stephen king
Influences
King has called Richard Matheson "the author who influenced me most as a writer."[9] In a current edition of Matheson's The Shrinking Man, King is quoted: "A horror story if there ever was one...a great adventure story—it is certainly one of that select handful that I have given to people, envying them the experience of the first reading."
Ray Bradbury is another influence, with King himself stating "without Ray Bradbury, there is no Stephen King."[68]
King refers to H. P. Lovecraft several times in Danse Macabre. "Gramma", a short story made into a film in the 1980s anthology horror show The New Twilight Zone, mentions Lovecraft's notorious fictional creation Necronomicon, also borrowing the names of a number of the fictional monsters mentioned therein. "I Know What You Need" from the 1976 collection Night Shift, and 'Salem's Lot also mention the tome. In On Writing, King is critical of Lovecraft's dialogue-writing skills, using passages from "The Colour Out of Space" as particularly poor examples. There are also several examples of King's referring to Lovecraftian characters in his work, such as Nyarlathotep and Yog-Sothoth.
King acknowledges the influence of Bram Stoker, particularly on his novel Salem's Lot, which he envisioned as a retelling of Dracula.[69] Its related short story "Jerusalem's Lot" is reminiscent of Stoker's The Lair of the White Worm.[citation needed]
He also gives Joseph Payne Brennan credit for being one of his inspirations; "Joseph Payne Brennan is one of the most effective writers in the horror genre, and he is certainly one of the writers I have patterned my own career upon; one of the writers whom I studied and with whom I kept school."[70]
King has also referenced author Shirley Jackson. Salem's Lot opens with a quotation from Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, and a character in Wolves of the Calla references the Jackson book We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
King is a fan of John D. MacDonald, and dedicated the
King has called Richard Matheson "the author who influenced me most as a writer."[9] In a current edition of Matheson's The Shrinking Man, King is quoted: "A horror story if there ever was one...a great adventure story—it is certainly one of that select handful that I have given to people, envying them the experience of the first reading."
Ray Bradbury is another influence, with King himself stating "without Ray Bradbury, there is no Stephen King."[68]
King refers to H. P. Lovecraft several times in Danse Macabre. "Gramma", a short story made into a film in the 1980s anthology horror show The New Twilight Zone, mentions Lovecraft's notorious fictional creation Necronomicon, also borrowing the names of a number of the fictional monsters mentioned therein. "I Know What You Need" from the 1976 collection Night Shift, and 'Salem's Lot also mention the tome. In On Writing, King is critical of Lovecraft's dialogue-writing skills, using passages from "The Colour Out of Space" as particularly poor examples. There are also several examples of King's referring to Lovecraftian characters in his work, such as Nyarlathotep and Yog-Sothoth.
King acknowledges the influence of Bram Stoker, particularly on his novel Salem's Lot, which he envisioned as a retelling of Dracula.[69] Its related short story "Jerusalem's Lot" is reminiscent of Stoker's The Lair of the White Worm.[citation needed]
He also gives Joseph Payne Brennan credit for being one of his inspirations; "Joseph Payne Brennan is one of the most effective writers in the horror genre, and he is certainly one of the writers I have patterned my own career upon; one of the writers whom I studied and with whom I kept school."[70]
King has also referenced author Shirley Jackson. Salem's Lot opens with a quotation from Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, and a character in Wolves of the Calla references the Jackson book We Have Always Lived in the Castle.
King is a fan of John D. MacDonald, and dedicated the