History Creator / StephenKing

* ''Literature/NightShift'' (1978) -- Anthology of short stories, all of which have now been adapted into movies or TV series:

* ''Film/DisciplesOfTheCrow'' (1983): Based on "Children of the Corn" from ''Literature/NightShift''

* ''Film/CatsEye'' (1985): First two segments are based on stories from ''Literature/NightShift''

* ''Film/GraveyardShift'' (1990): Based on "Graveyard Shift" from ''Literature/NightShift''

* ''Series/{{Chapelwaite}}'' (2021): Based on ''Literature/JerusalemsLot'' from ''Literature/NightShift''

* ''Film/{{The Boogeyman|2023}}'' (2023): Based on ''The Boogeyman'' from ''Literature/NightShift''

The beginning of King's career is a classic RagsToRiches story. Supporting his young family by working as a high school teacher and occasionally selling short stories on the side, King struggled to make ends meet, even choosing to have his phone disconnected to save money. Having written several novels but selling none, he began to write a story about a telekinetic teenage girl, which would eventually become ''Literature/{{Carrie}}''. Ironically, King threw the first few pages of the manuscript (the shower scene) out at first, thinking that he couldn't realistically write a teenage girl. His wife Tabitha found the pages in the garbage and read them, and then convinced King that he was on to something and to finish the novel, saying that she wanted "to know what happens." ''Carrie'' was optioned for hardcover publication by Doubleday for a paltry $2,500 advance. But then, much to his astonishment, the paperback rights were sold to NAL/Signet for $400,000 and King himself received $200,000, which lifted him and his family out of debt overnight.

While calling King a "horror writer" grossly understates and undervalues much of his career and work, he undoubtedly remains one of the most important authors in that genre. Many consider him to be the heir to the legacy begun by Creator/EdgarAllanPoe, passed down to Creator/HPLovecraft and then to King, with no apparent successor in sight (yet). King has also referred to himself in the past as "ABLB" or "America's Best Loved Boogeyman," a title he sees as originating with Creator/AlfredHitchcock, then passed on to Creator/RodSerling, and then to him. Long typecast as a horror novelist, the success of films like ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption'' and ''Film/StandByMe'', among others, have finally earned King some credit as a good writer both within the horror genre and outside of it.

* HandshakeOfDoom: In "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands", a man named Henry Brower mysteriously refuses to touch anyone and freaks out when a guy shakes his hand after Brower wins a card game - said guy dying of an aneurysm shortly thereafter. The protagonist investigates and eventually discovers he was cursed to have a TouchOfDeath after accidentally killing a boy; the story ends with [[spoiler: Brower being DrivenToSuicide and shaking his own hand.]]

* ''Literature/MrMercedes'' (2014) -- King's "first hard-boiled detective book" about an ex-cop tracking down a mass murderer. Adapted into a series in 2017, starring Creator/BrendanGleeson as protagonist Bill Hodges and Harry Treadaway as BigBad Brady Hartsfield, replacing the late Creator/AntonYelchin.

* ''Literature/{{Holly}}'' (2023) -- Featuring Holly Gibney as the main protagonist, as she uncovers decades of crimes in the home of a retired couple while searching for a missing girl.

* ''Literature/{{Dreamcatcher}}'' (2001) -- Four old friends get stuck out in the forest on a hunting trip, right when the aliens land. Made into a movie.

* ''Film/MaximumOverdrive'' (1986): Based on "Literature/{{Trucks}}''

* TomSwifty: He mentions Swifties in his memoir/manual of style ''On Writing''. "When debating whether or not to make some pernicious dandelion of an adverb part of your dialogue attribution," he remarks, "I suggest you ask yourself if you really want to write the sort of prose that might wind up in a party game."

* BodyHorror: Gruesome disfigurements and mutations pop up in several of his books. ''The Tommyknockers'' provides a shining example of the latter, as the alien spaceship's radiation gradually causes the townsfolk in Haven to lose teeth, developed waxy translucent skin, and their genitals transform into tentacles.

* BodyHorror: Gruesome disfigurements and mutations pop up in several of his books.

* ''Holly'' (2023) -- Featuring Holly Gibney as the main protagonist, as she uncovers decades of crimes in the home of a retired couple while searching for a missing girl.