Stephen King is one of the world’s most-read and beloved horror authors. His work has been translated into more than 50 languages and sold more than 350 million books. What makes “The King of Horror” earn his name is not only the amazing storylines nor is it only the bizarre but very life-like characters. It is the plasticity of his stories, that are ready to be transformed and adapted to many different forms of art and still have a similar emotional impact.
His stories have made cinema history – who can forget the famous scene in Carrie, the twins in The Shining, or the look of Annie Wilkes in Misery? But it’s not only the big screen that loves Stephen King’s work, and especially in the last couple of years, viewers got to enjoy TV shows that have been adapted from novels and short stories.
6 The Mist
Although it's a lot different from the novella and even though it has kind of a slow start, The Mist still managed to grab the audience's attention. One of the major disappointing things was that Season 1 doesn't give a proper ending and Season 2 is unlikely to happen, so even the hardcore fans of the series have something very real to complain about.
In a small town in Maine (yes, of course), a crime is committed. While the family it involves tries to get back on their feet, a thick mist starts to circle the whole town. To top that up, something non-human hides in it and takes everybody that dares to wander around. People hide in buildings around town and try to survive in any way they can.
5 The Stand
There are two different TV adaptations of the wonderful (and huge) 1978 novel The Stand. One happened in 1994 and one in 2020. Both gained quite a devoted fandom, and it's only normal since The Stand is considered by many as one of the best works by the popular author. For the newer fans, the 2020 iteration is considered better. The devoted King fans on the other hand, always prefer the 1994 version even though it is a bit more outdated - but just the fact that the King himself plays a minor role gives it extra gravitas.
A deadly virus kills almost all of the Earth's population. Weirdly enough, that's not even the worst part. The survivors are separated into two different groups: one follows a very old woman who lives in the middle of some fields and the other one is a man that lives in Vegas and rules with an iron fist. The inevitable battle between good and evil is set to happen.
4 Salem's Lot/Midnight Mass/Chapelwaite
Salem's Lot was published in 1975 and as King has said in interviews, it is his favorite book of his. If one checks how many adaptations of the novel are out there, it is clear that his fans also treasure Salem's Lot greatly and can't get enough of it. But it's not only the fans - a lot of directors have taken the story and twisted and turned it in many different ways to produce sometimes okay and other times amazing results.
In Jerusalem's Lot, a quiet town, something evil arrives. That evil might not be all sparkly in the sun, but it is powerful, and it is hungry. Add a guy that returns after many years to Salem's Lot and a priest with enough faith for the whole town, and fans have hours of entertainment and horror.
3 The Outsider
Doppelgangers have been a steady source of horror in works of fiction throughout the years. The Outsider deals with an even more sinister version of a doppelganger, and it is one of the more recent works of the author (published in 2018) that has found its way to the hearts of readers and viewers. Stephen King blends horror and detective crime splendidly and serves it chillingly.
What seems like a very gruesome but straightforward murder case, turns out to be way more complicated, especially because it involves supernatural phenomena, something that the cop who examines the case isn't that keen to believe in.
2 Under The Dome
Under The Dome was published in 2009, and it was extremely well received both by King’s fans and science fiction fans, who loved the mystery and suspense of the novel. The TV show run for three seasons for three years and was generally also well received, although, of course, there are always the people who scream at the TV: “This is not how it happened in the book!”
A small town in Maine is suddenly cut off from the rest of the world, quite literally. A huge dome spreads throughout the perimeter of the town and traps everyone inside it with no way to break it. The townsfolk must learn to survive and find out what caused the dome to trap them and if there is any way to lift it and go back to normal. But as the days go by, normal seems further and further away.
1 11.22.63
This novel features time travel, which might not be the most usual thing Stephen King’s readers expected of him, but they nevertheless embraced his attempt and found themselves loving it as much as the author's other works.
11.22.63 is a date that changed the world, not only for Americans but for all people. The question “What would have happened if John F. Kennedy was not murdered?” Is up there along with the question “What would have happened if someone killed Hitler earlier?” A high school teacher finds a portal that transfers him back to 1958 and has the opportunity to stop Kennedy’s assassination. He soon finds out that living in the past has more difficulties than he imagined.