From a Buick 8 was interesting but not scary. I also enjoyed Gerald's Game - twisted but not scary (it's about a couple that go someplace to do some bdsm activities and he has a heart attack while she's still handcuffed to the bedposts). The Dark Half is suspense but not really scary. There's a lot of variety in King's writing so I am sure you will find something that interests you but doesn't scare you.
You can turn King's work into a drinking game. Pretty sure you would die after taking a shot for every story that takes place in Maine.
I just reread (well listened to on you tube while cooking) Stephen King's Sometimes they come back . I forgot just how much I lied that short story.
Stephen King is very scary to me from his dark writing style to his detached sheepish smile - yes, a master of the sick twist is he.
I've never thought Stephen King was scary. In fact, I haven't even liked all of his books. I think he's a pretty good writer, but I'm just not a fan.
I love this question. I read King a lot as a kid, and my answer would be, his premises are scary, but his third acts are pure comedy. I would recommend his earlier books, IT, The Shining, I really enjoyed... I can't remember it's name OAP lost his wife and started seeing little men with scalpels, best friend turned into a murderous anti-abortionist?
Hearts in Atlantis was a great book, I'd recommend it. King's written some terrifying books and some not-so-terrifying books. I didn't find FireStarter or Christine to be the least bit scary, but It and The Shining scared the hell out of me.
In my opinion, there are works by Bentley Little and Dean Koontz that are far scarier than anything King has written. I like King's style/voice though - it's like a friend is casually conspiring with you.
So I guess it is in to bash King now. I grew up in the 80s reading him and shit like The Shining, Salem's Lot, and IT were scary. But then again, I was a kid. If you start reading King as an adult it probably will not be scary. As an adult you get scared of things like ISIS. As a kid you are scared of the lump of clothes in your room at night that looks like it might be a monster. King was also the style of the 80s. Now, his style is kind of out. But his early stories are pretty good, but the language is of that time. I love Poe and HP and read them almost daily, but they are not scary. I think as an adult if you want to be scared, get a good audiobook and listen to it all by yourself in a dark room. Try that with Gerald's Game, that is as close to scared I have been by reading a book. Shitting on King is like when people shit on HP for his racism---it was a product of his time.
@Pixelated Porn Accusing people who disagree with your view of doing it because it's trendy/popular is really, really lazy. Especially when your view is actually the popular one, and most writers admire King.
