Why am I no longer scared?

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HedlessChickn

Booger Eater Extraordinaire
Jun 14, 2015
554
2,027
KC
I've been reading Stephen king since I was 11-12. Mu first book the my mother had me read was 'Salem's Lot. I had lived in small towns before so that really scared my. I could just see all of my neighbors getting in to this kind of thing and I'd never know.

The next one was Pet Sematary. I have cats and the book REALLY scared me.

Then she wanted me to read "The Eyes of the Dragon." There wasn't really anything crazy in that book other than the fun tale that it was.

Then she sat me down with "IT" I was so blown away. You have to remember, I was in my pre-teens. But the fkin clown, dude. I have that clown. After reading it a few more times in my adult like, it still manages to give me the heebee jeebees.

Then I read Firestarter, it was a good book, but not really scary per se. The Cafeteria scene was a BLAST to read through.

I started reading his compilations and his other worlds, but, with the rare instance of say Cujo, none of it moved me like before.

I'd save my pennies to kame sure I could buy his book the day it came out (much to the chagrin of my father, "WHY DO YOU WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THAT CRAP!!!)

Well, now that I'm a full adult and it's now no ones business what I spend my money on. So, I still do. EVERY TIME.

Only...His books haven't scared me for a long while now. I don't want to say he's softening his style, but certainly not the downright viciousness he used to be so good at.

He has sparks, sure like Brady's mother's death in Mr. Mercedes. OR Annie Wilks torture of Paul Sheldon.

Other than a few hard to find work he's done, I've pretty much read his collected works. Any idea now how he might be able to throw something like that back together?
 

not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
29,655
139,785
Behind you
I've been reading Stephen king since I was 11-12. Mu first book the my mother had me read was 'Salem's Lot. I had lived in small towns before so that really scared my. I could just see all of my neighbors getting in to this kind of thing and I'd never know.

The next one was Pet Sematary. I have cats and the book REALLY scared me.

Then she wanted me to read "The Eyes of the Dragon." There wasn't really anything crazy in that book other than the fun tale that it was.

Then she sat me down with "IT" I was so blown away. You have to remember, I was in my pre-teens. But the fkin clown, dude. I have that clown. After reading it a few more times in my adult like, it still manages to give me the heebee jeebees.

Then I read Firestarter, it was a good book, but not really scary per se. The Cafeteria scene was a BLAST to read through.

I started reading his compilations and his other worlds, but, with the rare instance of say Cujo, none of it moved me like before.

I'd save my pennies to kame sure I could buy his book the day it came out (much to the chagrin of my father, "WHY DO YOU WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THAT CRAP!!!)

Well, now that I'm a full adult and it's now no ones business what I spend my money on. So, I still do. EVERY TIME.

Only...His books haven't scared me for a long while now. I don't want to say he's softening his style, but certainly not the downright viciousness he used to be so good at.

He has sparks, sure like Brady's mother's death in Mr. Mercedes. OR Annie Wilks torture of Paul Sheldon.

Other than a few hard to find work he's done, I've pretty much read his collected works. Any idea now how he might be able to throw something like that back together?

Have you read 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams?'

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fushingfeef

Finally Uber!
Aug 14, 2009
10,194
21,965
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Fear is just one emotion, it's natural that SK would evolve over 50 years of writing to explore other emotions and ways that humans relate. Also, you the reader have changed over time so something that might have been scary before might not be scary any more. When I first read Cujo I wasn't a parent so it was less upsetting as it is for me now.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
Fear is just one emotion, it's natural that SK would evolve over 50 years of writing to explore other emotions and ways that humans relate. Also, you the reader have changed over time so something that might have been scary before might not be scary any more. When I first read Cujo I wasn't a parent so it was less upsetting as it is for me now.
...perfect answer Bob....and he might try Full Dark, No Stars.....that might show him that King can still easily chew you up and spit you out.....
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
I find that as I get older I can enjoy supernatural creepies, but they don't scare me anymore (with a few exceptions--The Babadook creeped me out mightily, for example). Maybe it's because as we get older there are so many other real life things that terrify us. I think that's where Mr. King has been for the last few years--in the realm of real fear. Age, loss, health issues, evil people...man, those go right for my gut as I get older. When I was a kid, real scares weren't a thing, so I could luxuriate in make believe fears like vampires and clowns and demons; not so much, anymore. They don't hold a candle to nearly losing a child, facing cancer and bankruptcy, losing an uncomfortable number of people who are close to me, or seeing the evil men do. I feel closer to Mr. King's more recent books these days--feels like we're on a similar wavelength.

If you're looking for 'outside' fears in Mr. King's later books, Cell is a good jumping off point. Short, snappy, and supernaturalish. Maybe Under the Dome, if aliens do it for you (they bore me, personally, but I know plenty of people for whom that is a real fear). "A Good Marriage" (from Full Dark, No Stars--good call, Scott) gave me nightmares, and some of the short supernatural stories in Bazaar of Bad Dreams are pretty chilling.
 

Doc Creed

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2015
17,221
82,822
47
United States
I find that as I get older I can enjoy supernatural creepies, but they don't scare me anymore (with a few exceptions--The Babadook creeped me out mightily, for example). Maybe it's because as we get older there are so many other real life things that terrify us. I think that's where Mr. King has been for the last few years--in the realm of real fear. Age, loss, health issues, evil people...man, those go right for my gut as I get older. When I was a kid, real scares weren't a thing, so I could luxuriate in make believe fears like vampires and clowns and demons; not so much, anymore. They don't hold a candle to nearly losing a child, facing cancer and bankruptcy, losing an uncomfortable number of people who are close to me, or seeing the evil men do. I feel closer to Mr. King's more recent books these days--feels like we're on a similar wavelength.

If you're looking for 'outside' fears in Mr. King's later books, Cell is a good jumping off point. Short, snappy, and supernaturalish. Maybe Under the Dome, if aliens do it for you (they bore me, personally, but I know plenty of people for whom that is a real fear). "A Good Marriage" (from Full Dark, No Stars--good call, Scott) gave me nightmares, and some of the short supernatural stories in Bazaar of Bad Dreams are pretty chilling.
You sum it up, nicely. This is true for me, too. The supernatural elements may or may not scare older, evolved King readers. I guess it's subjective.
I think Bag of Bones had a few subtle scares and those can be the best kind, kind of like Shirley Jackson and Henry James stories. I'd even throw in the climactic scene to the polarizing book Revival.
 

RichardX

Well-Known Member
Sep 26, 2006
1,737
4,434
My guesses:

1) King hasn't written a real horror book in a while. More what I would call supernatural suspense.
2) As you get older, the threshold for being afraid rises.
3) The real world can be a frightening place. Just watch cable news for a few hours. Some kid was decapitated on a water slide a few weeks ago. Lots of horrific news like that almost numbs the mind over time. What are made up vampires and spooks when you have ISIS and terrible tragedies in the news everyday?
 

HedlessChickn

Booger Eater Extraordinaire
Jun 14, 2015
554
2,027
KC
That's exactly my point.

The man across the street had just retired. He was packing up his winnebago and collapeg. When his head hit the ground, I was mortified. Actual brains on concrete. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on a monday. His death happened on a friday. And his wife with MS went completely off the wall and ended up over drinking that night and had to be hauled away by an ambulance.

When she came back she had changed. She used to be a social butterfly in town, then she barricaded her way in until she drunk to death.

That's what I call scary now.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
That's exactly my point.

The man across the street had just retired. He was packing up his winnebago and collapeg. When his head hit the ground, I was mortified. Actual brains on concrete. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on a monday. His death happened on a friday. And his wife with MS went completely off the wall and ended up over drinking that night and had to be hauled away by an ambulance.

When she came back she had changed. She used to be a social butterfly in town, then she barricaded her way in until she drunk to death.

That's what I call scary now.
Sorry to hear about your neighbour - that is a shame.:burn_joss_stick:

Maybe the whole point of his writing (if there is one, other than entertainment and just enjoying a good story) is to feel something - it does not have to be fear.

A good story captures us and takes us away - it is like entering another world.

:reading:
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
11,749
34,805
i always carry a can of sterno. 'bout the only time a stephen king story scared me...well, that and pet sematary. you have to wonder what goes on night and day below the ground out there...maple hill...sunny glade...forest lawn. do the names fool you? stepped outside early this morning, musta been about four four thirty or so...even dracula didn't really scare me, nosirree mister, not at all. heh heh! except that time the good count exited the castle and crawled down the side of the wall...that gave me the heebie jeebies. it's the little things...a soiled kleenex that tastes yummy to another, a gross kind of scary. that is all, carry on! carry on!
 

hipmamajen

Rebel Rebel, your face is a mess.
Apr 4, 2008
4,650
6,090
Colorado
That's exactly my point.

The man across the street had just retired. He was packing up his winnebago and collapeg. When his head hit the ground, I was mortified. Actual brains on concrete. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on a monday. His death happened on a friday. And his wife with MS went completely off the wall and ended up over drinking that night and had to be hauled away by an ambulance.

When she came back she had changed. She used to be a social butterfly in town, then she barricaded her way in until she drunk to death.

That's what I call scary now.

Jeez-O Crap! That post was scary to me!

I can't really add anything to the discussion that hasn't been said already, but I had to jump in and ask if that is something that really happened? Fark, I'm disturbed now. (In a good way.)
 

mjs9153

Peripherally known member..
Nov 21, 2014
3,494
22,165
that is just life..as time goes by,some things are just not scary anymore,I remember the first time I saw the exorcist,it scared me deeply..was just a kid,and the demon possession was troubling..now,I just see a kid puking green pea soup..it is true that real life can trump any fears we have had in fiction,but I still enjoy reading them..almost like a comfortable old shoe,now..
 

Lynnie L

Well-Known Member
Aug 7, 2016
314
1,637
64
Tarpon Springs, FL
that is just life..as time goes by,some things are just not scary anymore,I remember the first time I saw the exorcist,it scared me deeply..was just a kid,and the demon possession was troubling..now,I just see a kid puking green pea soup..it is true that real life can trump any fears we have had in fiction,but I still enjoy reading them..almost like a comfortable old shoe,now..

Funny you used the word "trump" in your post. That is one of my real life fears.
 

muskrat

Dis-Member
Nov 8, 2010
4,518
19,564
Under your bed
Most of it is aging, a'yuh. Ya grow up and all the spooks go away.

In my case, well, I've always loved horror. Books, comics, movies, you name it, gimme gimme. I still devour horror novels like Tuesday tacos, or buffalo wings. And therein lies the rub, I'd wot--you keep eating the spicy stuff, pretty soon it doesn't burn yer tongue anymore. Same deal with horror. Last King book that raised my hackles was It, when I was a kid. That one was like eating ghost peppers and washing em down with Tabasco. I burnt-out my scare-o-meter with that one, and haven't had a good literary fright since.

But I still have a mighty taste for the stuff. (And a sudden craving for tacos...)