10 Stephen King Books That We Need To See Movies Made Of
Stephen King is a talented author of several horror and thriller novels. A lot of his works have been turned into movies and TV series, including some like IT, The Shining, and Pet Sematary. Both his books and movies based on those books have been giving horror lovers nightmares for decades and this writer is showing no signs of slowing down with the scares that he deals out through his work.
Even though there have been a ton of movies released based on Stephen King's works, there are also quite a few of them that have never been adapted into movies. While we're totally into the remakes of movies like IT, Pet Sematary, and Carrie, we can't deny that it would also be nice to see some of Stephen King's other works on the big screen, too.
To see 10 books by Stephen King that need to be turned into movies, keep reading!
10 Rage
Rage was published in 1977 and although it was written by Stephen King, it was the first novel that he ever published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. While many of King's novels use on some kind of terrifying monster to drive the scares, Rage is different in that the villain isn't a monster, but a student.
This novel focuses on a school shooting and, in response to some early ones that happened in the US in the decades following this novel's publishing, it went out of print. It was still available in a collection of novels called The Bachman Books for some time, but it's even been taken out of more recent editions of that book. Because of the fact that the novel is out of print, it's unlikely that we'll ever see a movie adaption of it, but Stephen King fans can definitely dream.
9 Joyland
Joyland is a novel that was written by Stephen King and published in 2013. If King's famous novel IT wasn't enough to terrify you, then this book about an amusement park might do the job. Joyland is set in 1973 at an amusement park in North Carolina where college student Devin Jones recently got a job.
How can an amusement park be scary? Well, it's a Stephen King book and we all know he has a way to make anything terrifying. In this novel, the amusement park is allegedly haunted by the spirit of a woman who was murdered there. Uh oh! A movie adaptation of this novel might be enough to scare us off of theme parks forever.
8 The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was released in 1999 and five years later in 2004, a pop-up book version of the novel was released. In 2005, there was talk about George A. Romero potentially working on a film adaptation of this novel, but the plans fell through and the filmmaker's death unfortunately put a stop to those plans.
This novel follows a young girl named Trisha who is on a trip with her family. After she stops to use the bathroom while hiking through the woods with her mom and brother, she becomes separated from her family and is unable to find them again. To comfort herself, she listens to a baseball game on her Walkman and becomes more and more lost in the woods.
7 Elevation
Elevation is a novella by Stephen King that was released in 2018. While many of King's works tend to be lengthy, this book is under 150 pages. This means it would be perfect for a TV miniseries, similar to the first IT, or could even be turned into a movie.
Like many of Stephen King's other works, Elevation is a novel that is set in Castle Rock, Maine. Castle Rock has also been the setting for novels like Cujo and has been referenced in some like Sleepwalkers. In this novel, a man named Scott Carey finds himself battling a bizarre disease. Although he appears completely healthy, Scott is rapidly losing weight and fears he won't be able to go on if he doesn't uncover the cause.
6 Duma Key
Time to take a trip down the east coast of the US. While most of King's works are set in his home state of Maine, Duma Key is a little different in that it's the first novel that he ever wrote that was set in Florida. This work of psychological horror was released in 2008 and while a film adaptation has been brought up a few times, the production on it has never seemed to go anywhere.
Duma Key is about a man named Edgar who seemed to have it all. But when an accident left him injured and with bouts of rage that his wife couldn't deal with being on the receiving end of, Edgar decided to move to Florida to try to get his life back together. Edgar's situation begins to improve... But is it improving too much?
5 The Long Walk
The Long Walk is another of Stephen King's novels that he published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman rather than under his real name. It was published in 1979, but King has stated that it's among the first novels that he ever wrote, just not the first that he got published.
This terrifying novel is set in a dystopian future and follows the contestants of a walking competition. The contestants are 100 teenagers who are all forced to walk. They have to keep walking at a speed of at least four miles per hour or else they're punished. The contest ends when one contestant is alive and the prize is anything that the winner wants.
4 Roadwork
Roadwork was published in 1981 under Stephen King's pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Since then, it has been reprinted various times and was even included in the 1985 omnibus The Bachman Books before it went out of print.
This story is more of a psychological thriller than a horror novel, but it gives the same sense of dread that other Stephen King novels evoke when to read, regardless of the genre. Roadwork follows a man whose life is falling apart. He lost his son and his marriage had fallen apart. When he learns that his home and workplace will be demolished to build a highway, things take a turn for the worse.
3 Rose Madder
Rose Madder was released in 1995. An adaptation of the novel was planned in 2011, but the project fell through and there have been no subsequent plans to turn this novel into a movie since then.
Rose Madder follows the aftermath of Rosie Daniels' decision to leave her abusive husband. In a new city, she finds a strange painting that she just can't seem to leave behind. But as her fears that her husband might find her grow, her story begins to get eerie.
2 Gwendy's Button Box
Gwendy's Button Box is a novella by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar that was published in 2017 and, like many of King's other works, is set in the town of Castle Rock, Maine. Many of Stephen King's novels are set in Maine, King's home state and a lot of them are set in Castle Rock or have connections to each other.
Gwendy's Button Box is set in 1974 and is about a 12-year-old girl named Gwendy who is doing her daily routine of running up and down the stairs when a mysterious man approaches her and gives her a strange gift that changes her life.
1 Insomnia
Insomnia was released in 1994 and is set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine. This is the same set of other works by Stephen King-like IT.
At 890 pages, this novel would probably be best suited for a TV miniseries, but a movie adaptation would be so good, too. This movie follows a man named Ralph Roberts who recently lost his wife. Day by day, he begins to wake up earlier and earlier until finally, he can't sleep at all and his life takes a terrifying turn.