15 Stephen King stories ranked from heartwarming to horrifying

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 28: A painted wall mural of Pennywise the clown from the movie ‘IT’ is seen on Cleveland street wall in the suburb of Chippendale on August 28, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. The movie ‘IT’ based on the 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King is set for release in cinemas on September 7th. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Prepare for the latest Stephen King movie adaptation by reading up on 15 of his best works, from uplifting to utterly terrifying.

Stephen King has managed to become one of the most pervasive authors in modern American culture. From Carrie to It, his work is practically everywhere. Even if you’re not a fan of the horrifying and the macabre, chances are good that you’ve run across some of his more realistic works. Remember all those times you sat down and watched The Shawshank Redemption on cable, or The Green Mile? Yep, that’s King.

It helps that his work has been adapted for film and television over 50 times. I defy you to be a modern adult with access to American pop culture and somehow not read or watch his work.

Soon enough, we’ll be able to add one more adaptation to that list: the 2017 film version of It, set to premiere Friday. It’s preceded by a 1990 television miniseries starring Tim Curry as the frightening Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Now, Bill Skarsgård has taken over the role, playing an evil clown that is actually something far, far worse than a spooky weirdo in greasepaint. More on that in a bit.

With such a major adaptation making its way to a theater near you, now is the perfect time to take a look back at some of King’s best work. It’s worth remembering that, for all the scary clowns, haunted hotels, and telekinetic teenagers that populate his writing, there are some very real scenarios, too. Sometimes, the reality of some stories is enough to inspire—dare we say it for something written by Stephen King?—hope and courage. In fact, some of his writing is downright heartwarming.

But I’m not about to pull the rug out from under you. We are talking about Stephen King, after all, who has rightfully established himself as a master of modern horror fiction. Even when he’s going for realism, King can also go for the jugular. In fact, some of the most realistic characters in his work have also proven to be the most chilling.

After all, poor telekinetic Carrie White is bad, but she probably doesn’t exist in our reality. But what about her abusive and fanatical mother? A monster like Margaret White could live on your very street.

With all of that in mind, we present 15 of Stephen King’s best works, ranked from heartwarming to horrifying. You’ll start off pretty easy, but make sure you’re prepared for some truly terrifying stuff at the end of this list. Good luck, readers.