I believe it was 1983. I was a 13 year old without a care in the world other than my need for my 50 cent allowance so I could go and buy the newest flavor slurpee and maybe a couple of candy bars. My father subscribed to the L.A. Times and every Sunday I would pull out the Entertainment section and scan the movie reviews. Well on this particular Sunday I happened to open the paper to find a full two page spread ad. It had a hissing cat at its' center and what appeared to be a man carrying a shrouded form into the woods. Spattered about the pages were quotes such as, 'Brilliant', 'Truly scary', 'will give you nightmares', and so on. Intrigued, I saved my lunch money and bought this book. Nightmares? More than a few. Thus began my lifelong fascination with Stephen King. In honor of the creepiest book I had ever read, I read this book once a year. Sometimes its on Halloween, sometimes Christmas. The timing doesn't matter, its the story. As a man in his 40's I still get goosebumps reading about Louis thinking he'll just drive to Miami and get a job at Disneyworld, but that Gage would, eventually show up late one night, knocking at the door. The Monkeys Paw, indeed. As a devoted reader I just thought i'd share this story with you. This was my 'in' to the brilliant works of SK. I only hope he keeps 'em coming.