The lure of King

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squirmy

Member
Jan 28, 2015
9
36
44
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.
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
11,749
34,805
Nice story. How much dedication did it take to save up enough to buy the book? I think the idea of a young boy saving his lunch money is fascinating...we brown-bagged it and the only time we needed money is when one of the classes had a sloppy-joe or hot dog sale...now they truck in hot lunches from a neighboring school. Why'd you have to buy a lunch everyday? I wonder what other options they had?
 

squirmy

Member
Jan 28, 2015
9
36
44
I cant remember what the book cost back then. 3 bucks or so for a paperback? 5? It didn't take long to scrounge up. I brown bagged it until I hit jr. high then was given a choice, I chose hot lunch. If I knew then what I know now I probably would never have put that garbage in my body, but hey, it was the 80's. I think candy bars were 35 cents then. Aaahhhh, the good old days. Anyway, after Pet Sematary I ate up everything King had written. Once I was caught up I found myself floating in an ocean of frustration waiting for the next book so I moved on to Terry Brooks then Hemingway, Twain, P.K. Dick. I could argue that King got me reading authors I may have never read on my own. So a big thanks to ya Mr. King.
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
11,749
34,805
I was a late-bloomer, but I eventually caught on. And now it seems like every other day I'm crossing paths with great stories and story-tellers...some were around when I didn't know what to read...shoulda spent more time in the paperback section of the library instead of sniffing hardcover in the stacks. Welcome aboard...a bunch of threads here on this board...or this incarnation of the board...there have been previous boards and much has been placed back wherever, in storage or something. I'm always looking for new stories to read so if you know of any, plug em into the "what ya reading" thread. Or make a new one, either or.
 

rudiroo

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2008
474
1,898
London, England
Squirmy - I'm impressed:applause:

No way would I have picked up a SK novel at 13. We were encouraged to read proper literature, for the benefit of those distant but tasty carrots, known as Oxford or Cambridge (read Ivy League schools for my US buddies).

I didn't get into SK until I was 30, at least ( Or maybe older. Yes. I was a late developer).
Pet Semetary freaked me out as an adult, before my nephews came on the scene.

Now, it's truly the stuff that nightmares are made of - forget horrors from beyond the grave or above our heads.
Losing your little persons. . aggggggh.

Incidentally, can anyone remember a reference to Frankencat?
This is the only SK novel I can't bear to have in the house, so I can't check:a11:

Am I that superstitious?
And lame?

Right on both counts.
 
Mar 26, 2015
17
47
59
Kentucky
There is nothing scarier than reading about Gage Creed tooling around in his little burial suit! I had to sleep with the light on for weeks. Best thing about Pet Sematary is that nothing "blew up" at the end of the book. That gets a little old. I find myself quitting books like The Stand, It, The Talisman, etc. once it's all over except for the explosions.

Pet Sematary is one of my favorite King books.
 

taggs7475

Well-Known Member
May 14, 2015
107
400
NJ
What a great story on your introduction to SK I just finished Pet Sematary for the first time earlier in the week. One of his darkest if not the darkest. It has become one of my favorites