How Did Stephen King Impact On Horror

The Impact of Stephen King on horror

For a long time I was looking for a book in the horror genre that would interest and captivate me. The Darkest Corners by the horror author, Kara Thomas, grabbed me in a way I didn’t think any horror book would. The story line was intriguing, and the characters were fleshed out so any reader could relate to them. After reading the book, I became interested in exploring more authors in the same genre. Thus I was introduced to Stephen King, who has emerged as today’s preeminent horror author. A prolific writer, his impact is felt far and wide. Some of his most well known novels are Carrie, Misery, The Shining, Cujo and The Mist. Horror wouldn’t be the popular genre it is today if it weren’t for Stephen King. Prior to Stephen King, horror was a genre whose main purpose was to titillate and shock readers and whose characters were primarily one-dimensional. Unlike many of his predecessors, Stephen King delved deeper into the human psyche, exploiting everyone’s inner troubles and demons. He is widely credited for popularizing horror and thus capturing a wider audience, making horror into the explosive, beloved and profitable genre it is today.

At seven-years-old, he came across horror comics in his aunt’s attic. This helped develop an interest in horror and a passion in writing. Stephen King started writing articles about teachers as a joke in high school as well as writing about high school sports for a local newspaper. This was the starting point of Stephen King’s writing. Even though Stephen King was a quiet and socially awkward student, he spent much time writing articles about his teachers. This secret rebellious side of him that his principal took notice of. The principal “... contacted John Gould, the editor of the local Lisbon Enterprise newspaper, who agreed to hire King as a reporter to cover area high school sports” (Wukovits