Everyone’s heard of books like The Shining, It, and Pet Cemetery however if you’re not that into the blood, gore, and death here are some other books by Stephen King that create horror through suspense and leave you anxious until the end and even then, leave you uneasy.
5) Cujo (1981)
This is one of the first books King ever sets in Castle Rock, Maine written when he was addicted to cocaine, so he doesn’t really remember writing it. Cujo is a St. Bernard and was a very good dog until he contracts rabies from a bat bite. When Cujo is at his worst a woman named Donna and her son Tad venture to a car repair shop expecting to get their carburetor fixed when they’re met instead by the rabid killer dog. The fact that the book is told from multiple perspectives helped a lot in terms of suspense because you never knew if that person was mentioned because they’re going to be Cujo’s next victim or not. Several sections are written from Cujo’s perspective as he begins his slow decent into madness, fighting it from the start, which really left me questioning whether or not I could trust my own dog.
4) Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993)
Nightmares and Dreamscapes contains 24 original short stories all by King himself and 5 of them were later adapted into an 8-episode tv show by the same name in 2006. One of my personal favourites is Dolan’s Cadillac which follows a man dedicating years of his life to get revenge on Dolan, who allegedly killed his wife. Dolan’s Cadillac was a great way to start off the book and the tales only got creepier from there. Every story had me on the edge of my seat and as promised will leave you with nightmares.
3) The Institute (2019)
One of his more recent books, The Institute centres around a boy named Luke Ellis a boy genius who is able to move objects with his mind and whose parents are brutally murdered. Luke is kidnapped and taken to The Institute in Maine where children with psychokinetic and telepathic abilities like him are forced to use their skills for evil by the secret government organization. Meanwhile a cop from New York is performing his new duties as night knocker in DuPray, South Carolina when his path crosses the boy and they must work together to take down the agents at The Institute. The Institute had me horrified of what The Institute might do to harm Luke and the other children when they got in trouble and hoping they’d make it out of there alive.
2) The Long Walk (1979)
A dystopian novel set in the future and written under the pseudonym Richard Boseman features a teenage boy Ray Garraty participating in a competition called The Long Walk. The Long Walk is where 100 teenage boys walk along the US Route 1 without stopping, if they do stop they get 3 warnings and at the end of the third are shot down by the soldiers following them on a military truck. The last boy left standing will receive a “Prize” of his choice along with prize money. The boys suffer immensely, many slowly go mad in the process and several end up committing suicide. King’s excellent character development had me rooting for Garraty but also becoming devastated when many of his companions were killed off. The Long Walk had me scared for Garraty’s life, and as every day left fewer and fewer boys, I couldn’t be sure what might happen next.
1) The Gunslinger (1982)
The first in the Dark Tower series, inspired by the Hobbit as well as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, this combination led to one of the greatest fictional universes King has ever created. Revolving around Roland the last gunslinger who follows the trail of The Man in Black in an effort to find the Dark Tower. Roland is a lone traveler who will stop at nothing for this pursuit despite meeting several individuals that try to hinder his journey. Along the way he finds an unlikely friend, a little boy named Jake from our world. The Gunslinger is unlike any book that I’ve ever read before. The universe that King creates is so enticing that I couldn’t put it down. I found myself right there with Roland wanting to get to the Dark Tower so badly and praying that he would finally catch The Man in Black so he can get there.
All these books I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys suspense. In addition, I would encourage you to read more of Stephen King’s works, especially the rest of the Dark Tower series.