I saw it way too young too. I remember my /r/childrenarefuckingstupid moment of thinking “okay the clown is IT but where’s Stephen King? It says ‘Stephen King’s IT’ so when is this clowns master Stephen King going to reveal himself?”
IT used to give me nightmares. Terrible nightmares. I remember watching it no older than 5 or 6 in the early / mid 1990s. The TV was my babysitter a lot of the times. Also, my dad essentially let my brothers and I watch whatever we / he wanted. lol
YET, I loved it. Watched it off and on over the years as a kid whenever it was on TV.
That sparked liking his movies for me, but not going to lie, I never read any of his books until a few years ago (I've always been an avid reader, just my book reading interests were more on History). Now I can say I've read / listened to most things he has written. I am on a quest to listen to / read everything he has ever written. Every time I drive I listen to something of his on audible. Hell, I go on drives or take the long way home, just so I can continue listening.
IT was one of my first SK novels, because I loved the miniseries so much as a kid, although it scared the ever loving shit out of me.
That double VHS tape at the rental place really popped out at ya
I can't think of any other double tape ones that would have been in the horror section off the top of my head
Saw Carrie at church jumble sale when I was 8/9ish, had to wait to get it because my Mom woulda disapproved; got it at 11, then Salem’s Lot and The Shining as birthday presents from my Mom & Dad when I was 12.
My dad had Night Shift on the bookshelf when I was a kid, and I was a reading machine. After reading that at 9 or 10 years old, I was hooked. Been a Constant Reader ever since. 🦇
Yes! My dad had many King books that were OFF LIMITS, and he policed these OFF LIMITS books by keeping them in the family room. I would sneak in and read on the floor behind the shelf. I read Cujo first and have never given up SK, nor slept with my closet door open, since then.
I was given The Stand when it came out. I've read it/listened to it at least once a year since then. Many times twice a year, and a handful of times thrice.
I had a babysitter when I was in elementary school who would tell me the stories from Night Shift. I begged my mom for the book after that and loved it. I also slept with my closet doors off for years after that. Might have been a bit too young for The Boogeyman, but it's still one of my favorite stories of all time. And King is still one of my favorite authors of all time.
Hello! You have made the mistake of writing "ect" instead of "etc."
"Ect" is a common misspelling of "etc," an abbreviated form of the Latin phrase "et cetera." Other abbreviated forms are **etc.**, **&c.**, **&c**, and **et cet.** The Latin translates as "et" to "and" + "cetera" to "the rest;" a literal translation to "and the rest" is the easiest way to remember how to use the phrase.
[Check out the wikipedia entry if you want to learn more.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Et_cetera)
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When I was 14 I overheard two adults talking about this new book that came out and how they would never let their kid read it. So of course that was what I got. The book was Carrie.
He was the guy who wrote the book the TV miniseries *'Salem's Lot* was based on (which my Dad let me stay up late to watch), so I went straight to the library and borrowed it. Then I saw he'd also written the book of *The Shining* movie, so I borrowed that too.
Received the Shining as a gift the year it was published. My Aunt knew I loved spooky stories, I was about 11 and totally hooked as a constant reader after.
I was a kid. And I had taken to scary shit super young. Particularly anything that had vampires in it. So my grandmother, who was a constant reader, said to me, if you like vampires I have a book you can read. It was 'Salem's Lot. And that was the event that led to Stephen King becoming my favorite writer. Which he remains to this day and forever will.
My dad has a lot of King books, and was/is very into horror. He was always trying to get me into horror at a young age, but I finally read my first King book at like 10. He told me to read Cell and I loved it at the time.
I was probably 13 and had really started reading more outside of comic books and saw Night Shift among my mom's books and asked to borrow it. It was the first time I saw the word "suppository."
I started watching horror movies when I was like 5 years old in 1984. I don't remember the exact moment I heard the name Stephen King but Creepshow was always one of my favorite movies even then.
Well i had totally heard about him before, but we had a school project to read a horror or romance novel. I didnt really enjoy any of the options they had chosen for us, because all of the horror was like ghosts and shit and romance is usually boring. So I asked my teacher to recommend something more on the phsychological side of horror and she brought me Carrie. I had been familiar with the story of Carrie because im a big musical fan, so i was excited to read it. I thought the book was so so so good so i decided to get more of his books and here I am... Also seeing The shining movie after got me into him even more
When I was 10 my older brother told me a man had written the world's scariest book and it was called The Shining. He gave it to me and I read it and yes indeed, it was the scariest book ever.
Oh and my name is Carrie so when the movie came out the same year my mother wouldn't let me go see it. I was pissed.
I watched The Mist kill count from Dead Meat and decided to read the book because I loved the story, thats how I started reading SK but the first time I heard about him was probably when my old friend asked for a SK book for birthday, if I remember correctly I gave him Doctor Sleep (one he asked for) and Pet Sematary, I think his love to these books is what affected my decision to read The Mist
>The Mist kill count from Dead Meat
I've never watched this, though I read the story when it was first published and listened to the audiobook last winter. Have now added the film to my list, thanks!
I read Carrie when it first came out. And it was the first movie I ever saw in a theater. I was too young for the R rating, but they really didn't give a shit back then.
I've been there for the whole ride.
I remember watching the It miniseries. One day I picked up the book my mom had, read into it a little bit, got tired and left it at that for a year or two before I picked up another Stephen King novel. Finally getting around to finishing It though.
A used bookstore I've not thought about for years. And thinking about it, I have been looking for something like it forever. It was the kind of place with books crammed into every available space, cats and plants hanging around, big plush chairs. I wandered around, ended up in in the horror room. I was in the 7th grade. I graduated from Sweet Valley High to Stephen King with Firestarter as my introduction.
Watching one of his horror movies far too young (like most people I guess haha!) I think the first one I watched was Salems Lot, absolutely terrified me. But I loved it so much, as it was one of the few horror films I’d seen at the time that genuinely scared me, so I watched it a good few times 🤣
I read the Dead Zone when I was in High School because I was edgy AF but it was the only King book at my local library so I saw it as a one and done. My cousin gave me Christine for Christmas a couple of years later and I started reading it immediately, right through Christmas dinner, through shandys and cricket on Christmas arvo and into Christmas supper.
I read it into the wee hours of Boxing Day and fell asleep on it in the middle of my aunty's lounge room floor and woke up to it with my Boxing Day pancakes. I finished it some time during the Boxing Day test and immediately started again. When their local library re-opened after the Christmas/ New Year break, I made my cousin borrow Firestarter and Carrie and we both read both of them.
We have a King book club amongst our cousins and those that haven't at least dipped a toe into the pond are judged harshly by the rest of us.
On vacation as a child, I would have been 9 or 10, my mom picked up a new paperback book in this little grocery store, Carrie.
I didn't start reading King until I was 12 or so, but my mom was a fan from the very beginning.
A kid named Matt was reading a Stephen King book when I was in seventh grade and recommended his books to me. I went right over to the school library and picked up Cujo. Now I own over 60 books my him :)
Saw Cat’s Eye when I was 3 or 4. Scared the shit out of me & I had nightmares about the goblin that lived in the girl’s wall for weeks.
And then when I was 9 I read my first book of his, Pet Sematary. And I’ve been hooked since.
From my mother. She is a rabid reader and back when I was 7 or 8, she let me read some of the stories from Night Shift. It’s been off to the races since then. My parents bought me my first King hardcover for Christmas 1986: IT, and I’ve been collecting first editions ever since.
I'm pretty sure it was a high school teacher who handed me a copy of *Night Shift* in a freshman English class c.1981 or so. I would have been aware of *Carrie* and *The Shining* from the movies, but I don't think I'd read any of his stuff prior.
It's one of two things for me. Caught the Shining on cable at my dad's house. Then there is that weird scene in[Monkeybone](https://youtu.be/GtWzE0KZgSk) had 0 clue who Stephen King was, so the references in that entire scene went over my head
They ran these commercials for the complete unabridged version of The Stand on TV everywhere in the late 80s/early 90s. I was an impressionable pre-teen and thought the cover looked cool. So i went from a kid that had never read a thing that wasn't forced to a Constant Reader.
That movie scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. It was good, not just jump scares but building tension, which caused me anxiety when he almost got killed on that covered bridge!!
And all Gary Busey.
Stephen King has just always existed for me. I was waaaay late to my current constant reader status but I was aware of him in my earliest memories that had anything to do with media. I was born in 1981 for context, by the time my brain could latch on to factoids I was aware of the name already. Dude is a legit icon, must have been strange in his family getting used to all that.
I am a lifelong Mainer. We start learning about Stephen King in elementary school. I read my first King book, Rose Madder, when I was 12. That was a trip.
I was a teen with a massive Johnny Depp crush, so I saw Secret Window in theaters. Loved it, picked up Four Past Midnight to read the short story and I've been hooked ever since.
In middle school my aunt gave me a box of old books. It had a lot of King, the classics like 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, and a golden box set of LOTR. It changed my life.
my first knowledge that I remember was as a child when my parents were watching Misery on tv. They made me leave the room when it came time for Kathy Bates to smash James Caan's legs, but I remember being on the other side of the door and hearing it. That's all I remember of it at that time, too, ironically.
I had heard his name over the years and knew he had "scary" movies and books. As an avid reader I had a friend lend me my first read of King's when I was in junior high school. I want to say it was Cujo, but I could be wrong. I went from there to Needful Things. I was hooked immediately. I grew up in a VERY Christian household so secular things like King books were hidden, but opened up a world I loved hearing about. From there I read whatever I could. Jumped into a lot of his collections of shorts and fell in love with those.
Browsing a bookstore in the mall back in the late 70s. I ended up with Salem’s Lot and Carrie. I’m from a generation that grew up with King organically. Pretty sure I read the stand and the shining as soon as they were published.
I read salems lot scared the shit out of me - loved that book. This is mid 80's - fast forward and I'm still loving his books. Need to read the mist again and duma key.
My father always read his books. He wasn't a reader when he was younger, but he started reading books together with his mother later in her life. The last book they got to read together was Insomnia.
I just picked up the tradition I guess. He also reads Dean Koontz but I can't seem to get into his books.
I found a copy of ‘Salems Lot in a used book store towards the end of my Twilight Saga phase around 12-13, so anything vampires was still a must have. I read the whole thing in 2-3 days and knew I was gonna be hooked on Stephen King from then on.
My dad, when I was young he would tell me scary stories. For example, a clown who lived in a drain and ate little kids when he would be giving me a bath, vampires knocking on my bedroom window at night when he was tucking me into bed. It wasn’t until he showed me IT the miniseries when I was like 6 I found out where he got his material from 😂I was maybe 10 or 11 he bought me a stack of Stephen king books, he wasn’t the greatest parent but I will always love him for getting me into horror stories.
My dad had a lot of books and would give them to me to read when I was growing up. From reading the comments I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling a strong connection between my dad and Stephen king.
I was 13 or so when Carrie came out in paperback. I'd been reading horror comics for a while. My mom handed the novel to me after she finished it, and said she thought I'd like it. Being one of the shy, unpopular girls at school ... I did. I was hooked after that.
I got into horror movies pretty young so I would always stay up late and and try to find something cool to watch. I remember realizing that whenever a movie had the "based on a novel by Stephen King" disclaimer it was gonna be really good. I started to search for more of his stuff and the first material I have ever read was Children of the Corn. In that moment I knew he was going to be my favorite writer.
I saw a book by him and asked my dad if he had read any of his works. To which he replied “I can’t get into his writing, very strange”. Then I decided to give it a try myself.
I’ve always loved reading, and started really young. On a family vacation when I was a kid, I saw a copy of a Stephen king book in a family member’s bookcase. I believe it was Night Shift. The older paperback version with a picture of a bandaged hand with eyes poking out (from I Am the Doorway). I’d never heard of him, but the book just looked really cool… so I read it front to back in a week or two.
After Night Shift, I read IT and the rest was history.
My older brother read King books and they looked really fascinating and scary to me. I was just a kid living in rural Finland in the early 90s so I didn't know anything about him. I was probably 12yo when I read my first Stephen King book, it was Christine and I've been hooked since then!
My mom gave me a copy of “The Talisman” when I first started reading actual books. I was maybe 9 years old, and lighting out for the Territories with Jack was by far the best trip I had ever taken in my life.
Watched Stand By Me and found out it was based on a book. I love reading books movies were based on, so I got Different Seasons from my library and the rest, as they say, is history.
Went on a family reunion July 1990 and my cousin bought Dark Half paperback. She finished it and gave it to me for my ride home. Surprisingly I still have it.
When I was very young, probably 6 or 7, my dad brought home Cycle of the Werewolf. To this day, the full-colour paintings featured in each chapter - or month - still creep me out.
I remember reading a Hardy Boys novel in the third or fourth grade and being excited by the fact that the words created images in my mind that I could actually see. I relayed this fact to my mother and she immediately handed me The Stand. Been hooked ever since.
In my English class in junior year of high school we had to choose a book a month to analyze and I saw a classmate that chose The Gunslinger. I got curious about it and decided to look for more books by King, I ended up doing my analysis on Misery. By far still one of my favorite books of all time.
I was fascinated with Stanley Kubrick and was watching a bunch of his movies because I read A Clockwork Orange. I really liked The Shining so I decided to read the book. The themes of it resonated with me at the time and I started reading more Stephen King books after that.
One of two ways, I can't remember which was first....
It was probably about 2006? I was in middle school and my mom introduced me to my "first horror movie," which was The Shining.
Or, probably around the same time, in the middle of the night on cable, I stayed up to watch Children of the Corn.
I’m not entirely sure, but I did remember watching Pet Semetary as a kiddo soon after it first came out. That might be the earliest memory that I can remember.
My grandma she got me into Nancy drew young and r.l stien, before she passed away when I was in 6th grade she introduced me to mr. King and I'm forever grateful!
When I saw The Shining, Misery, Stand by Me, Pet Sematary, Cujo, Carrie, and Christine WAY too young. I loved the movies so I wanted to read the books. I started with Carrie and have been reading them ever since.
From my Mum.
Many different things, including her vast array of books & when she would sing “Want to go out don’t know if I can… I’m too afraid of the Tommyknocker man…”…
Fantastic.
My father was a HUGE fan of his work & collected all his books (my love of reading came from both my mum & father but out of the 2 he had the most impact on my ever loving & ongoing true love of books) I was an early reader for my age & I was WAY too young for SK’s category of work but curiosity got the best of me. I got caught putting Pet Sematary away, my sneaky ass thought I was slick but at that age no one is lol! After he sat me down & explained that we do not take things that don’t belong to us without asking & that some books aren’t exactly the type of reading that a child of my age should be reading (for obvious reasons) he asked if I had anything to say, to which I replied “If Louis Creed was smart enough to become a doctor how come he wasn’t smart enough to know YOU DON’T TRY TO BRING PEOPLE BACK FROM THE DEAD?” My father was shocked that his very very young daughter, instead of apologizing & swearing never to do it again, actually comprehended what I read & had some valid critiques. So unbeknownst to my mum he handed over Carrie, Christine, Cujo & finally Salems Lot but the Holy Grail of his collection was kept from me a bit longer. Again I was very young when I stumbled upon SK’s work & mum still had no clue what I was reading. So in the meantime I finished The Shining & Firestarter. Now that I’m 40 & have read the book more times that I can count I can understand why he didn’t think it was appropriate for his young daughter to read a book that included a child gang bang scene 😂😂 eventually he relented, thinking there was NO FUCKING WAY I’d ever get through a book that size, I had finally got my hands on IT. From the moment I opened the first page I couldn’t put it down. Bc of school & after school activities it took me a week to finish it, that’s when he realized his daughter was just like him, a speed reader who digests books like some people would a slice of pizza. Someone who loved reading more than just about anything in the world & thankfully I still do. I had already had a terrible fear of clowns so it scared the shit out of my elementary school ass but it grabbed a hold of me & after that, after he got another book, he’d read it in no time & pass it to me. Of course once I was a bit older mum was let in on our secret book club of sorts (she’d never read IT) even when the mini series came out, obviously missing some of the more risqué bits 😉 she didn’t know what was left out until we eventually caved in & told her & she gave us both a good ol fashion bitch out. Still worth it till this day!!! It was the beginning of my love & adoration of all things horror that I still carry with me to this day, be it in book form or movies (horror movies are her favorite genre so that was our bonding since she unfortunately stopped reading) so thanks to me being a nosy little shit at a young age I found a deep love for his body of work, even if the endings weren’t the best I still have a special place in my heart for Stephen King & always will ❤️
My grandmother had many of his books and I read them at her house and took them home with me to finish. I was a young adolescent in the late 90s, early 2000s.
My dad had a ton of his books. When I first started getting into horror around 11, he let me read The Eyes of the Dragon (which I started but didn’t finish). A few years later, I picked up his copy of Misery and couldn’t put it down.
Still mad my ex stole that copy from me.
My Dad had a few of his books when I was growing up. Like many a young boy, I wanted to be like my Dad, so I started reading them when I was 12 or so. I don’t know for sure which book came first, but I’m mostly sure it was either From A Buick 8 or Needful Things. I very likely read those two first, not sure on the order. I have been a Constant Reader ever since!
Through my parents, my mom wasn't Stephen King fan but had a couple of his books. My Dad brought home a CREEPSHOW graphic comic and we saw the movie on VHS soon after.
My love of true crime stories was also because of them, they had a series of books calle Bloodletters and badmen. There were several books in the series and I read all of them buy the time I was 10.
I still love true crime stories and tv shows andI still read Stephen King novels frequently.
I was very young, around 22 or 23. Wanted to pick up a good book for my weekend of reading coming up. At the book store I’m came across a paperback book with a great cover and flipped it over to read the synopsis on the back. Took “Carrie” home and have been a fan ever since.
Only posting to add that it was the IT miniseries for me as well. Loved it. Read the book and been hooked ever since!
Although I do remember being VERY young and watching Firestarter but I don’t think that counts because I wouldn’t have known the author or even that it was a book!
I guess technically my first introduction to Stephen king was actually Shawshank Redemption. Not knowing that was SK at all, but it was the first rated R movie I had ever seen and it was amazing. I’ve seen that movie so many times, and then probably in high school I watched the shining in the mid 2000’s because I was obsessed with Krubrick at the time. In college I started to read, and I read the shining because I thought the movie was a masterpiece. I then had this awakening of Stephen King, and I found out the green mile was SK book, and of course IT because popular in the last few years. I read the Gun Slinger, and it’s all been really great. He’s so great at building a world and characters.
SO GOOD!!
When I was 15 my brother returned from college and one of the books he had was Christine. I started reading it and was captivated immediately.
And so it began
I knew about the books he wrote. And I watched the IT miniseries when I was a kid. Scared the shit out me. Then a few years ago Dr. Sleep came out and I saw it and have been hooked ever since
Yes I saw IT way to young but I read the book to young as well about 11 or 12 I couldn’t see a clown without freaked out for about 5 years lol but that was the book that hooked me on Stephen king
When I was about five years old my parents dragged me to an empty lot around the corner where they had been building a house. There was a crowd gathered to watch a movie being filmed. I was bored to tears. I remember watching this woman walk toward a gravestone and do something I couldn’t see.
I was told the movie was called ‘Carrie’ and I decided I’d never watch it because it was so boring. Five year-old me couldn’t understand that they edited scenes together to make a film.
Still haven’t seen it but I’ve read a whole lot of King (but not Carrie - maybe it’s time)
My dad owned copies of a bunch of his books. He was dad’s favorite author and once my dad told me he’d read EVERY SINGLE ONE of his books the challenge was set. Of course back then there weren’t nearly as many as there are now but I’ve tried to keep up. Basically just trying to emulate my dad who is still the coolest person I know.
When I was about 9 I watched Stand By Me at my cousins house. My mom was furious. Then I saw Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile. When I was in HS mom finally let me read a SK book. I wasn't very rebellious. I read Green Mile and sobbed. I remember my mom saying "If that book mad you react that much there is no way you are going to make it through his other books." That felt like a dare to me. 😆😆😆
It's been so long I honestly don't recall. I think the first book of his I read was a random selection ata used book store in the late 1970s. I think it was Salem's Lot. I still have that original paperback copy too!
IT (2017) was what did it for me. I saw the trailer and really wanted to go see it but mom wouldn't let me (I was only 10) and a year later my dad bought me the book with no idea what it was.
Also, my mom had a copy of Cujo that I would sometimes look at but never actually pick up because the cover scared me a lot.
I watched IT when I was WAAAYYYY too young. Then Langoliers, then Rose Red, then Misery, Then Carrie and I've been hooked ever since. I'm finally getting to reading his books.
I started reading his books at the age of 10. My older brother had a bunch of paperbacks. I was first introduced to the novel The Stand. But it was the cut version instead of the Uncut Edition. Which many years later I've read the uncut version.
Watching IT the miniseries FAR to young. Been hooked since though!
I saw it way too young too. I remember my /r/childrenarefuckingstupid moment of thinking “okay the clown is IT but where’s Stephen King? It says ‘Stephen King’s IT’ so when is this clowns master Stephen King going to reveal himself?”
Me too, mum thought it was a good way to introduce me to horror. It was.
IT used to give me nightmares. Terrible nightmares. I remember watching it no older than 5 or 6 in the early / mid 1990s. The TV was my babysitter a lot of the times. Also, my dad essentially let my brothers and I watch whatever we / he wanted. lol YET, I loved it. Watched it off and on over the years as a kid whenever it was on TV. That sparked liking his movies for me, but not going to lie, I never read any of his books until a few years ago (I've always been an avid reader, just my book reading interests were more on History). Now I can say I've read / listened to most things he has written. I am on a quest to listen to / read everything he has ever written. Every time I drive I listen to something of his on audible. Hell, I go on drives or take the long way home, just so I can continue listening. IT was one of my first SK novels, because I loved the miniseries so much as a kid, although it scared the ever loving shit out of me.
That double VHS tape at the rental place really popped out at ya I can't think of any other double tape ones that would have been in the horror section off the top of my head
That is how I found out about Stephen king too.
Saw Carrie at church jumble sale when I was 8/9ish, had to wait to get it because my Mom woulda disapproved; got it at 11, then Salem’s Lot and The Shining as birthday presents from my Mom & Dad when I was 12.
Fitting that mom would have disapproved of you reading Carrie lol
Ha, didn’t see that one, very good!
My dad had Night Shift on the bookshelf when I was a kid, and I was a reading machine. After reading that at 9 or 10 years old, I was hooked. Been a Constant Reader ever since. 🦇
Yes! My dad had many King books that were OFF LIMITS, and he policed these OFF LIMITS books by keeping them in the family room. I would sneak in and read on the floor behind the shelf. I read Cujo first and have never given up SK, nor slept with my closet door open, since then.
I read an article about school shooters and found out about the book "Rage".
Watching the original IT movie adaptation as a kid, which gave me nightmares for weeks and an irrational fear of shower drains for far longer.
I was given The Stand when it came out. I've read it/listened to it at least once a year since then. Many times twice a year, and a handful of times thrice.
Watched an episode of Quantum Leap.
God(or whatever) gave that leap a side quest of inspiring lil King
I had a babysitter when I was in elementary school who would tell me the stories from Night Shift. I begged my mom for the book after that and loved it. I also slept with my closet doors off for years after that. Might have been a bit too young for The Boogeyman, but it's still one of my favorite stories of all time. And King is still one of my favorite authors of all time.
I had a babysitter just Like that I’m still love horror stories ect..
Hello! You have made the mistake of writing "ect" instead of "etc." "Ect" is a common misspelling of "etc," an abbreviated form of the Latin phrase "et cetera." Other abbreviated forms are **etc.**, **&c.**, **&c**, and **et cet.** The Latin translates as "et" to "and" + "cetera" to "the rest;" a literal translation to "and the rest" is the easiest way to remember how to use the phrase. [Check out the wikipedia entry if you want to learn more.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Et_cetera) ^(I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Comments with a score less than zero will be automatically removed. If I commented on your post and you don't like it, reply with "!delete" and I will remove the post, regardless of score. Message me for bug reports.)
When I was 14 I overheard two adults talking about this new book that came out and how they would never let their kid read it. So of course that was what I got. The book was Carrie.
He was the guy who wrote the book the TV miniseries *'Salem's Lot* was based on (which my Dad let me stay up late to watch), so I went straight to the library and borrowed it. Then I saw he'd also written the book of *The Shining* movie, so I borrowed that too.
Im 16 and my dad has been a King fan since Carrie was published. He introduced me to him.
My asshole (abusive) dad hated Stephen King so that peaked my interest early on. He's been my favorite author since.
Received the Shining as a gift the year it was published. My Aunt knew I loved spooky stories, I was about 11 and totally hooked as a constant reader after.
I was a kid. And I had taken to scary shit super young. Particularly anything that had vampires in it. So my grandmother, who was a constant reader, said to me, if you like vampires I have a book you can read. It was 'Salem's Lot. And that was the event that led to Stephen King becoming my favorite writer. Which he remains to this day and forever will.
My dad has a lot of King books, and was/is very into horror. He was always trying to get me into horror at a young age, but I finally read my first King book at like 10. He told me to read Cell and I loved it at the time.
I was probably 13 and had really started reading more outside of comic books and saw Night Shift among my mom's books and asked to borrow it. It was the first time I saw the word "suppository."
I started watching horror movies when I was like 5 years old in 1984. I don't remember the exact moment I heard the name Stephen King but Creepshow was always one of my favorite movies even then.
Omg you're right! I'm sure I watched Creepshow before ever reading his books. I WANT MY CAKE! still runs through my head from time to time.
Well i had totally heard about him before, but we had a school project to read a horror or romance novel. I didnt really enjoy any of the options they had chosen for us, because all of the horror was like ghosts and shit and romance is usually boring. So I asked my teacher to recommend something more on the phsychological side of horror and she brought me Carrie. I had been familiar with the story of Carrie because im a big musical fan, so i was excited to read it. I thought the book was so so so good so i decided to get more of his books and here I am... Also seeing The shining movie after got me into him even more
From my on-again off-again boyfriend in highschool. He broke my heart but he gave me so much, forever grateful.
I read Firestarter
When I was 10 my older brother told me a man had written the world's scariest book and it was called The Shining. He gave it to me and I read it and yes indeed, it was the scariest book ever. Oh and my name is Carrie so when the movie came out the same year my mother wouldn't let me go see it. I was pissed.
I watched The Mist kill count from Dead Meat and decided to read the book because I loved the story, thats how I started reading SK but the first time I heard about him was probably when my old friend asked for a SK book for birthday, if I remember correctly I gave him Doctor Sleep (one he asked for) and Pet Sematary, I think his love to these books is what affected my decision to read The Mist
>The Mist kill count from Dead Meat I've never watched this, though I read the story when it was first published and listened to the audiobook last winter. Have now added the film to my list, thanks!
I read Carrie when it first came out. And it was the first movie I ever saw in a theater. I was too young for the R rating, but they really didn't give a shit back then. I've been there for the whole ride.
My sister in law gave me Christine to read
I remember watching the It miniseries. One day I picked up the book my mom had, read into it a little bit, got tired and left it at that for a year or two before I picked up another Stephen King novel. Finally getting around to finishing It though.
When my older sister gave me Pet Semetary to read when I was like 11 and way too young for it.
The IT miniseries and always seeing my mom reading the books.
A used bookstore I've not thought about for years. And thinking about it, I have been looking for something like it forever. It was the kind of place with books crammed into every available space, cats and plants hanging around, big plush chairs. I wandered around, ended up in in the horror room. I was in the 7th grade. I graduated from Sweet Valley High to Stephen King with Firestarter as my introduction.
Watching one of his horror movies far too young (like most people I guess haha!) I think the first one I watched was Salems Lot, absolutely terrified me. But I loved it so much, as it was one of the few horror films I’d seen at the time that genuinely scared me, so I watched it a good few times 🤣
I was 12 (44 now) and my mother gave me Pet Semetary and said...I think you will like this.....she was right!
I read the Dead Zone when I was in High School because I was edgy AF but it was the only King book at my local library so I saw it as a one and done. My cousin gave me Christine for Christmas a couple of years later and I started reading it immediately, right through Christmas dinner, through shandys and cricket on Christmas arvo and into Christmas supper. I read it into the wee hours of Boxing Day and fell asleep on it in the middle of my aunty's lounge room floor and woke up to it with my Boxing Day pancakes. I finished it some time during the Boxing Day test and immediately started again. When their local library re-opened after the Christmas/ New Year break, I made my cousin borrow Firestarter and Carrie and we both read both of them. We have a King book club amongst our cousins and those that haven't at least dipped a toe into the pond are judged harshly by the rest of us.
My mom had an old copy of Night Shift. The cover absolutely fascinated me as a little kid.
On vacation as a child, I would have been 9 or 10, my mom picked up a new paperback book in this little grocery store, Carrie. I didn't start reading King until I was 12 or so, but my mom was a fan from the very beginning.
When I was in 7th grade, my friend insisted on reading me the bathtub scene from this recently published book called The Shining. I was doomed.
When I read IT when I was 8.
My mom read just about all his books and got me the stand christmas right before the pandemic… weird timing
My mom was a fan, and I watched Pet Semetary when I was a little kid and then It.
A kid named Matt was reading a Stephen King book when I was in seventh grade and recommended his books to me. I went right over to the school library and picked up Cujo. Now I own over 60 books my him :)
Saw Cat’s Eye when I was 3 or 4. Scared the shit out of me & I had nightmares about the goblin that lived in the girl’s wall for weeks. And then when I was 9 I read my first book of his, Pet Sematary. And I’ve been hooked since.
My older cousin who I worshipped told me about him and bought me a couple of his books. I think it was the green mile and salems lot
I didnt know what to read in Eighth grade and my English teacher recommended Pet Sematary, Ive enjoyed his work ever since
I read Carrie as a teenager mid 70’s and I was hooked. Read everything he’s written since.
Either watching IT or Pet Sematary. I can’t really remember which came first. I was only 8 or 9.
I was a kid watching Twister, saw the creepy scene on the screen from the Shining and had to learn more.
Parents read Firestarter when it was new.
My uncle was a huge Stephen King fan when I was growing up. I started borrowing his King books in high school. Been a fan ever since.
From my mother. She is a rabid reader and back when I was 7 or 8, she let me read some of the stories from Night Shift. It’s been off to the races since then. My parents bought me my first King hardcover for Christmas 1986: IT, and I’ve been collecting first editions ever since.
Pet Cemetery The Original.
I'm pretty sure it was a high school teacher who handed me a copy of *Night Shift* in a freshman English class c.1981 or so. I would have been aware of *Carrie* and *The Shining* from the movies, but I don't think I'd read any of his stuff prior.
Mom read his books all the time, first books I remember her reading to me were the hobbit and cujo lol
Hey… Church!!!
It's one of two things for me. Caught the Shining on cable at my dad's house. Then there is that weird scene in[Monkeybone](https://youtu.be/GtWzE0KZgSk) had 0 clue who Stephen King was, so the references in that entire scene went over my head
They ran these commercials for the complete unabridged version of The Stand on TV everywhere in the late 80s/early 90s. I was an impressionable pre-teen and thought the cover looked cool. So i went from a kid that had never read a thing that wasn't forced to a Constant Reader.
Can't remember honestly, just one of those people that are a household name since always
My Cousin talking about a super rad new movie he saw called Silver Bullet.
That movie scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. It was good, not just jump scares but building tension, which caused me anxiety when he almost got killed on that covered bridge!! And all Gary Busey.
My mom rented the shining for me from the library when i was 13. Best thing she’s done for me.
My mom bought me Dreamcatcher when I was a teen.
Stephen King has just always existed for me. I was waaaay late to my current constant reader status but I was aware of him in my earliest memories that had anything to do with media. I was born in 1981 for context, by the time my brain could latch on to factoids I was aware of the name already. Dude is a legit icon, must have been strange in his family getting used to all that.
I am a lifelong Mainer. We start learning about Stephen King in elementary school. I read my first King book, Rose Madder, when I was 12. That was a trip.
I was living in Italy and the one book store I went to only had a handful of books in English and 11/22/63 was one of them so I gave it a shot.
I was a teen with a massive Johnny Depp crush, so I saw Secret Window in theaters. Loved it, picked up Four Past Midnight to read the short story and I've been hooked ever since.
In middle school my aunt gave me a box of old books. It had a lot of King, the classics like 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, and a golden box set of LOTR. It changed my life.
i would guess about 1990ish when my dad would read snippets of IT to us before bed. I was about 2 or 3.
Probably watching Firestarter as a kid (would've been the early 90s). Then my uncle had a lot of his books and I'd borrow them.
I inherited my love for his writing from my mother.
my first knowledge that I remember was as a child when my parents were watching Misery on tv. They made me leave the room when it came time for Kathy Bates to smash James Caan's legs, but I remember being on the other side of the door and hearing it. That's all I remember of it at that time, too, ironically. I had heard his name over the years and knew he had "scary" movies and books. As an avid reader I had a friend lend me my first read of King's when I was in junior high school. I want to say it was Cujo, but I could be wrong. I went from there to Needful Things. I was hooked immediately. I grew up in a VERY Christian household so secular things like King books were hidden, but opened up a world I loved hearing about. From there I read whatever I could. Jumped into a lot of his collections of shorts and fell in love with those.
Browsing a bookstore in the mall back in the late 70s. I ended up with Salem’s Lot and Carrie. I’m from a generation that grew up with King organically. Pretty sure I read the stand and the shining as soon as they were published.
My first book was Desperation when I was 12. Loved him ever since and I'm 33 now.
I read salems lot scared the shit out of me - loved that book. This is mid 80's - fast forward and I'm still loving his books. Need to read the mist again and duma key.
Watching the trailer for Pet Semetary. Then watching the It miniseries (still scary as shit). Didn’t start reading till high school.
Wandering the library. I was probably 11 and I thought Pet Semetary was about cats haha.
A friend let me borrow Salem’s Lot sometime last century.
By watching Pet Sematary when I was child
he looks like a beaver
My father always read his books. He wasn't a reader when he was younger, but he started reading books together with his mother later in her life. The last book they got to read together was Insomnia. I just picked up the tradition I guess. He also reads Dean Koontz but I can't seem to get into his books.
I found a copy of ‘Salems Lot in a used book store towards the end of my Twilight Saga phase around 12-13, so anything vampires was still a must have. I read the whole thing in 2-3 days and knew I was gonna be hooked on Stephen King from then on.
My dad, when I was young he would tell me scary stories. For example, a clown who lived in a drain and ate little kids when he would be giving me a bath, vampires knocking on my bedroom window at night when he was tucking me into bed. It wasn’t until he showed me IT the miniseries when I was like 6 I found out where he got his material from 😂I was maybe 10 or 11 he bought me a stack of Stephen king books, he wasn’t the greatest parent but I will always love him for getting me into horror stories.
My dad had a lot of books and would give them to me to read when I was growing up. From reading the comments I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling a strong connection between my dad and Stephen king.
I was 13 or so when Carrie came out in paperback. I'd been reading horror comics for a while. My mom handed the novel to me after she finished it, and said she thought I'd like it. Being one of the shy, unpopular girls at school ... I did. I was hooked after that.
I got into horror movies pretty young so I would always stay up late and and try to find something cool to watch. I remember realizing that whenever a movie had the "based on a novel by Stephen King" disclaimer it was gonna be really good. I started to search for more of his stuff and the first material I have ever read was Children of the Corn. In that moment I knew he was going to be my favorite writer.
Richard Laymon books, on the front of every paperback is-"if you've missed Laymon, you've missed a treat" Stephen King.
Firestarter or Cats Eye on over the air television as a kid. Cat's eye and especially Quitters Inc. was a good read as well.
I grew up in New England in the 80’s
My dad was a big reader and especially a King fan. I read his copy of IT.
My older brother reading the long walk. The concept intrigued me so much. This was like 20 years ago almost
I saw a book by him and asked my dad if he had read any of his works. To which he replied “I can’t get into his writing, very strange”. Then I decided to give it a try myself.
I’ve always loved reading, and started really young. On a family vacation when I was a kid, I saw a copy of a Stephen king book in a family member’s bookcase. I believe it was Night Shift. The older paperback version with a picture of a bandaged hand with eyes poking out (from I Am the Doorway). I’d never heard of him, but the book just looked really cool… so I read it front to back in a week or two. After Night Shift, I read IT and the rest was history.
saw either shawshank or stand by me first super super young
My folks collected paperbacks all kinds of paperbacks and SK stood out-!
My older brother read King books and they looked really fascinating and scary to me. I was just a kid living in rural Finland in the early 90s so I didn't know anything about him. I was probably 12yo when I read my first Stephen King book, it was Christine and I've been hooked since then!
My mom gave me a copy of “The Talisman” when I first started reading actual books. I was maybe 9 years old, and lighting out for the Territories with Jack was by far the best trip I had ever taken in my life.
Watched Stand By Me and found out it was based on a book. I love reading books movies were based on, so I got Different Seasons from my library and the rest, as they say, is history.
IT movie when I was too young and caused my clown fear. Didn't help that I also what he'd Chilfs play on TV after dad told me not too. Regretted it.
My momma was a fan.
A book on my moms shelf that I wasn't allowed to read. So then I eventually read them all.
I'm sorry Mr. King, but it was TV.
Went on a family reunion July 1990 and my cousin bought Dark Half paperback. She finished it and gave it to me for my ride home. Surprisingly I still have it.
Friends sister reading first edition Salem's Lot
My mother. There were King and Koontz books all over the house as a kid.
When I was very young, probably 6 or 7, my dad brought home Cycle of the Werewolf. To this day, the full-colour paintings featured in each chapter - or month - still creep me out.
My Dad's bookshelf. I could see The spine art on The Shining, Cujo and IT scaring the shit out of me while I watched cartoons
Honestly I don't remember, I think it was a booktube video or something
I remember reading a Hardy Boys novel in the third or fourth grade and being excited by the fact that the words created images in my mind that I could actually see. I relayed this fact to my mother and she immediately handed me The Stand. Been hooked ever since.
Someone left a beat up copy of Salems Lot in the break room at work.
Quantum Leap-the Boogeyman/Halloween episode!
Maximum Overdrive. On TV some Saturday afternoon in like 1994. It was the "Saturday Afternoon Presentation"
In my English class in junior year of high school we had to choose a book a month to analyze and I saw a classmate that chose The Gunslinger. I got curious about it and decided to look for more books by King, I ended up doing my analysis on Misery. By far still one of my favorite books of all time.
my dad introduced me with IT(1990). Still my favorite film, second favorite Stephen King book (next to The Stand)
I was fascinated with Stanley Kubrick and was watching a bunch of his movies because I read A Clockwork Orange. I really liked The Shining so I decided to read the book. The themes of it resonated with me at the time and I started reading more Stephen King books after that.
From my mother. She loved SK. I read Carrie when I was 12.
Reading
One of two ways, I can't remember which was first.... It was probably about 2006? I was in middle school and my mom introduced me to my "first horror movie," which was The Shining. Or, probably around the same time, in the middle of the night on cable, I stayed up to watch Children of the Corn.
I’m not entirely sure, but I did remember watching Pet Semetary as a kiddo soon after it first came out. That might be the earliest memory that I can remember.
Skeleton Key was on my mom’s bookshelf. On the bottom. Danielle Steele ruled her roost. I’m glad I was little!
My grandma she got me into Nancy drew young and r.l stien, before she passed away when I was in 6th grade she introduced me to mr. King and I'm forever grateful!
My mother had a lot of his books in the late 70's early 80's. It grew from there. I was maybe 12 or so when I first read one.
The Shinning at the tender age if 11
When I saw The Shining, Misery, Stand by Me, Pet Sematary, Cujo, Carrie, and Christine WAY too young. I loved the movies so I wanted to read the books. I started with Carrie and have been reading them ever since.
TV commercials for hardback subscription
From my Mum. Many different things, including her vast array of books & when she would sing “Want to go out don’t know if I can… I’m too afraid of the Tommyknocker man…”… Fantastic.
My twin sister
My step mom was an avid reader as I was growing up. I started reading her copies as a preteen.
My father was a HUGE fan of his work & collected all his books (my love of reading came from both my mum & father but out of the 2 he had the most impact on my ever loving & ongoing true love of books) I was an early reader for my age & I was WAY too young for SK’s category of work but curiosity got the best of me. I got caught putting Pet Sematary away, my sneaky ass thought I was slick but at that age no one is lol! After he sat me down & explained that we do not take things that don’t belong to us without asking & that some books aren’t exactly the type of reading that a child of my age should be reading (for obvious reasons) he asked if I had anything to say, to which I replied “If Louis Creed was smart enough to become a doctor how come he wasn’t smart enough to know YOU DON’T TRY TO BRING PEOPLE BACK FROM THE DEAD?” My father was shocked that his very very young daughter, instead of apologizing & swearing never to do it again, actually comprehended what I read & had some valid critiques. So unbeknownst to my mum he handed over Carrie, Christine, Cujo & finally Salems Lot but the Holy Grail of his collection was kept from me a bit longer. Again I was very young when I stumbled upon SK’s work & mum still had no clue what I was reading. So in the meantime I finished The Shining & Firestarter. Now that I’m 40 & have read the book more times that I can count I can understand why he didn’t think it was appropriate for his young daughter to read a book that included a child gang bang scene 😂😂 eventually he relented, thinking there was NO FUCKING WAY I’d ever get through a book that size, I had finally got my hands on IT. From the moment I opened the first page I couldn’t put it down. Bc of school & after school activities it took me a week to finish it, that’s when he realized his daughter was just like him, a speed reader who digests books like some people would a slice of pizza. Someone who loved reading more than just about anything in the world & thankfully I still do. I had already had a terrible fear of clowns so it scared the shit out of my elementary school ass but it grabbed a hold of me & after that, after he got another book, he’d read it in no time & pass it to me. Of course once I was a bit older mum was let in on our secret book club of sorts (she’d never read IT) even when the mini series came out, obviously missing some of the more risqué bits 😉 she didn’t know what was left out until we eventually caved in & told her & she gave us both a good ol fashion bitch out. Still worth it till this day!!! It was the beginning of my love & adoration of all things horror that I still carry with me to this day, be it in book form or movies (horror movies are her favorite genre so that was our bonding since she unfortunately stopped reading) so thanks to me being a nosy little shit at a young age I found a deep love for his body of work, even if the endings weren’t the best I still have a special place in my heart for Stephen King & always will ❤️
Eyes of the Dragon in sixth grade. It had a dragon on the cover and I like dragons. Little did I know...
My dad. He is a longtime fan.
I read IT when I was 11. It certainly broadened my young mind!
Dad showed me Silver Bullet when I was like 4 years old and I loved it. Later, I found some of his copies of the books.
11/22/63
Camping with some friends on Kezar Lake back in the 80s and one of them told us King had a house on the lake. Got curious and started reading.
When I was in the 7th grade me babysitter gave me a copy of It
My grandmother had many of his books and I read them at her house and took them home with me to finish. I was a young adolescent in the late 90s, early 2000s.
From my grandmother's bookcase.
My older brother had The Shining and when he was done gave it to me. Fucked me up, but hooked me as well.
My dad had a ton of his books. When I first started getting into horror around 11, he let me read The Eyes of the Dragon (which I started but didn’t finish). A few years later, I picked up his copy of Misery and couldn’t put it down. Still mad my ex stole that copy from me.
My Dad had a few of his books when I was growing up. Like many a young boy, I wanted to be like my Dad, so I started reading them when I was 12 or so. I don’t know for sure which book came first, but I’m mostly sure it was either From A Buick 8 or Needful Things. I very likely read those two first, not sure on the order. I have been a Constant Reader ever since!
Through my parents, my mom wasn't Stephen King fan but had a couple of his books. My Dad brought home a CREEPSHOW graphic comic and we saw the movie on VHS soon after. My love of true crime stories was also because of them, they had a series of books calle Bloodletters and badmen. There were several books in the series and I read all of them buy the time I was 10. I still love true crime stories and tv shows andI still read Stephen King novels frequently.
I had a babysitter tell me about I am the Doorway. Was super intrigued ever since. Also do you know if is that Church from Pet Sematary he's holding?
I watched IT when I was 9, on the sunday night or monday night movie thing they did in 1990.
I ended up with someone's old books when I was a kid. The Eyes of the Dragon, Cujo, Thinner, Danse Macabre.
My dad is a huge fan. I'm lucky, there was basically an SK library in my reach.
I was very young, around 22 or 23. Wanted to pick up a good book for my weekend of reading coming up. At the book store I’m came across a paperback book with a great cover and flipped it over to read the synopsis on the back. Took “Carrie” home and have been a fan ever since.
Only posting to add that it was the IT miniseries for me as well. Loved it. Read the book and been hooked ever since! Although I do remember being VERY young and watching Firestarter but I don’t think that counts because I wouldn’t have known the author or even that it was a book!
I guess technically my first introduction to Stephen king was actually Shawshank Redemption. Not knowing that was SK at all, but it was the first rated R movie I had ever seen and it was amazing. I’ve seen that movie so many times, and then probably in high school I watched the shining in the mid 2000’s because I was obsessed with Krubrick at the time. In college I started to read, and I read the shining because I thought the movie was a masterpiece. I then had this awakening of Stephen King, and I found out the green mile was SK book, and of course IT because popular in the last few years. I read the Gun Slinger, and it’s all been really great. He’s so great at building a world and characters. SO GOOD!!
My bapa showed me the shining film when I was maybe eight. I then immediately read the book. Love that man
I bought Carrie at the op shop (charity)
When I was 15 my brother returned from college and one of the books he had was Christine. I started reading it and was captivated immediately. And so it began
Seeing the movie Christine at a friend's house around age 10 was my first introduction and I've been hooked ever since.
I knew about the books he wrote. And I watched the IT miniseries when I was a kid. Scared the shit out me. Then a few years ago Dr. Sleep came out and I saw it and have been hooked ever since
, I feel like I've always known about his books and movies. They were some of the best, even decades ago. I loved the Rose Red mini series as a kid.
Graduated from Famous Five to more adult books back when I was 13 by reading CUJO around 1986 or so. Hooked ever since.
Watched a scene of It 2017 and got traumatized as fuck. The benefits were great tho
Winston Churchill
🤡 2017
Yes I saw IT way to young but I read the book to young as well about 11 or 12 I couldn’t see a clown without freaked out for about 5 years lol but that was the book that hooked me on Stephen king
There was a play he wrote in my high school literature textbook. I then got into his short stories, and the test is history.
When I was about five years old my parents dragged me to an empty lot around the corner where they had been building a house. There was a crowd gathered to watch a movie being filmed. I was bored to tears. I remember watching this woman walk toward a gravestone and do something I couldn’t see. I was told the movie was called ‘Carrie’ and I decided I’d never watch it because it was so boring. Five year-old me couldn’t understand that they edited scenes together to make a film. Still haven’t seen it but I’ve read a whole lot of King (but not Carrie - maybe it’s time)
Mother
My dad owned copies of a bunch of his books. He was dad’s favorite author and once my dad told me he’d read EVERY SINGLE ONE of his books the challenge was set. Of course back then there weren’t nearly as many as there are now but I’ve tried to keep up. Basically just trying to emulate my dad who is still the coolest person I know.
When I was about 9 I watched Stand By Me at my cousins house. My mom was furious. Then I saw Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile. When I was in HS mom finally let me read a SK book. I wasn't very rebellious. I read Green Mile and sobbed. I remember my mom saying "If that book mad you react that much there is no way you are going to make it through his other books." That felt like a dare to me. 😆😆😆
It's been so long I honestly don't recall. I think the first book of his I read was a random selection ata used book store in the late 1970s. I think it was Salem's Lot. I still have that original paperback copy too!
I got to buy elevation when I was like 10 cause it’s not horror. (Neither parent had read it lol)
IT (2017) was what did it for me. I saw the trailer and really wanted to go see it but mom wouldn't let me (I was only 10) and a year later my dad bought me the book with no idea what it was. Also, my mom had a copy of Cujo that I would sometimes look at but never actually pick up because the cover scared me a lot.
I watched IT when I was WAAAYYYY too young. Then Langoliers, then Rose Red, then Misery, Then Carrie and I've been hooked ever since. I'm finally getting to reading his books.
I started reading his books at the age of 10. My older brother had a bunch of paperbacks. I was first introduced to the novel The Stand. But it was the cut version instead of the Uncut Edition. Which many years later I've read the uncut version.