Lists about the King of Horror and ranking his greatest works.

The Dark World of Stephen King

Timeline

While many of Stephen King’s antagonists are of supernatural origin, there's something especially insidious about <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-of-worst-stephen-king-movies/jacob-shelton">his mundane villains</a>. Those seemingly “normal” people are driven to frightening lengths to have their way, regardless of their morals or rationale. Perhaps that’s what makes these enemies the scariest - they could be anyone, from your best friend of a decade to a random stranger on the street.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/ghost-demon-prevention/lisa-waugh?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Ghosts and demons</a> are mysterious and seldom treated as serious threats, but people who commit unspeakably evil acts towards others can be anywhere, anytime, and deep down, we all know they exist.Annie Wilkes is undoubtedly one of the most chilling enemies from the Stephen King pantheon, made even more terrifying by her likeness to real-life killers who lived similar lives. In this list, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/overlook-the-shining-history/jacob-shelton">we’ll dive deep</a> into Annie’s history and psyche to see how just one woman could inflict a lifetime of damage on almost everyone she met.

The Dark Life And History Of Annie Wilkes From Stephen King’s 'Misery'

Film

A History of Misery’s Annie Wilkes

Amanda Boisen

Behind The Scenes

Just as Stephen King's books leave readers white-knuckling their armrests, the movie adaptations of King’s novels are gripping in their own way - especially, as it turns out, for those involved with their production. From drug mishaps to tying down dog tails, King’s stories can certainly demand a lot out of a cast and crew.With at least <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-of-worst-stephen-king-movies/jacob-shelton">86 movies based on King’s novels</a>, there have been plenty of opportunities over the years for some surprising and questionable occurrences, either during production or after. Some stories even involve the King of horror himself.

Behind-The-Scenes Details From Stephen King Adaptations That Have Us Screaming For More

Behind The Scenes Of Stephen King Movies And TV

Stephen King Works

An author as popular and prolific as Stephen King is bound to have not just numerous films and shows adapted from his works, but remakes, sequels, and spinoffs of those original adaptations, too. As a result, plenty of King characters have spiritual doubles running around in the cinematic and TV ether, and we're here to compare some of our favorites.&nbsp;Often times, no one can beat these characters' original performances. But in the world of Hollywood, where remakes are inevitable, the least filmmakers can do is find the best replacements possible. That said, vote up the characters who got the most acceptable re-castings, and vote down the ones where there were definitely better choices out there.

The Stephen King Universe: Character Remakes vs. Their Originals

General

Linda Meyers

Pop Culture

Based on the Stephen King novella The Body, Stand by Me&nbsp;is a 1986 coming-of-age classic not just for the &#39;80s, but for all time. While a large part of its success comes from its universal themes of the loss of innocence and the trauma of growing up, no one can deny that its memorable cast of characters -&nbsp;mainly troubled boys&nbsp;Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern -&nbsp;also helped it stick the landing. The actors behind them, even at their young age, did an excellent job of bringing the characters&nbsp;to life.

So what happened to those boys - or any of the movie&#39;s other notable actors - once the film wrapped? Here are some of their stories, and for more &quot;where are they now&quot; lists, be sure to check out these roundups of the casts of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/lost-boys-where-are-they-now/linda-meyers" target="_blank">The Lost Boys</a> and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/where-are-the-kids-from-the-sandlot" target="_blank">The Sandlot</a>.

Whatever Happened To The Cast Of 'Stand by Me'?

The Cast Of 'Stand By Me': Where Are They Now?

Ranking, deconstructing, and thinking about movies based on books, TV shows based on comics, plays based on cartoons, musicals based on toys, etc.

Great Adaptations

27 years after The Losers' Club defeated Pennywise, children are disappearing from Derry once again. Now, Mike has called the others home.

Horror Books

<a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-horror-novelists?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Horror writer</a> Stephen King ranks among the most prolific of contemporary American authors. This is a complete list of feature films and miniseries based on his writings, including work written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, and the sequels to films based on <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-very-best-of-stephen-king">Stephen King books</a>. The rankings are determined by the votes of Ranker users.

With the second installment of King&#39;s classic&nbsp;It&nbsp;hitting screens soon, what better time to look back on the man&#39;s long and storied list of adaptations? (NOTE: King&#39;s short stories, novellas, and other work have also inspired numerous <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-tv-shows-of-recent-memory?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">TV shows</a>, and you can check out the full <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/decent-stephen-king-movie-adaptations/justin-andress" target="_blank">ranking of all Stephen King adaptations</a> to see where those fall.)

Needful Things

The Best Movies Based On Stephen King Books

The Best Stephen King Movie Adaptations, Ranked By Fans

Ranker Film

Adaptations

There&#39;s no debating that Stephen King is the master of horror. His bibliography&nbsp;boasts at least a dozen stone-cold classics, and his collection of novels, short stories, and novellas have been mined time and time again by Hollywood for adaptations that range from astonishing to, shall we say, not so hot. The latter are the films we&#39;re discussing today.

Even when a <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/worst-stephen-king-book-endings/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">King adaptation is bad</a>, there&#39;s something magnificent going on, from super-gross effects to an actor who knows exactly what kind of movie they&#39;re in and plays it to the hilt. Every single one of these &quot;bad&quot; King adaptations is well worth your time, especially if you&#39;re looking for the next so-bad-it&#39;s-good classic.

The Best Things About The Worst Stephen King Adaptations

Jacob Shelton

Sci-Fi

Castle Rock is a&nbsp;psychological <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-anthology-tv-series/ranker-tv?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">horror anthology series</a> that garnered the love and affection of hordes of fans thanks to its Stephen King inspired characters and themes, but if you&rsquo;ve finished watching the series, there&rsquo;s no need for despair. There are plenty of movies and TV shows to watch if you like Castle Rock and we&rsquo;ve compiled the best ones for you right here!

TV shows similar to Castle Rock often feature spooky settings and killer twists. If you&rsquo;re looking for more terrifying TV, American Horror Story&nbsp;is sure to fill the void. Much like&nbsp;Castle Rock,&nbsp;each spooky season offers a new story arc, each more deadly than the last.&nbsp;And if you think there aren&rsquo;t also some good movies like Castle Rock, then think again, because we&rsquo;ve found quite a few that are sure to tickle the fancies of even the hardest-to-please fans. Take Doctor Sleep, for instance. This movie is basically Castle Rock if it were about another Stephen King story, and is a great choice for any&nbsp;fan of The Shining.

But you don&rsquo;t have to take our word for it - some of Castle Rock&rsquo;s biggest fans have chimed in and cast their votes for the best movies and TV shows like Castle Rock, and once you&rsquo;ve watched, you can cast your votes too!

So what are your favorite movies and TV series like Castle Rock? Vote your favorite programs up to the top of the list.

With more than 40 million people visiting Ranker every month, we are able to offer you data-driven recommendations based on voting across thousands of TV polls.

What To Watch If You Love 'Castle Rock'

Supernatural Horror-Thriller TV Shows & Movies Like 'Castle Rock'

watchworthy

Entertainment

Stephen King&rsquo;s It took the movie world by surprise in 2017 when it became a sleeper box office smash and earned a whopping $700 million globally. Following the success of the 1990 TV mini-series and the 2017 movie, there just had to be a sequel. The It cast for the 2019 follow-up was announced in July of 2018. Find out which major Hollywood stars will play the grown up versions of the Losers&rsquo; Club. Then vote up your favorite It movie characters.

The It film cast features a mostly unknown group of actors. The horror story takes place in the small town of Derry, Maine in 1989. A banded force of underdogs make up the Losers&rsquo; Club, who team up together to fight both the local school bullies called the Bowers Gang and the shape-shifting monster, Pennywise, who feeds on children.

In order to get ready for It: Chapter Two, which is scheduled to hit the big screen on September 2019, vote up which character from It 2017 is your favorite. Is it Eddie or Henry or the Losers&rsquo; faithful leader Bill?

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The Best Characters In The It Movie

Film character

The Best "It" Characters From The New Movies, Ranked

Ranker Entertainment

Horror

Stephen King&#39;s novels are rooted in 20th-century Americana. He uses horror to tell stories that speak to something greater about humanity. At the same time, however, there are occasionally some bad endings to <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-very-best-of-stephen-king?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Stephen King novels</a>. Stephen King is notorious for the shaky endings that mar some of his books. Even his most popular and beloved stories can suffer from some of the worst King-related tropes, be they explosions, ghosts that show up at the last minute to save the day, or the dreaded hand of God.

With dozens of novels, short stories, and novellas under his belt, there are plenty&nbsp;of Stephen King endings people hate. In some cases, it&#39;s because the story completely falls apart at the climax, but in other cases, King is just way too sincere.

King&#39;s work, the good and the bad, is going to live forever. Even these horrendous endings can&#39;t take that away from him.

The Worst Endings To Stephen King Stories

Book

The Worst Endings In Stephen King Novels

Which of these <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/movies-stephen-king-recommends/donn-saylor?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Stephen King movie remakes</a> is the best? You can help decide with your votes! Stephen King has undoubtedly written some of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-horror-books-of-all-time">the best horror books of all time</a>, and many of these terrifying novels have been adapted into classic cinematic staples. Throughout the ‘70s, ’80s, and '90s, Stephen King's movies took the world by storm. Films like It, Carrie, and Pet Semetary showcased terrifying stories for a brand new generation. Naturally, these stories being staples in the zeitgeist of humanity, many people wanted these stories told for newer, younger generations, thus, remakes of Stephen King's movies began to manifest.The best Stephen King movie remakes often masterfully blend elements of the source material that readers of the novels love, with elements of the film adaptations that the cinematic fans enjoyed. This fine line is often a tricky one to tackle, but the best Stephen King remakes follow this strategy to a tee, creating something truly holistic its own, but familiar all at the same time.Vote up the best Stephen King movie remakes, and be sure to check out <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-movies-based-on-stephen-king-books/ranker-film">the best Stephen King movie adaptations!</a>

The 7 Best Stephen King Movie Remakes

Jason Bancroft

Even the Master of Horror enjoys a little recognition every now and then. Once in a while, Stephen King leaves his writing desk to venture out to a studio or film production for a moment in front of the camera.&nbsp;Whether it is a small, nonspeaking part as a corpse or a small yet memorable role in which he's insulted by an ATM, here are Stephen King's movie and TV cameos.&nbsp;Vote up the most memorable appearances of “Uncle Stevie.”

Every Stephen King Movie And TV Appearance, Ranked

Erin Maxwell

The&nbsp;first lines in Stephen King books set the stage for the stories that follow. Over his long career, King has written opening sentences that are funny, informative, scary, and downright odd. But which one is&nbsp;the&nbsp;best? Is it the simple statement about&nbsp;the&nbsp;gunslinger following the man in black through the desert in The Gunslinger, the novel that begins his epic eight-novel fantasy cycle? Is it the more in-depth breakdown of the Boston Globe reporter's surroundings in The Colorado Kid? Is it the random gurgles and moans that kick off Misery? Or is it something else entirely? There's certainly not a shortage to chose from.&nbsp;Check out the list below to view every first sentence from King's novels and vote up your favorite ones!&nbsp;

All the Opening Sentences from Stephen King Books, Ranked

Jacoby Bancroft

<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/stephen-king-popular-tropes/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">Stephen King has a few tropes</a>&nbsp;he loves to use over and over in his work, but none of them are quite as effective as his young characters with a touch of the shining. From the early days of King&#39;s work, he&#39;s written about children with psychic and telekinetic abilities who use their powers to both gain a better understanding of the world around them and to lash out at anyone they perceive to be a threat.

Avid readers recognize that King&#39;s use of the shining goes far beyond Danny Torrance&#39;s appearances in The Shining and Doctor Sleep. The strange telepathic ability that allows people to see the undead, speak without using their mouths, and even commune with a higher power appears in King&#39;s most popular books like It and The Stand&nbsp;but&nbsp;can also be found in his crime novels, as well as his more pulpy work like The Long Walk.

Not every kid with the shining has the same abilities. Some of them can set fires with their minds, others can speak to ghosts, and some only have the ability for a moment. Each one of these kids is special... just don&#39;t get on their bad side.

Every Kid In A Stephen King Work Who Had The Shining

Every Kid With The Shining In A Stephen King Story

Do you like scary movies? Are you a little dark and spooky? Find out which fictional characters, creepy creatures, and disturbing scenarios match up with your zodiac sign to learn more about the real *you.*

The Dark Side of the Stars

Spellbook

Stephen King has written some of the most gruesome and complex villains in literature, many of whom have made their way onto the big screen. Fans have spent decades <a href="/list/stephen-king-characters-by-zodiac-sign/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">analyzing the characters</a> and what makes them tick. There&#39;s the passionate yet jealous Annie Wilkes in Misery; Carrie White, who yearns to be normal; and Pennywise&nbsp;the Dancing Clown, who&#39;s just pure evil.

Here is a look at iconic <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/toughest-stephen-king-villain/jacob-shelton?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">Stephen King villains</a> and the zodiac signs that boast both their positive and less savory traits. King himself is a Virgo (born September 21, 1947), but we&#39;ll stick to analyzing his villains.&nbsp;Which King malefactor represents your horror-scope?&nbsp;

Which Stephen King Villain Are You Based On Your Zodiac?

Patrick Thornton

TV Trivia

Stephen King&#39;s stories have permeated all corners of pop culture, and tons of shows over the years have paid homage to the &quot;King of Horror.&quot; Eagle-eyed Redditors have pointed out a number of times TV shows made <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/stephen-king-nos4a2-easter-eggs/jodi-smith" target="_blank">references</a>&nbsp;to one of the author&#39;s many stories.

Hidden Stephen King References In Popular TV Shows

Damon Davis

Prolific horror and suspense novelist&nbsp;Stephen King creates&nbsp;stories that give birth to dozens&nbsp;of movies. Many actors are listed among his fans - and many of them love to star in the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/decent-stephen-king-movie-adaptations/justin-andress" target="_blank">film adaptations</a> of his strange, creepy books over and over again. A number of these well-known thespians have starred in at least three King adaptations on the big screen, often playing wildly disparate characters.

So what do you think? Are your favorite actors in your favorite Stephen King stories? Did any of them surprise you? Are you always waiting for the next King adaptation to hit&nbsp;the big screen?

Actors Who Have Appeared In Multiple Stephen King Adaptations

Person

Erin Cody

Stephen King Works lists at Ranker - the ultimate source for lists and rankings in all categories