The meaning behind the master of horror?

negativelead99 · Sep 16, 2016

I think this thread could be fun,

Not long ago, I crossed a person who mentioned they didn't dig Stephen King because they felt his stories didn't deliver any message. Their opinion, King only went for fear factor and thrills. I had an itch to confront this with an eight page college dissertation. But, in the effort of peace, I restrained myself.

I've never been afraid to proclaimed myself a huge Stephen King fan, despite his name never being associated with any exclusive avenue to intellectual segregation. It did make me think, however.........

I speculate, horror may be a particular difficult genera to deliver certain messages through, given righteousness and justice are not pervasive themes throughout common examples of the category.

King's messages are most certainly there (I believe). I feel it just takes a little more effort (or soul swallowing) to dissect them. That makes them more fun, IMHO. So I challenge--or grant the opportunity--to any whom may stumble upon this thread:

Explain the underlining or moral message behind your favorite work by America's most prolific author:

(Screen Play, Short Story, Novel, Novella,..doesn't matter)

What was Stephen King trying to say that many may have overlooked?

Marlys · Sep 17, 2016

Here's a start: Carrie White is a quite obvious poster child for anti-bullying. Kids! Don't pick on that girl--she could really eff you up!

And in The Shining, it's Jack Torrance's drinking that makes him especially vulnerable to the evil at the hotel.

cornflake · Sep 17, 2016

Don't go to Maine.

Is he actually America's most prolific author? That seems so unlikely to me.

grandma2isaac · Sep 17, 2016

The Stand. Even though it shows an end of life as we know it scenario, there are several real-life applications.
The government is not always working with your best interests in mind.
Out of destruction some find a stronger side to themselves than they had known before.
Relying too much on modern amenities can shorten your lifespan when those amenities are lost.
Sometimes faith is the only answer.
Etc. In case noone knew by that, it's my favorite King work! Thanks for starting this thread.

Helix · Sep 17, 2016

cornflake said:
Is he actually America's most prolific author? That seems so unlikely to me.

Not even close, I'd say.

negativelead99 · Sep 17, 2016

cornflake said:
Don't go to Maine.

That took me a second to get. :drool

But still, lol...

cornflake said:
Is he actually America's most prolific author? That seems so unlikely to me.

Well, I want to know who's written more?

Helix · Sep 17, 2016

negativelead99 said:
That took me a second to get. But still, lol...

Well, I want to know who's written more?

Joyce Carol Oates. Nora Roberts.

mrsmig · Sep 17, 2016

Isaac Asimov. R.L. Stine. L. Ron Hubbard. And that's just for starters, and just in the U.S.

cornflake · Sep 17, 2016

Louis L'amour? A bunch of mystery writers? A bunch of sci-fi writers?

negativelead99 · Sep 17, 2016

I'll give you Stine. Never stop to think of him

Prolific, meaning large bounty of fruit, I guess leaves some room for opinion

williemeikle · Sep 17, 2016

cornflake said:
Don't go to Maine.

Is he actually America's most prolific author? That seems so unlikely to me.

He's not even close.

grandma2isaac · Sep 17, 2016

Perhaps if he had said most prolific horror author?

mrsmig · Sep 17, 2016

negativelead99 said:
I'll give you Stine. Never stop to think of him

Prolific, meaning large bounty of fruit, I guess leaves some room for opinion

But not Asimov?

You said "America's most prolific author." If you're going to set qualifications (such as your definition of "fruit"), you're getting into subjective rather than numeric territory.

mrsmig · Sep 17, 2016

grandma2isaac said:
Perhaps if he had said most prolific horror author?

Still not King. V.C. Andrews, for one, has him beat.

Helix · Sep 17, 2016

negativelead99 said:
I'll give you Stine. Never stop to think of him

Prolific, meaning large bounty of fruit, I guess leaves some room for opinion

I'm not at all sure that the definition of prolific is restricted to plant matter.

grandma2isaac · Sep 17, 2016

I sincerely do not consider V.C. Andrews as a horror writer. Also, for me, her stories all tend to tell the same story of a severely twisted family secret.

williemeikle · Sep 17, 2016

negativelead99 said:
I'll give you Stine. Never stop to think of him

Prolific, meaning large bounty of fruit, I guess leaves some room for opinion

That's a different use of the word. Prolific when used in regard to a writer usually means producing a lot of writing. Not fruit.

mrsmig · Sep 17, 2016

grandma2isaac said:
I sincerely do not consider V.C. Andrews as a horror writer. Also, for me, her stories all tend to tell the same story of a severely twisted family secret.

Doesn't matter. You qualified the OP's original statement with "horror." Even though you might not consider Andrews a horror writer, that's still how her books are classified in bookstores and in libraries. You may think she recycles plots, but that doesn't negate the fact that she wrote more books than King.

negativelead99 · Sep 17, 2016

Probably should have just written, "One of America's most popular." Or at least "one of," in front of prolific.

I did consider someone bringing some Ian Fleming type of author up on me. I knew that Hubbard had wrote 70 some odd stories, but I'd still think King would beat him on short stories, Maybe.

After a little research. The term prolific in writing sometime references how much they've sold. Or at least ETA: Google popped up some numbers when I entered the term

King is 8th on this list of American authors. Koontz actually beats him at 7th. (Can't find the Surprise emoji)

http://listosaur.com/entertainment/top-10-best-selling-american-authors-of-all-time/

R.L. Stine on another site is credited with selling 400 million copies.

Helix · Sep 17, 2016

negativelead99 said:
Probably should have just written, "One of America's most popular." Or at least out "on of," in front of prolific.

I did consider someone bringing some Ian Fleming type of author up on me. I knew that Hubbard had wrote 70 some odd stories, but I'd still think King would beat him on short stories, Maybe.

After a little research. The term prolific in writing sometime references how much they've sold.

King is 8th on this list of American authors. Koontz actually beats him at 7th. (Can't find the Surprise emoji)

http://listosaur.com/entertainment/top-10-best-selling-american-authors-of-all-time/

R.L. Stine on another site is credited with selling 400 million copies.

Most popular =/= prolific. Most copies sold =/= prolific.

Ian Fleming was a Pom, so now I am completely confused.

negativelead99 · Sep 17, 2016

"One of America's best known authors"

:flag:

Helix · Sep 17, 2016

negativelead99 said:
"One of America's best known authors"

Now that definition I can get behind.

*goes to look at original question*

negativelead99 · Sep 17, 2016

Helix said:
Ian Fleming was a Pom,

I said type. I was trying to make friendly conversation by mentioning the # copies sold

negativelead99 · Sep 17, 2016

Helix said:
Now that definition I can get behind.

*goes to look at original question*

I kind of thought I did that more subtly in post 10 and 19.

ironmikezero · Sep 17, 2016

There was a similar (final jeopardy) question/answer on a recent episode of JEOPARDY, however it was couched in terms of a "living author" . . . The correct response (in the form of a question) was "Who is Stephen King?"

The meaning behind the master of horror?

Resist. Love. Go outside.

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Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

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