What is the life story of Stephen King?

A dusty box of fantasy horror fiction books that belonged to his father, who had left his family, turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Stephen King. The young author quickly devoured the entire set and hankered for more. Soon, he began writing his own stories and got started on the path to becoming one of the world’s most acclaimed horror fiction authors.

Born on September 21, 1947 in Portland, Maine, King worked as a high school English teacher for many years, before he found success as a writer. In 1974, his first published novel “Carrie”, about a friendless girl, who uses her telekinetic powers to take revenge on those who bully her, became an instant bestseller and was adapted into a big budget Hollywood film a couple of years later. The works that followed – “Salem’s Lot”, “The Shining” and “IT cemented his reputation as a bestselling writer.

The mysterious Richard Bachman

Wanting to know if his books could sell without riding on their authors fame, King started writing a few books under the alias Richard Bachman in secret.

He adopted the alias for four books (“Rage”, “The Long Walk”, “Roadwork”, and “The Running Man”). They remained relatively obscure and no one suspected that their author was one of the most well-known and successful writers of the 20th century!

But Brown a bookseller, who had read many of King’s books, was surprised to see the similarities between the two writer’s styles. He was shocked to read Bachman’s latest book, “Thinner’ as it read like a classic King! Intrigued, he dug up further to discover that it was indeed King who held the copyright to the title of one of Bachman’s books. He wrote a letter to King’s agent, informing him about his discovery. And that’s how he blew the lid on what may have been the biggest literary ruse of the century! Following the controversy, King decided it was time to say goodbye to his pseudonym. He announced that Bachman had died from ‘a cancer of the pseudonym.’

Oh really?

  • Before becoming a teacher, King worked at an industrial laundry, and later part-time as a high school janitor.
  • On June 19, 1999, King was hit by a van while walking along a road near his summer home in Maine. He had to undergo multiple surgeries to repair his broken leg and shattered hip.

Picture Credit : Google

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *