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It’s Stephen King’s birthday! Do you suppose he’s celebrating somewhere with a Bloody Mary? (He’s not: see Fact #8.) I know – just because a guy writes in the horror genre doesn’t mean he loves all things creepy. But in King’s case, I think he does. Anyway. Whether you like his writing or consider it fluff, he’s one of the most successful and prolific authors out there, so today’s Q10 commemorates the King of Terror’s 62 years.
1. King and his wife, Tabitha, own “The Zone Corporation,” a company that serves to head their three radio stations in Maine. One of them, WKIT, goes by the tagline “Stephen King’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Station” and has a mascot named Doug E. Graves. That’s him in the picture to the left. The picture is from the website of Christian Hanson, the artist who made the mask, by the way. Only four were ever produced and at least one of them resides in King’s private collection.
2. He’s a hardcore Red Sox fan. Not only did he write a story about the Sox – The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (a former BoSox pitcher) – he also had a little cameo in the Jimmy Fallon/Drew Barrymore movie Fever Pitch, which is about a crazed Boston fan. He plays himself and throws out the first pitch at a game. And, in 2004, he and Stewart O’Nan, another novelist, chronicled their reactions to the season that finally brought the World Series title back to Beantown. It’s appropriately titled Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season.
3. You probably remember that King was hit by a van not far from his home in 1999. He suffered from a collapsed lung, a broken hip, a gash to the head and a leg broken in nine places. Afterward, King and his lawyer bought the van for $1,500 and when King was better, he wailed on it with a baseball bat before sending it to be crushed at a junkyard.
4. There may be a reason for the way his brain seems to be able to create chilling stories at such an amazing clip: he saw a friend get struck and killed by a train when he was just a kid. The idea that such a traumatizing event stuck with him and inspired his line of work is one that King shrugs off.
5. He wrote a musical with John Mellencamp. It’s based on a house that Mellencamp bought in Indiana that came complete with a ghost story. The legend is that three siblings were messing around in the woods and one of the brothers accidentally got shot. The surviving brother and sister jumped in the car to go get help, and in their panic, swerved off the road right into a tree and were killed instantly. Of course, the three now haunt the woods by the house Mellencamp bought. The singer approached King about maybe doing something with the story, and between the two of them, they wrote songs and a plot for a musical called The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County.
6. If you’re a regular Q10 reader, you already know that Stephen King plays rhythm guitar for a band made up of writers. They’re called The Rock Bottom Remainders and they “tour” about once a year. King shares the stage with Amy Tan, Mitch Albom, Matt Groening and Ridley Pearson, among others.
7. He writes about Maine a lot because he knows and loves Maine. He grew up there and now lives in Bangor. Castle Rock, Derry, and Jerusalem’s Lot are just products of King’s imagination, but he can tell you exactly where in the state they would be if they were real. And his house is awesome. The gate is why I think he appreciates all things creepy, or at least has a pretty good sense of humor about himself. J.W. over at Odd Things I’ve Seen has written a post about his trip to King’s manor, should you feel inclined to virtually drop in.
8. Maybe this is a surprise and maybe it isn’t – King had pretty serious drug and alcohol addictions in the ‘80s. He says that he doesn’t remember writing Cujo at all, really, and wishes he could. It came to a head when his family members confronted him with drug paraphernalia they had collected from his trash can, including Xanax, cocaine, beer cans and Valium. It was the eye-opener he needed: he got help and has been sober ever since.
9. King is an avid Lost fan and sometimes writes about it in his Entertainment Weekly column “The Pop of King.” The feeling is mutual – the writers mentioned that King was a major influence in their work. There was a lot of speculation that he was the man behind Bad Twin, a Lost tie-in mystery published a few years ago, but he has debunked that rumor. He loves Hurley and Ben.
10. Of the five people in the immediate King family, four of them are authors. Tabitha King, Stephen’s wife, has seven published novels. Joe, their oldest son, followed in his dad’s footsteps and is a horror writer (I really like his books, for what it’s worth). Youngest child Owen has written a collection of short stories and one novella (and he married a writer). Naomi, the only King daughter, is a minister and gay activist.
Comments (19)
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“Afterward, King and his lawyer bought the fan for $1,500…” fan or van? I think the beating of a fan is a better version.
posted by Chris on 9-21-2009 at 4:48 pm
3. You probably remember that King was hit by a van not far from his home in 1999. He suffered from a collapsed lung, a broken hip, a gash to the head and a leg broken in nine places. Afterward, King and his lawyer bought the “FAN” for $1,500 and when King was better, he wailed on it with a baseball bat before sending it to be crushed at a junkyard.
That’s no way to treat a “fan”
posted by Blake Helms on 9-21-2009 at 4:48 pm
Ugh, I so want to read the OTIS article but J.W. writes like a pretentious twat. Perhaps he’s improved in the past two years, but I doubt it. Not a Stephen King fan? Fine. Shut up about it and get to talking about his house.
That said, Stephen King is far from my favorite author (I find him boring after awhile) but this list was interesting. I love the fact that he owns radio stations.
posted by Zelda on 9-21-2009 at 4:54 pm
#4 – That’s interesting since “Stand By Me” (written by King) is about an author remembering a trip he made as a kid with his three friends down the train tracks to find a local boy’s body. The boy had been hit by a train.
posted by Nerak on 9-21-2009 at 5:11 pm
Oh, sorry, I was referring to the movie which was based on the novella “The Body” by Steven King.
posted by Nerak on 9-21-2009 at 5:16 pm
“Bad Twin” was too horrible to have been written by King. I’m surprised people thought he wrote it.
posted by Jenn on 9-21-2009 at 5:20 pm
I have to agree with Zelda. It wasn’t worth wading through his endless repetitions of why he isn’t a fan to get to the description of the house.
posted by Kate on 9-21-2009 at 9:05 pm
Good grief! After Zelda and Kate’s comments I had to check out the OTIS article, and it’s as bad as they say. Get over yourself, dude.
posted by Kelsey on 9-22-2009 at 9:33 am
If I’m not mistaken, I think his son Joe uses a pseudonym when he writes – I’m guessing it’s not because he’s Stephen King’s son, but because it’s hard to be taken seriously as an author named Joe King.
posted by Bert on 9-22-2009 at 9:46 am
As an avid King fan, I really enjoyed this article. And though I want to see the article about his house, apparently it isn’t worth it! Thanks!!
posted by Kate on 9-22-2009 at 9:52 am
I read the absolutely wonderful Stephen King biography, “Haunted Heart” by Lisa Rogak, even though I’ve never been a big fan of his work. I totally recommend it to anyone interested in this unusual man. Also, his son writes under the name Joe Hill and is pretty good on his own right.
posted by JulieB on 9-22-2009 at 10:55 am
“Wailed on it” with a baseball bat??? Better check your dictionary!
posted by Alice on 9-22-2009 at 12:24 pm
I also agree with the comments on the article about the house. I had to stop reading before I was half way through. I was disappointed there was only three pictures of the house. I was expecting more than why the guy didn’t like Stephen King.
Loved the Q10 on King! Good job!
Recaptcha : juana loiter – sounds like a proposition…
posted by Jaime on 9-22-2009 at 12:41 pm
I met the fabulous Mr. King several years ago, before his accident. I kind of stalked him at the NPR building (where I worked) until he finished his interview. He gave me a huge hug and told me he loved me too when I professed my love for him. He signed an old book I found laying in my desk drawer and was a really awesome guy. I expected nothing less from my favorite author. He is a true King!!
posted by Emma on 9-22-2009 at 3:04 pm
Growing up in Maine, its almost a requirement to love Stephen King. At the very least, everyone respects his charity, as his name is listed as a major donor for a lot of wonderful non-profits in the state. I do love his writing, and I get to impress people by telling them that my aunt and he went to school together. The couple of times I have met him he has been wonderful and witty. The state of Maine is lucky to have such a well known person drumming up interest in the state through his work!
posted by jmayhp on 9-22-2009 at 3:33 pm
Being a true King fan, I already knew a lot of this stuff — but it was still interesting. If you ever have a chance to see the Rock Bottom Remainders, GO!! It’s a great time. They pretty much suck, but it’s a blast, and the money goes to literary charities. I went a couple years ago in Detroit on Halloween, mostly to see King, but (boohoo) he wasn’t playing that night–still fun, though!!
posted by Lorbie on 9-22-2009 at 4:38 pm
That article by J.W. was one of the worst things I’ve ever tried to read. What a hack.
That is all.
posted by Larry on 9-22-2009 at 5:22 pm
Favorite book by the author?
Personally, The Talisman, followed by The Stand (uncut version of course.
Granted after a while, his writing did go down hill, and I couldn’t even finish some of them. Glad I used the library to find out…
posted by MedicDave on 9-22-2009 at 6:37 pm
@Bert, you’re right. His pseudonym is Joe Hill and his novel “Heart-Shaped Box” is an excellent read. Yes, it is named for the song from Nirvana.
posted by Jason on 9-27-2009 at 8:44 pm