Where/ When Were You When You Discovered?

[kylallie]

I found a copy of Christine on my mum bookshelf when i was about 8 and read it under the covers when she didnt know - always loved horrors until then all i read was goosebumps! Found out my dads favourite movie is Christine! Weird part was neither of my parents even read Stephen king!

 

[McIvan]

I was 19 and had just read John Irving's Hotel New Hampshire, and John Updike, as an assignment. I started reading Salem's Lot without the cover I found at a moving sale, the beginning of which was so John Irving for me, it was so slow that I forgot all about the vampires, till the slaughtered dog and other spooky stuff happened, and ever since I regarded him as a really multifaceted writer. I have been scared of vampires forever.

 

[Elijah Sattler]

Alright, folks, ready for another story time with Elijah?

My
first encounters with King was when I was really young, like five or something. My mother, brother, and I wanted to watch a movie and I saw suddenly on the screen (with my very little reading skills) PET. I loved animals as most five-year-olds do, and I asked if we could watch it. I never saw the rating of the movie (never had been able to find it, I got so frustrated), which was R, and if I had seen that, I would've probably shun myself for even considering asking that. If you haven't assumed already, the movie was Pet Sematary.
My brother ran out as soon as they showed Zelda;

Spoiler

I ran out as soon as it got gory, being the part (if I remember correctly) where Gage grabs Jud and slices his foot open, then proceeds to bite off his adams apple.

I later watched Stand By Me when I was like eight, and I really liked it, especially the part with Lard Ass.
Gary Paulsen had been my favorite author when I was in third grade, all the way to fifth, and then stuff happened and I stopped reading because someone had told me "Why read when you have TV?" And I believed that guy (I won't go into detail why I believed, but I did). So, about four years pass, and I watch Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. I was scared of what was to come, always wincing when Danny started talking to his finger; "That's creeeepy!" I would say aloud.
But I found out I loved the movie, absolutely adored it, and I decided, Well, it can be the only book I read. This was of course after I had found out it was a novel, and after the latter thought, I asked my parents if I could get it; they said yes, in fact, they thought my uncle had a copy. The next day I think I got it, and I was a slow as hell reader, reading this novel within like three months. The day after I finished reading it (not knowing what the book meant at that time, just thinking it was this cool horror novel by that famous guy Stephen King), I felt empty somehow; I needed something to take up my time, because I had a very small social circle, consisting of only a couple of real friends.
Christmas came and I think I got The Gunslinger, Night Shift, and, the one I ended up reading first, despite the size and how surprised I was by it, The Stand. I read them, continued reading, and now I'm the kind of guy who puts books back on shelves just to admire them.

 

[DexterTan]

Started reading James Herbert when I was about 11.... King was the next step up. 'Salems Lot I believe was my first purchase. Been hooked ever since. I'm now 41. And I do ALOT of re-reading.

That's what I love about King. His writing is "re readable".

I tried to reading other author's books (usually "best sellers") - prompted by King himself in On Writing. But I just couldn't get into James Patterson, Michael Connelly or Kathy Reichs and other lesser known authors who were bestsellers. They were pretty much one and done. King just knows how to capture the reader's attention and he knows how to tell a story, which you want to keep reading again and again.

Long Live King.

 

[Tery]

Gosh, I don't even remember. I think I picked up a used copy of The Dead Zone at a thrift shop around 1986 or '87. That got me hooked!

 

[loobylou]

Hi Uber King fans, I am finally back, I have been away having my very unexpected baba and had some complications along the way, anyways, I came back tonight feeling much better (thank you so much for all your messages, they are appreciated so much more than you will ever know!), to check on what I have been missing around here. I hope no one minds this really uninteresting (& super cheeeeeeseee) post/ comment, but I really just wanted to tell you all how nostalgic this thread had made me! When I started to write this it was part curiosity of others experiences, and part needing to tell someone/ anyone about a part of my life I felt snowballed and helped make me, ME! I Since posting/ catching up I have seen a tiny glimpse into all your lives and how you all got to be YOU

Can I just steal another moment of your time to say that honestly reading King has surely turned us all into little writers! I am absolutely sure of it, because you all write so well, and so vividly describe that moment in time in your posts. Sometimes even a sentence from some one can take you to a place that time has taken from us all. There is more than a few of you guys I spotted that could make excellent writers that I would love to read, you have made it so easy for me to picture the years gone by, the cards pegged to bike wheels or tinsel on handlebars, bubblegums, conkers, hop scotch, Stranger Danger (for us Brits the fireman lion in every few assemblies along with the morning hymn), the smell of (in my case hops living near the brewery I'm sure you all have your own) and the "streetlight curfew" Where you were, what you were doing and just the entire feel of being a kid and finding your path. It is so eerie that most of all your posts always start the same, sort of "offhand" or "cool" and as they progress you see each writer lose themselves and just tell the tale, its beautiful and I feel blessed to witness such an easy share of emotions from such a little question.

Thank you all so much I honestly never expected a single reply much less the few pages of them I got. A massive Thank You all for sharing with me a point in your life, and making me see that we all have a tale to tell, I have loved reading every moment and seeing the crazy twists and turns that turn us into the people we are, the people who like & love what we like & love. Please, please, please continue to tell me & the forum your stories because theres always one out there, like me, that love to hear a story no matter how small you think it may be XXXX

P.S. Hi guys, may I just apologise for my completely cheesy outlook tonight,I must admit that I am slightly overwhelmed by the the response to asking here, on my FB and Twit accounts the same question a few months back, I have loved the truly amazing response I have been privileged to receive! My legalities are as follows, Loobylou may not be held liable for overly "cheesy" comments nor over-use of both punctuation or emotions. Nor may she (loobylou) be held liable for her blatant bias towards Stephen King fans or to anyone that has commented on her previous posts ha ha ha Long ones to you all xoxoxo

 

[loobylou]

Ph and even bigger apologies for the essay ha ha ha Take care all of you xxxx

 

[mustangclaire]

Ph and even bigger apologies for the essay ha ha ha Take care all of you xxxx

Good to see you back loobylou!!

 

[The Nameless]

Ph and even bigger apologies for the essay ha ha ha Take care all of you xxxx

Ha ha, that was almost as long as a Stephen king book .

I don't know about being a better writer, never looked at it the way you did before. Thinking about it, reading his work has probably cleaned up my punctuation a bit.

Hope you and your "unexpected baba" are doing good.

 

[Riot87]

Well first i had watched The Stand movie at a friends house and i thought it was really cool & i was told it was a book as well so i went out and bought it from the bookstore and i have loved his stories ever since. I've had the same copy of The Stand for over 10 years we been through it all together lbvs.

 

[SharonC]

Carrie, when it first came out in paperback. I saw it in the bookstore. It sounded interesting, so I bought it. Since then I have read everything written by Stephen King. I have not loved everything, but that goes for every author I read. Some have become favourites (The Stand, Needful Things), others I've read once (Cell, not on my list for re-read).

 

[Echo Looper]

Hi guys,
This has probably been asked a million times before but, for all the newbies out there (or oldies happy to re tell their tale) I was wondering when you all discovered Mr King? Were you already a horror lover, or a newbie? Did you discover you loved his works before you knew the writer? or were you encouraged? Was it a horror night as a tween/ a creepy movie poster or an accidental stumbling in a library, What was your first book or was it a film? What brought you all here?

My story..... I was in 13 and in foster care when I stumbled over Nightmares and Dreamscapes, my foster mum had a small bookcase and I was skipping school and bored when I found N&D, Yes I could philosophize on the roots to the love or which holes this filled but it would be a pointless waste of time tbh, I loved him from the start, all the stories were so bizarre and I felt so rebellious reading something with rude words an such gory imaginings. It was only after reading and making a note of the author I realised I had been subconsciously following Stephen King for years, I had seen Carrie, Cujo and I think Pet Semetary already (also possibly trucks and one or 2 others, those years are very fuzzy but when I looked through the book list I knew quite a few names). Thats when I started to look out for his works and was never disappointed.
Most stories would end this way as the Twilight Tweens no doubt will, but now I am a mummy of 4 with a great life, compared to the early days, and still a new Stephen King announcement causes my hackles to raise in excitement. I can go on and read the latest or re-read a favorite and the excitement and mystery from my youth are still there. Many grumble about the endings, and at times I have jumped on the old bandwagon with them (*ahem Cell!) but I have never been disappointed with the journey. The road to get to the end has always been the best, the characters, so alive you actually cry when they get hurt, the towns, always steeped in history, culture and brought to life so well, the plots are always full of twists and turns and I have personally always loved the hunt a character ( Sherrif Pangbourne anyone )
To me, any author that can capture the mind of a 13 year old kid or a 30 something mummy is doing something very right, IMHO, I don't ever envision a day that I wouldn't be excited to pick up the Talisman or his under appreciated shorts N&D/ 4 Past/ skeleton crew (when will someone make the raft or the nuclear summer one a real film?) Or a brand new addition to our happy little family.... we all know the motto, so sing along with me, We alllllllllllllll float down here

Anyways I have waxed lyrical enough for one day, so tell me, where did your love start?

As always, thank you for reading my waffle

Louise
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

LoobyLou(ise)! You hit the nail on the head. You put it perfectly about following SK subconsciously for years -All I ever read was The Eyes of the Dragon when I was a teenager. I loved it, but was so busy with my own art I forgot to enter that world again. I read mostly music bio's and synthesizer manuals (o joy) in my 20's. I always considered Shawshank Redemption to be my favorite movie ever (and still do) and I remember Pet Semetary making me ill to the point of throwing up when I was a kid. And I've always loved a good horror movie... For some reason I was compelled a few months ago to pick up 'Salem's Lot at B&N. I read half of it during a particularly haunting snowstorm here in NJ by candlelight, and I was amazed at the level of detail given to each character and was thoroughly creeped out by the descriptions of the vampires. It was so cinematic, so visual, so creative, so disgusting, so thrilling! Put it this way, I've been hunting hardcovers ever since and in 3 months I have 19 (15 of them first editions) + 10 paperbacks from various book shops, yard sales, thrift stores, and inter-webs. I read Carrie, IT (amazing), and now enjoying The Shining. I plan to rock Doctor Sleep next and then NightShift, The Stand, Gunslinger soon after. My favorite aspect of King's writing is how he uses nature to reflect the mood of the places and situation. Its truly magical writing and very glad to have that urge to grab Salem's Lot that day. Cheers, T

 

[EMTP513]

I sure didn't find him at home. My mom refused to allow "that trash" into her house. She even said he was a fad that was going to disappear. I believed her because I was a young teenager and had never doubted anything she said. After a few years though, when she still believed it was a fad, I started thinking she might actually be wrong about it.
I read the first book of his just because she said she disliked him and I wanted to find out why she was so opposed to him. The first book I read wasn't THAT great but parts of it were.
I had to read a second book before I actually liked it.

 

[Kurben]

I was 13 or 14 i think. Seems so long ago. It was in the late 70-ties and my first was either Carrie or Salem's lot. I read them first in swedish but as i grow up i realized that you really should read them in english. No matter how good the translater is you lose that special flow in translation when someone writes as King does. I saw the movies afterwards but have not seen all. I have been disappointed in the movies a couple of times. And i never fell for the Tommyknockers but usually he satisfies we like few other authors. I had read some ghoststories before, Like Roald Dahl, and some SF and Fantasy, like Tolkien and Ursula LeGuin but you could say King was my first clue to what real horrorwriting meant. I'm glad he opened the door.