King wrote a book that was inspired by the killers? After more than 10 years, he withdrew it from the market

is one of the most popular authors of horror literature in the world, who took his first steps on the publishing market using pseudonyms such as Richard Bachman or John Swithen. Today, he has written several dozen absolute classics of the genre, including: “The Shining”, “Pet Sematary” and “Salem’s Salem”. He also wrote a collection of short stories called “The Four Seasons” and the excellent one which was adapted into a film. Despite the undoubted success he achieved on the publishing market, not all of his works met with universal recognition and approval from readers.

He sold over 350 million copies of books. Stephen King had to take this one out of circulation

During his career, King sold over 350 million copies, earning him the title of one of the most widely read writers in the world. Despite this, he has also had several high-profile scandals that have received wide coverage in the media. One of them was closely related to his book “Rage”, which debuted on bookstore shelves in 1977.

According to many, the problem was in the plot. This one focused on the character of Charlie Decker, who one day showed up at his school with a gun, killing two teachers and then taking 24 students hostage. Initially, readers treated it as an interesting and blood-curdling crime story, but a decade later the narrative changed completely and some circles began to boycott the title. Why?

Stephen King’s “Rage” became an inspiration for murderers? The writer revealed why he stopped printing subsequent batches

The cause of the controversy were shootings that began to occur almost regularly in American facilities. These types of events, of course, also took place long before the release of “Rage”, because they were one of King’s inspirations, but for some groups it did not matter. When this type of incident occurred again in Kentucky in 1997, many began to connect the circumstances of the case with what they knew from this particular book. The fact that investigators found a copy of it in the locker of the 14-year-old perpetrator also added fuel to the fire. A scandal broke out.

The writer tried to intervene in the matter, but in vain. A large group of readers believed that his work was an inspiration for the criminal and that it was based on it that he developed a crime plan. King then decided to stop printing subsequent parts of “Rage” and gradually began to remove it from the publishing market. During the VEMA meeting in May 1999, he stated clearly that it was a difficult experience for him, but at that time the only right one. At the same time, he emphasized that despite everything, he was not in favor of prohibiting artists from including this type of threads in their works, because it somehow limits their creative possibilities. However, he was mainly guided by the fact that the scandal would probably result in a decline in sales anyway, and he did not want anyone to blame him for such tragic events.