to the 60s. At this point all of these would be better than 2020 lol

[@ShadowPa1adin]

Imagine if "The Dead Zone" had a different ending and that turned into a more boring version of "The Stand."

[@Wintermute01001]

"How the f*ck do you write so many books so fast?" - George RR Martin

[@themalcontent298]

For the 80's, cocaine.

[@thoughtfuldevil6069]

@@themalcontent298 Beat me to it lol

[@patriciomejia1114]

Why does he write like he's running out of time? Why does he write like he needs it to survive?

[@HarryBuddhaPalm]

When you write the same story over and over again, you get pretty fast at it.

[@anarchyantz1564]

Well Martin has to stop to top up his waistline at the buffet counter where as King does a waist high line off the counter.

[@curiousworld7912]

A writer that Stephen King admires, and who is only now beginning to get the recognition she deserves, is Shirley Jackson. She was also labeled as a 'horror writer', primarily based on her short story, 'The Lottery' and her novel, 'The Haunting of Hill House'. But many of her books and short stories are based on women's agency - or the lack thereof - including the latter of these two works. She would be an excellent choice for review here.

[@marlonmoncrieffe0728]

I don't know... 'The Lottery' and 'The Haunting of Hill House' have always been very popular.

[@curiousworld7912]

@@marlonmoncrieffe0728 Yes, I suppose most kids still read 'The Lottery' at some point in an English class, and with Netflix's 'The Haunting', more have (I hope) read the book - even though they have very little in common. But Jackson as a serious writer, has not been giving the kind of literary attention that she should have until fairly recently. When she was publishing her work, following WWII, 'men's' writing was taken so much more seriously - great writers and some not so great - and women tended to be pushed to the side. But she has always had a sort of 'cult' following among certain readers, and that's something. :)

[@curiousworld7912]

@@beefar0niHa! See? :)

[@chasenewell4590]

I would like to read her novel The Bird's Nest, though it does not appear to have been reprinted many times. Hopefully with her increasing popularity her lesser known works will be put back into print.

[@curiousworld7912]

@@chasenewell4590 It's an interesting book, in that dissociative disorder was not well understood at the time. It was made into a film called 'Lizzie' that actually isn't that awful, despite being fairly obscure. The Library of America published a collection of her work a few years ago, which I believe includes 'The Bird's Nest', and an excellent biography/critical analysis of her was written by Ruth Franklin, titled 'Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life', which I highly recommend.

[@Targemq8]

"Our boy." Everyone should read On Writing. I've never read any of his fiction, but that book is a terrific guide and motivator for all kinds of creative people.

[@HellPhoenix6]

Absolute truth! I was enthralled at his writing philosophy and the origins of some of his tales. Danse Macabre is a must if you want to truly understand and appreciate horror movies and books, especially those adapted from the written words. He made me look at the Amityville Horror in a beautifully intellectual way. And he introduced me to Anne Siddons' The House Next Door, a book he praised as the modern haunted house story.

[@Duncan_Idaho_Potato]

This! There's a very good reason that even people who despise King's fiction have heaped praise upon On Writing. It's a unique mixture of memoir and practical nut-and-bolts instruction on, um... writing. A must-read, regardless of how you feel about Stephen King in general.

[@mattgilbert7347]

Danse Macabre is also worth a look.

[@tiomela]

I love On Writing.

[@xensonar9652]

Imagine writing a debut novel as good as Carrie.

[@ClearAsCrystal823]

He tried to bin it, and his wife pulled it out!

[@NekoMouser]

And throwing it away thinking it wasn't good enough...

[@aquamarineancientsoul7893]

@@ClearAsCrystal823 yay for mrs king

[@mattgilbert7347]

Still his best book imo

[@David-un4cs]

Not to mention how almost 50 years later it's more relevant than ever.

[@corngreaterthanwheat]

King literally beat his keyboard until he went from trash populist writer to GOAT. He has not changed. He just outwrote his critics. Which is amazing.

[@TheEliseRodgers]

He wrote his way out...

[@NekoMouser]

I beg to differ. His writing has changed a lot over time. I think he has much deeper, richer characterization now than ever before (though he was always strong at it). I'd also say that he pulls a LOT more punches now that he's sober. He used to have much more gruesome endings (like in Cujo) than he does now (he has even said in retrospect of books like Cujo that he would not end them the same way today, which is sad because his endings were much better in the 80s than they are now). He was always good, but he's definitely grown and changed over the years.

[@EvanCWaters]

One thing the video doesn't get into, and admittedly it's hard to really do in a visual format, is just how strong King's prose is. He captures the mundane details of middle America so well that it serves as a perfect backdrop for the weirder stuff, and does it in a way that looks easy but really isn't.

[@apizzathatgiantforthesimpl5191]

Honestly the best way I can describe the Dark Tower is to say, "Imagine The Chronicles of Narnia, John Wayne/spaghetti westerns, a Lovecraftian horror novella, and a pulpy crime novel with a dash of The Wizard of Oz and Lord of the Rings all fused together."

[@dreamer2260]

And somehow, generally it works, and produces some pretty captivating reading.

[@wisemoon40]

Actually that’s not a bad elevator pitch for The Dark Tower. Thanks, I might use that myself.

[@safinash2165]

"... and made it all steampunk"

[@alexwall4194]

@@safinash2165 hahah more like atomic punk

[@joeldipops]

@@dreamer2260 I found myself really enjoying individual parts of the Dark Tower, but don't agree it really works as a cohesive whole. My favourite book in the series, Wizard and Glass, worked as well as it did for me because of how self-contained it was.

[@varamu1132]

King is a witty guy, I didn't know he had such fun quotes.

[@edcrichton9457]

He once quipped in a Playboy interview. "I have the heart of a small child. In a jar on my desk." or words to that effect.

[@sk70091]

He's a funny guy

[@Liz-nx3xl]

Read his book "On Writing"! It's a great book even if you aren't a writer. Many of his quotes mentioned are from this book.

[@luckyone2837]

Some of Stephen kings short stories are funny super entertaining sometimes a little bit silly

[@JarrodBaniqued]

He’s pretty good with late night interviews

[@N33k5]

Dreamcatcher was weird but, while I knew he wrote post accident I didn't realize he was dealing with an Oxy addiction and knowing how those effect the body via intense constipation this seems a very apt analogy.

[@AVspectre]

That’s what occurred to me as she described it in the video. Interesting to see these parallels to his life experiences.

[@savvasaam7644]

damn that's sad...

[@DeadCanuck]

Ohhh that explains it! I’m a King stan but Dreamcatcher was the only book of his I didn’t finish. I found it way too bizarre, and it didn’t seem to make much sense.

[@haeuptlingaberja4927]

As an accidental opioidist of some 30 years longstanding (with, btw, nary a dramatic breakdown, "addiction crisis," or any of the other horrors so predictably & reliably pimped by our tabloid media and our insatiable "curiosity" to not know anything about anything), I can confidently assure you that the constipation experienced by the casual user is the very least and most temporary of your worries. The body adapts. Infinitely worse is the two-headed dragon of habituation and public condemnation that waits in store for every opioidist. I have an unusual take on all of this because I don't get habituated. Quite rare, but it happens. In 30 years, I have never had to increase my dosage. When it wasn't available--poor man's sad excuse for "insurance," the 3 years I stopped taking all medications (11 different prescriptions, including a bunch of very powerful, dubious crap they feed to folks like me with MS and other neuro-afflictions) and now the reluctance of pharmacies to fill opiod prescriptions in the face of the heightened, scare-mongering drug war hysteria where it's only the law-abiding, fully compliant and responsible patients who are punished, I can truthfully say that I have never once experienced the phenomenon we call withdrawal. Personally, I think that, to a large extent, we create this thing we call addiction. Which doesn't mean that it's not real for those who suffer from it. Look into it deeply enough and there's no avoiding the uncomfortable truth that consciousness creates reality. Psychosomatic illnesses are every bit as real as shark bites. If only we could understand and train this god-like power we all have within us...just as that angry girl attempted to do in Firestarter.

[@tskmaster3837]

Ahem, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, not just Pennywise the Clown He didn't spend four years in Clown College majoring in Dance just to become some clown.

[@atlroxmysox98]

Kind of like how Diana was technically never Princess Diana but rather Diana, Princess of Wales.

[@kevinschultz6091]

Hey, don't make fun of Yale like that!

[@kanrup5199]

clown college?? pff... you can't eat that...

[@ThrottleKitty]

"He eats children just like you" ... I don't eat children :(

[@InquisitorThomas]

THAT’S PRECISELY WHAT SOMEONE WHO EATS CHILDREN WOULD SAY!

[@dennisfischer4838]

She meant you were a child in the story.. I think

[@ThrottleKitty]

@@dennisfischer4838 what child is reading IT though?

[@dennisfischer4838]

Goth kids if I had to guess but you make a good point

[@Namorat]

But you can it if you really want to! I believe in you!

[@mattdeblassmusic]

At the library where I work, the only one who takes up more shelf space than Stephen King is James Patterson (and not to knock Patterson, but you know King typed every word of those doorstops himself). They're still extremely popular checkouts, maybe even more so lately, now that folks are facing plenty of anxiety and adult fears in the real world.

[@Sammyyaam]

fellow library worker here, I agree.

[@spazzyshortgirl23]

Not Danielle Steele or Nora Roberts/JD Robb? (Also ex-library staff)

[@Sammyyaam]

danielle steele takes up a lot of space for us too

[@effigytormented]

We used to have an entire section devoted entirely to Louis L'amor and his western novels.

[@mattdeblassmusic]

@@spazzyshortgirl23 They both have a lot of shelf space, but Patterson and King have them beat. Of course, King's books are so gigantic in some cases that they take up three other books' worth of room.

[@alexwimberly1268]

Back in high school my nerdy friends and I had a running joke about King's writing style that was basically "It was a bright and shining day-AND THEN EVIL CAME!!"

[@jbvader721]

You forgot to mention that it takes place in Maine.

[@EvilGeniusIIpi]

“Roadwork” ahead? Uh, yeah, I sure hope it does.

[@poasful]

the guy writes so much he doesn't even have to be properly thinking to finish a whole book.

[@Kimmaline]

I hope Mr. King sees this, given his feels about re-electing his governor. He could use a nice little happy right now. (Can't we freakin all???)

Rep. Steve King is not returning to the House of Representatives next year, so he has some things to be happy about. He's replaced by another republican, but still.

[@randomshba]

"It" was the only book I ever read that actually made me scared. It was fear not caused by jump scares or monsters, it was by this strange uncomfortable feeling that followed me all throughout the book. "The Talisman" is still one of my favorites, part of it is because it is the book that brought me back that addictive "one more page" feeling around the age of 19 after losing it for a few years. "Different Seasons" still is my all favorite short stories collections So many other favorites in my list, each for a different reason...

[@reneebingham7872]

Different Seasons is a favorite in our house. I gave it to my fiancé as a gift and it only took a year for him to wear out the paperback paramour. I then decided to try my hand at King and boy on boy.... I was hooked. I tried reading “The Dark Half” at 18,...I didn’t finish until I was 23. So, thank you for telling about “Talisman”. I think I have a new gift for our family courtesy of you. 🖤 stay well.

[@CeeJayThe13th]

The Talisman is so underrated

[@jamesgulapa7219]

The Talisman is my favorite King novel, cried for days for wolf, god pounds his nails...

[@downsjmmyjones101]

"It" was really weird. I think I first felt it when the blood balloon popped. There was blood everywhere and the adults just couldn't see it. It wasn't a hallucination that just vanished. It was blood that the kids had to actually clean up and deal with. It was so weird to have what would normally just be a trick of a character's mind be made into something that the characters had to actually deal with.

[@gideondaboi3894]

One of my favorite King addiction analogies was in the Drawing of the Three, when Eddie is described as being a slave to a demon named Heroin. I’ve gone back and read those chapters at least a thousand times, both while I was trying to get clean and long after.

[@grandthanatos]

Stephen King's IT made me want to write horror in the first place (though yeah, he doesn't just do that one genre). A whole bunch of years later, I do have some books out, and King played a huge part in that. For which, obviously, I will be forever grateful.

[@Sammyyaam]

People give me slack for reading Stephen King, especially since I work at a library but idc. I was very proud of myself of tackling and finishing IT. That's another doorstop book.

[@richardrude2819]

For me the element of his writing that makes me revisit his work time and time again is his love for his characters and humanity as a whole. As gruesome as a lot of his stories are, you can just tell how empathetic he is towards even the most unlikeable characters. There are no villains in his books. Just tragic heroes. That is his true genius in my opinion. He actually makes me remember to always ask why someone is behaving the way they are before judging them

[@edisonlima4647]

I felt flabbergasted as I read Misery, when I got to the point at which both Paul Sheldon and I, the constant reader, begin to feel bad for Annie Wilkes. We still want her out, but she becomes more than just the big-bad. It felt so weird, but also like amazing storytelling.

[@richardrude2819]

@@edisonlima4647 YES! That is exactly what I was trying to communicate

[@dreamer2260]

I agree completely.

[@Ravuun]

I love that you called him Uncle Stevie. That's how I've thought of him since my middle school days in the 80's.

[@Zeldarw104]

Excellent video. "I don't care what they call me - as long as the checks don't bounce" -- Stephen King. Hello! Well said.🙂

[@leewhys78]

15 or so years ago, I had never read Stephen King. Then I met a colleague who was an avid fan and the first book she lent me - mind you, this is her idea of an introduction to the world of Stephen King - was "Salem's Lot." Scared the living daylights out of me. I couldn't sleep for months after that without staring at my bedroom window at night expecting to see someone there.

[@gasparinha]

I'd been reading King for decades before I got to 'Salem's Lot - trying to hit all the Dark Tower tie-ins! It's the best damn ghost story I've ever read. Now I want to reread it!

[@ariwl1]

My favorite King novel is Eyes of the Dragon, which was an early dive into the fantasy genre that he wrote for his daughter because she didn't like horror novels.

[@lifewithoutfudge]

No one talks about that one and it is a shame, severely underrated in his canon. Everything about the the villain is deliciously, gleefully evil in a very fun way.

[@jbvader721]

​@@lifewithoutfudgeNot to mention, the fans initially hated the book and the idea that he broke away from horror and there was some negative fan letters that came with it. So much so that he (partly) wrote "Misery" as a way of saying "I can write whatever the hell I want". Yes, "Misery" is also a metaphor for cocaine addiction but its also a warning of when toxic fandom goes too far.

[@IvanlyChannel]

His prose and dialog flavors are stronger than most popular genre authors in my opinion

[@DallytheWop]

Came to Storied for Monstrum and found Lindsay Ellis. Glad to see you making videos for PBS Lindsay, been a fan since nostagia chick

[@anyathepanther7977]

"in this 3 hour movie we have to wing some things!" "chapter 2 is 3 hours long? How long is this book?" "short by Stephen King standards"

[@AwesomeSpidey22]

I listened to the audiobook of It and it's around 40 hours! 😅 and I think the book is over 1000 pages.

[@DontfuckwithdaGunslinger420]

Lisey’s Story is one of my favorite books my Stephen King. It’s such a loving and caring book that once the horror hits. It hits HARD

[@alianne92]

I like the “Constant Reader” pull. And the rest of the video! Stephen King is in my top 3 favorite authors, and it’s nice to see someone exploring his work with nuance, since it’s true depth is so often overlooked :)

[@tommyg8146]

I wish Stephen King would get the Nobel prize for literature, I honestly do! His work is so varied, deep, remarkable, memorable, quotable, it's a fine study of the human psyche, he has humour, wit, universality, everything! Just give him the damn award already!! :-)))))

[@johnryan5133]

The section on generic indecisiveness made me reflect on Roland Deschain, the gunslinger from The Dark Tower series, complaining about stories from 'our' world being restricted to genres, like a meal only having one flavour. When his companions talk about fairy tales, horror stories, westerns he asks if no-one in 'our' world likes stew, as in a mash up of different genres. I've never thought of it in this light before but i think King, or Gan, was speaking through Roland at that moment. Interesting video and I always love listening to Lindsay :-)

[@artofescapism]

my favorite stephen king novel has always been 'the girl who loved tom gordon'- it's not a very well known one, but i always recommend it! it's about a young girl who gets lost while hiking and has to deal with surviving on her own and being followed by something...

[@muticere]

I recall my experience reading The Shining. The first half of the book has almost no supernatural elements, but it was easily the most anxiety inducing, nail-biting part of the book for me. Once the ghosts start to show up it's basically a relief. The reason for this is King is so good at not only depicting supernatural terrors, but also more mundane real-life terrors. Reading about Jack's struggles as a husband and father and the anxieties that he has that so closely matched my own at the time I was reading it, seeing myself in this bastard of a man and knowing I could be one lost job away from being him completely, it twisted my soul in knots. I've only started reading his books a few years ago, but I'm already a big fan.

[@constantreader1422]

yesssss. been a constant reader since i was eleven. commenting for the algorithm gods.

[@BaldingClamydia]

Bump!

[@GaryArkham]

8:43 YES, YOU SHOULD. Please give us a whole channel about Stephen King please.

[@TheStephenKingdom]

Gary, it's your lucky day. As of Halloween this year, the channel now exists. Behold... THE STEPHEN KINGDOM

[@GaryArkham]

@@TheStephenKingdom Heck yeah! Insta subbed :)

[@TheStephenKingdom]

@@GaryArkham Ahhhhhh yeah!

[@shapescolours8105]

I have had trouble reading Kings book for the past year despite the fact I’m a huge fan. For the first time in 15 years I’ve been away from my stepdad. King’s themes of abuse and trauma are bringing up feelings I’m not ready to deal with yet lmfao.

[@maggieallen5985]

Pet Sematary was my favorite growing up, and it’s the only book I ever read that terrified me so much that seeing it’s spine alone sitting on the bookshelf late at night would make me get up and cover it with something. Yes, I was a weird 11 year old XD

[@crows2808]

I hadn't know about his addiction problems. That explains a lot about the level of empathy he shows Eddie in the Dark Tower. A character we are introduced to at his lowest point. And whereas he is compassionate to Eddie, Roland is pretty harsh. Maybe the iron hand he thought he needed, or indeed had.

[@dreamer2260]

Yes, exactly. I fee just the same way, and very good insight about part of the possible aspiration for Roland's character, who I've long been fascinated with; he has some unique power for me.

[@kylemagley6960]

@@dreamer2260 the american tragic hero. sure what he's doing is righteous, truly the last light in a dark and dying world, but perpetuating the same cycle of violence that has led the world to this point.

[@viridian5maureen853]

Roland has his own addiction though....

[@kylemagley6960]

@@viridian5maureen853 eddie even calls him out on it. you're a tower junky

[@nathaliefinch]

I love the way that Lindsay explains topics. Even videos where im not too familiar with the subject matter are explained with ease by her. Im not saying I dont know Steven King, but I might not have clicked this video if not for Lindsay because i know she'll give me plenty of context and background in a way that doesnt feel like Im completely clueless but im not necessarily an expert. Your the best Lindsay Ellis!

[@garethtudor836]

I know a video was engrossing when I look at the duration and think, "no bloody way that was ___ minutes!" Most of the PBS Digital output qualifies

[@TheBigReindeer]

the first comment in black fled across the desert

[@hive_indicator318]

and the punslinger followed

[@BaldingClamydia]

You're my two new best friends, embrace the Ka-tet

[@targetdreamer257]

👆🏼

[@jamesmaass8163]

All follows the path of the beam.

[@waywardmind]

and the replies followed.

[@Col_Fragg]

“The Tommyknockers” is actually pretty good. It’s got some clever ideas that stick in my head to this day.

[@aimeem]

I liked The Tommyknockers a lot too.

[@alexcraft7548]

Lindsay ellis makes the best video essays, and stephen king writes my favorite books. This was a match made in heaven

[@wolf2xs946]

Great vid pushed instantly

[@wastrouss]

Ooh! Please do a channel analyzing only the complete works of specific writers!!! It'd be so cool to see a video on each of King's works--and you can do works by Isaac Asimov, Neil Gaiman... Oh!!!

[@TheStephenKingdom]

Funny you should mention it -- we've just gone and done that exact thing. Check out THE STEPHEN KINGDOM!

[@draconiarose]

I love king, and I'm more a fan if his magical reality stuff than his straight up horror, though both are great.

[@Artemisio987]

i still remember when i had the terrible idea of finishing "gerald's game" before bed. I almost had a heart attack when my mom entered my room wondering what i was still doing awake at 2 am :D

[@Beryllahawk]

It kind of breaks my heart that King says he does NOT like his novel "Rose Madder" (which, I was very glad to see mentioned in this video btw!), because that book is among my top five favorites of his work. (My number one favorite is Firestarter, and maybe that says something about me but, eh.) I can appreciate the reasons he gives for why he doesn't like it but I feel like the story - no matter its faults - just really hit me in a deep and personal way, very literally doing the thing King himself has talked about (and I am paraphrasing because I'm pretty sure I don't have the ability to quote this right)- that his stories will take us by the hand, take us into that dimly lit room with the table and the shape beneath the sheet, and make us touch the dead body. We know it's there, we are afraid of it, but the story is GOING to make us confront it, touch it, know it in a way we didn't before. And that...for me at least, as regards that specific book...that let me finally confront and touch and KNOW a monster that had lived in my head all my life. I honestly believe that because I encountered that story and essentially made it safely through to the other side, it gave me the specific courage I needed to confront my personal trauma, the people that had abused me, the things in my head that continued to torment me. It didn't cure me, gods know, but it helped me start on the path that would let me heal, let me become the person I WANTED to be. And yes, it also scared the crap out of me at various points. But like CS Lewis said about fantasy novels - the point isn't whether dragons are real. Every child KNOWS that monsters are real. The stories teach us that monsters can be battled, can be BEATEN, and that yes, even we - even the little scared child hiding under the covers - can sometimes succeed in slaying the monster under the bed. There's nothing more valuable than learning that you have a strength all your own. There's nothing more impactful on your life than FINDING it.

[@bettyb9677]

#Truth Rose Madder is an amazing book and also one of my very favorite books glad to know I'm not the only one :)

[@stacylgh]

It's also one of my favorites. I left an abusive marriage, mentally and verbally rather than physical, and it really stuck with me. I read it first while married to him and again after I left.

[@MarchingGrrl]

Rose Madder astonished me. I genuinely think that king is one of the few male writers who not only can write realistic female characters, but write compelling stories about feminine concepts. I just wish that he still had the ACAB energy of RM. too many of his protagonists are hero cops these days.

[@baritOWN]

"...so come with me, Constant Reader" I GET IT

[@julieblair7472]

The vintage "Time/Life magazine" color treatment on this video is gorgeous!!!

[@jennyrodriguez811]

My favorites are Dolores Clairborne and Misery, I think because it deals with more plausible scenarios (an abduction, an abusive marriage), which are more horror inducing to me.

[@richardleatherman5075]

Really like the Dark Tower series. They are even better on audio!

[@TaterKakez]

Oh saWEET! I live in Maine, I love Stephen King! My parents made me wait til I was 10 to read Stephen King 😂

[@acidroofproductions9378]

I really want to visit your state one day, I am a huge King fan. Plus I grew up in a fishing community and I have a feeling Maine has a few towns that would make me feel right at home.

[@michaelfrench3396]

I've lived in Maine for 10 years now and I read all of his books growing up and as an adult and it makes them even more compelling being in the setting that he grew up in.

[@rockingbeat]

I read Needful Things and Carrie so far and bought about a dozen more of his books. Can't wait to read more!

[@PurpleWaterfall]

Nobody seems to mention it too much but Dreamcatcher is one of my favourites. It was just so abjectly horrific and I love the slide into sci fi. Plus, there's a great little moment where the MC finds graffiti saying 'Pennywise Lives' which gave me chills the first time I read it.

[@patrickhill6045]

Please do a video on rod serling and the twilight zone really would love to hear you opinion on that topic and somewhat genre

[@albanegauran4283]

The timing of this video is crazy, I was just rereading the shining.

[@ihcfn]

I politely request that you do not use images from that "film" to represent The Dark Tower please

[@pakde8002]

Dark Tower is probably my favorite King novel. I found it a long time ago shortly after it was published and mostly forgotten. I kept waiting for the prequel and sequel but King just forgot about the project. I saw it in terms of a Knight of the round table type quest with Camelot and the round table long gone, one jaded knight still roaming the edges of a multiverse dystopia. These are the feelings I remember; the details have mostly eroded over time somewhat like the landscape of the book as I recall. I did watch the movie and wasn't terribly impressed but it's been so long since I read it I can't say how well it captured the book. It certainly didn't make an impression.

[@dreamer2260]

That film was the worst adaptation of a novel I've ever had the misfortune to see, and I've watched Eragon. Ugh, such an insult to a subtle, strange, powerful and unique series.

[@jimballard1186]

@@dreamer2260 The thing is, the movie's premise is very clever and I was excited for it! Then they executed it in such a half-assed way. I still think about that movie from time to time and wonder what happened, because you can see flashes of creativity here and there smothered beneath the lack of effort. Did the producers lose faith in the project and start to interfere? Did they just run out of budget? What happened? I'll probably never know because anyone in the cast and crew who talks about it will be signing away their career, but it eats at me.

[@kylemagley6960]

i can't sit through it, i've tried several times. the casting was brilliant, but the story not only wasn't "the dark tower" it wasn't good. in the future i'm sure we'll see many more movies and mini-series treatments and eventually someone will do a decent job of it.

[@Hawdkoah]

If anything, it should be represented by Michael Whelan's gorgeous paintings.

[@alex0589]

Seeing Lindsay standing up is like seeing your teacher at the grocery store...buying beer

[@eirikastokes9652]

One of my favorite misconceptions people seem to have regarding SK's work is how many people think IT is purely a story about kids getting terrified by a creature when it's about so so so much more. It's about trauma, the triumph of childhood innocence over darkness, how the magic of childhood never really leaves for good, the evil that childhood can disguise, grief, loss, love, friendship, memory...and the deep psychological enigma that is the colossal strength of a child's imagination.

[@AbominablePoppy]

The Shinning was the first experience I had where a book genuinely scared me. Also my first King novel. Love his stuff!

[@movieblocks9164]

I guess you could say they were..... LOSIN' TO A BIRD.

[@DinaraTengri]

With prejudice!

[@trevorshaw-mumford2150]

I can hear the voice and everything lol

[@madisonstoner7405]

"Hal...it's about a living car that kills people."

[@J.TiberiusKirk]

"Here's Johnny!"

[@SemperErato]

Not Halloween anymore, but I'll take an It's Lit video on horror stories any time.

[@TheWetCatFish]

I’ve been waiting my whole life for a Lindsay video on the king

[@kevinobill4818]

Stephen King is the Stan Lee of Horror

[@ivorjawa]

Nah, SK didn’t steal most of his work.

For better and for worse.

@@ivorjawa Neither Stan Lee (not exactly).

[@MadsMcKay]

My mom just sent me copies of The Shining and Dr. Sleep, what good timing. (Dark Tower series is my favorite.)

[@omaridavis8088]

Just finished 'The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon' and currently on Desperation.

[@Evalan321]

yes, maybe you should make a channel, delving into the intricacies of the Kingverse

[@TheStephenKingdom]

Consider it done - - we proudly present the brand new series THE STEPHEN KINGDOM. Come join us!

[@kylemundy8871]

Ellis and King, two of my faves

[@sauronbagginsd8032]

Lindsay doing a KZbin channel assessing Kings work? SIGN ME UP !

[@alexaaragon21]

My introduction to Stephen King was watching the movie Misery with Kathy Bates with my mom. I went down a rabbit hole of his books and movies based on his books shortly afterwards.

[@drawsouza]

My FAVORITE video from the series!

[@Toastedtasty42]

Lindsay Ellis is perfect for storied

[@gianinamorales8597]

I loved his cameo in It: Chapter Two. 😅

[@brianmiller1077]

Second only to Hitchcock for putting himself in his own movies.

[@ChristianNeihart]

If I were to desribe the Dark Tower, it would thus: a wild ride I am not through with yet.

[@BaldingClamydia]

I'm so excited for you!! The first trip around the tower is the best

[@dreamer2260]

My favourite series ever. I absolutely love t and wish it was more widely known. Completely captivating and unique.

[@godlyb0b]

I was insane enough to read the entire 7 (at the time) book series back to back twice over the years. Still need to read the 8th one, so I guess a third marathon is in order

[@futuristica1710]

Great content, Lindsay! Thanks!

[@crosseyed420]

Thank you. Great Vid!

[@Vonn_Loren]

That description of his condition while writing The Tommy-knockers makes me shudder.

[@rishabhdave5773]

You know, I used to think Stephen King books were really, really long. But then I read the Stormlight Archives...

[@Duragizer8775]

"If you've read _The Dark Tower_ , try describing it. Just try it." Adventures in diminishing returns.

[@jared6200]

The Dark Towers is King's The Lord of the Rings, a fantastical tale set in sprawling vistas.

[@caseyschofield]

One thing I love about Stephen King he does not hide anything in a book short story or in a movie like what he did when they release It and It part 2 a few years ago he keep the characters the same as they were in the book not in the original release of the movies in the '90s and when he did in both The Green Mile and Shank Redemption both showed how the characters on who they truly are.

[@gabormolnar2208]

Omg, I looooved Lisey's Story!!!! Now I'm reading Four Past Midnight for the second time.

[@danielkinney1845]

Yes a channel describing the history and story behind horror books writers movies.

[@robertearhart4316]

My eyes were opened to Stephen King thru Pet Semetary in 4th grade. Big fan ever since! Thanks for this spotlight on a writer very influential to my adolescence and appreciation of literature. And great bookends, Lindsay!

[@craigoconnor6662]

Wonderful as always. Could you do one on Harlan Ellison?

[@luisalmodovar5030]

Great job on this video.

[@jackofallclaws6672]

YAY!! You’re back!

[@animationfanatic2133]

Yes please do a 20 hour video on Stephen kings books I'd watch the hell out of that

[@stephennootens916]

King storytelling is hard to describe. I sometimes feel like he's old fashion in my mind, I mean in a good way. I haven't read much horror out side of him but it seems from what I have read from writers like Clive Barker and Bentley Little that they are more going for shock, they seemed more interested in being twisted, a lot of sex and violence. King on the other hand while he doesn't shy away from gore, and now and than slips in sex, puts most of weight on characters. The best way I can put it is that his characters feel like they have more going on in their lives than dealing with the monster in front of them. One of things I remember most about The Shining is not the hotel but the flash-backs of Jack as a kid looking up at his dad who was clearly a drunk and violent and Wendy feeling like the third wheel in her own family because her son is closer to her husband.

[@lampdevil]

King's talent at crafting characters is what always draws me back to his work. To reference Tommyknockers, he may have hated that book, and it's definitely a thing with problems, but I adore it for the cast of characters that he brought together in it. He has a real talent for granting even small parts in his stories some width and some weight... even if three paragraphs later that character meets their untimely demise via high speed flying vending machine.

[@stephennootens916]

@@lampdevil true, I still remember reading the stand as a kid and how he would tell you minor character's life story before having them die some horrible painful death from something stupid.

[@JohanStarDragon]

As King puts it, the real monsters are really within us and sometimes we become them. That’s the truly horrific and darkly humorous aspect of things.

[@WowUrFcknHxC]

King is such a great fantasy author. The Gunslinger is one of my favorite books ever

[@paulines581]

Thank you

[@jeromydoerksen2603]

Still haven't got to that last _Dark Tower_ book. Maybe I'll check it out. Great episode, as always!

[@yourstruly802]

Can you do Giants next? I heard skeletons were found of giants in the Middle East, I’m very curious to know more :)

[@michaelfrench3396]

First off his longest book, the stand, is probably the standalone single best piece of fiction ever written. The dark tower series is without a doubt the best series that has ever been written. The thing that I love the most about Stephen King's books is his character development. Most of the scariest monsters in his books are people. And he is so descriptive both in the scenery around the characters and the scenery inside the character's heads that the reader has no choice but to be sucked into the story. I think this is why Stephen King's books have classically been so horrible when transferred to film. The last two it films did a pretty good job of conveying the book partially because it was 4 hours and 2 movies and secondly because there has to be a ton of CGI in order to bring King's characters to life. Although I don't think anybody will ever make the characters that he writes about as scary as they are in our heads.

[@nicholaslindsey7087]

Totally agree! The first 100 to 200 pages alone are a masterpiece!

[@GoldieSC]

New Lindsay Ellis content is what I needed this week.