Stephen King knew that the Clay Center was too safe an environment to scare anyone, but that didn't stop him from planting a seed.
“According to the American Insurance Institute,” King said, citing a source that he had seconds earlier assured the audience was made up, “in every group of 1,200 people, eight to 10 will forget to lock their cars.”
The King of Horror went on to conjure the image of a knife-wielding maniac creeping into the backseat of some unfortunate person's car, visibly unnerving his audience.
“And when you're most the way home ... ” King said. “I'm just saying. I'd check your backseat.”
The legendary author of over 50 New York Times best-selling novels stopped by the Clay Center Friday for an evening of humor and horror to promote his latest novel, “End of Watch.” The novel is the last book in the “Bill Hodges Trilogy,” preceded by “Mr. Mercedes” and “Finders Keepers.”
Taylor Books sponsored the event, and Dan Carlisle, manager of the Capitol Street bookstore, introduced the author, who was awarded the National Medal of the Arts by President Barack Obama last year.
When he stepped out on stage, King was met with applause from a nearly-packed audience. He donned a Taylor Books shirt, light wash jeans and black tennis shoes, and he humorously promised the audience “it's all downhill from here.”
Despite King's talent for horror, he commanded the audience with sharp humor and stream-of-consciousness anecdotes about everyday life as a horror icon. King said he doesn't really understand the masochism behind his fans who often tell him that he scares them and then ask him for a hug.
“The only thing that I can figure is that Boris Karloff died, and then Rod Serling died, and then Alfred Hitchcock died and they said 'You're it.' You've become the Easter Bunny of horror,” King said.
King attributed his motivation to visit West Virginia to one of his largest influences, Davis Grubb, a writer from Moundsville.
He said that he became familiar with Grubb after watching an Alfred Hitchcock program, a favorite in King's childhood household, titled “Where the Woodbine Twineth.” This served as King's introduction to Grubb, who authored the short story the episode was based on.
King said that he read Grubb novels like “The Night of the Hunter” and “The Voice of Glory” when he was around 12 or 13 years old. A specific epigram in “The Voice of Glory” resonated with King then and still does today. It said:
“When I get to heaven, I will tell the Lord God-almighty all about West Virginia.”
King said that while he loved the quote, he wasn't sure who said it. After he landed at Yeager Airport Friday, he said that he went to the library and discovered that it was by West Virginian Mary Harris Jones, or “Mother Jones,” a critical figure in Appalachian history who led a labor movement in progressive-era West Virginia.
He used this story to reveal that he and his son, Owen King, have co-authored a novel called “Sleeping Beauties.” The novel, King said, is set in the fictional Dueling, West Virginia, and revolves around a women's prison in an area that is similar to Moundsville.
Later on, King talked about the art of the craft, saying that a simple rule for a good book is to have strong characters and an environment that makes the reader feel at home, “until I jump out of a closet of course.”
“The idea is to try to make that connection with the reader on a hundred different levels, from the small to the large,” King said.
When discussing his writing process, King shared the story of how he wrote the first few chapters of “Misery” at Brown's Hotel in the United Kingdom. He said that the night manager of the hotel eventually revealed to him that he had been writing at the desk where Rudyard Kipling, author of “The Jungle Book,” died.
King also addressed how he handles fans who are scratching off their bucket list meeting the horror icon or asking him to sign their favorite hardback.
“You know, I sometimes joke with people that, in the future, on eBay for $40,000, there will be a rare, unsigned Stephen King book,” he said.
After he spoke, a brief question and answer session gave audience members the chance to ask King about topics such as the films based on his work and what recent books he recommends.
At the end of the event, attendees were able to pick up a free copy of “End of Watch,” 400 of which were signed by the horror master.
Reach Jared Casto at
jared.casto@wvgazettemail.com,
304-348-4832 or follow
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