When you read that quote, what does it make you think? Well, it makes me think of one thing. It makes me think of all of the terrifying stories I've read by the master of the macabre himself, Stephen Edwin King. His mind has conjured up countless novels and short stories to do none other than to scare you out of your mind. His style and vivid detail meticulously planted in every work he does is the reason for such reactions to his horrific books. I invite you to come and discover the man behind the horror and learn what inspires him to write such imaginative novels and short stories.

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland Maine in the year of 1947(Beahm 1). He has led a very interesting life, and as you will soon see, he has also had his high and low points. The following documentation on King's life has changed my mind about King. I now think of him as a normal human being instead of someone higher than me.

One of the interesting things of his life is that at the young age of twelve King had begun his writing career. King and his older brother owned their very own newspaper. The paper sold for five cents a copy and was full

Perhaps the most inspiration comes from the numerous towns that King has lived in over his lifetime. For example, the town of Orrington, Maine is the town that King and his wife lived in when they were first married. The town inspired him to write his smash novel "Pet Sematary." There was a road, called Route 15, that runs straight past King's old house. Every day there was a different household animal lying dead on the road. King one day noticed a dead tabby cat dead next to the local Hartford Cemetary. He made the connection between the two and his spectacular imagination took over from there (Beahm 44). Then you have the birth of truly a classic novel.

The next stylistic quality is that of the bizarre twists and turns the plot makes throughout the course of any novel of his. I think "Bag of Bones" is another perfect example. Just as you think everything will turn out good and the hero gets the girl and everything ends happily ever after a man with a shotgun kills everyone at a party except for the hero and a little girl. If that is not taking sharp turns than I don't know what is. Tom de Haven is a literary critic for the Detroit Daily news. He says, "Whenever you're positive-just positive!-- you know where this ghost story is heading, that's exactly when it gallops off in some jaw-dropping new direction (Detroit Daily News)."

The town of Castle Rock, Maine is the setting for any of the books King writes that has to do with direct evil. The name was taken from William Golding's "The Lord of the Flies." King picked Castle Rock because "The Lord of the Flies" is directly involved with the evil located within living things. His "Castle Rock" stories directly reflect evil located in a town and people in that town. The town is home to, at this time, seven of Kings works. Those works are "The Dead Zone," "Cujo," "The Body," "The Dark Half," "The Sun Dog," and "Needful Things." The last of which is the one that I will focus on. "Needful Things," is a story about a new shopowner in town that is different than any other. Everything in his store has a price. It just depends on how much it is worth to you. For some it is worth their very own soul. Before the shop owner moves into town, everyday life is ordinary and good. As soon as Mr. Leland Gaunt comes to town all hell breaks loose. The small ordinary town turns chaotic. A dog gets skinned and hung in the doorway of the owners' house. The kids are throwing fecal matter on virtually everything in sight. The Baptists are in constant fights with the Catholics. The Priest slashes the tires of the Reverend's tires and the Reverend defaces the Catholic Church Building. This whole bickering between the two religions is put in a very humorous manner. I think it is needed to keep the reader in a sane state of mind. Just as Shakespeare had to keep the audience sane by adding a little comic relief , I think King did it for this same reason. Mr. Gaunt has a hold on virtually everyone in the town. I think King was trying to say something about society. I think he was trying to say that the devil does have some sort of pull in everyone's life. I think Michael A. Morrison, a known literary critic, said it perfectly. He said, "Evil is presented {in "Needful Things"} as an evil that resides in every human heart and mind in Castle Rock (DISCovering authors)." I agree totally and couldn't have said it better myself.

of local news and fictional works by King (Beahm 2). I found this to be quite humorous. I can see two kids sitting at the mimeograph machine printing out their very own five cent newspaper.

If you talk to most people they would say that King's first novel was

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Approximate Word count = 2477
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)