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Happy 70th Birthday Stephen King!

Born on September 21st, 1947, Stephen King has enraptured, terrified, and intrigued his ‘constant readers’ for decades. And thankfully, Mr. King shows no sign of slowing down. His latest tale, Sleeping Beauties, marks a first-time collaboration with son Owen and is due to hit shelves this month. Father and son will participate in a ten-city tour to promote the highly anticipated release; this coming off the heels of the latest movie blockbuster, It. Published back in 1986, It manages to terrify audiences even 31 years later. It’s no wonder there is a continued attempt to bring King’s stories to the big screen, some even taking a second go-around. There have been successes (Misery, Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Stand By Me, Carrie) and there have been failures (The Dark Tower, Under The Dome, Maximum Overdrive) but one thing remains true… the writing holds up!

Stephen King
A few of the many works by Stephen King. Credit: Entertainment Weekly

In honor of Mr. King’s birthday, Entertainment Weekly gave 70 reasons why this legendary master of horror is so incredibly awesome! Here are my ten favorites…

What Scares him?

King probably gets this question more than any other. The answer: um, you. Lots of you. “What scares me is when a whole bunch of [fans] are together.

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Excited fans waiting to see Stephen King. Credit: Pure Texuality

Stephen King Land

King has always included little winks to his readers in the form of references to his other books, but as The Dark Tower evolved into the nexus point for all his different worlds, a type of Stephen King multiverse emerged. “It’s sort of like the malevolent version of Disney World, where everything fits together,” he told EW in 2012. “Let’s put it this way – if there was a Stephen King World, people would only go on the rides … once.”

The Bigger They Come

King is also endearingly humble. Not that he has much to be humble about. When he made the Forbes list of highest paid entertainers in 1990, he said he was grateful his $22 million, two-year income put him on the roster. But he had misgivings: “It’s a national scandal. Not that I should be there, but that I should be the only writer there.”

“I Don’t Consider What I Do Work”

One of the most refreshing things about King is he doesn’t take himself too seriously. There’s no pretentiousness here. In many ways, Stephen King is still the guy getting home from work at the laundry, a blue-collar working stiff who just happens to be one of the world’s best-selling authors.

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Stephen King having fun with a young fan. Credit: Lilja’s Library

The Twitter Feed

King’s Twitter feed started out as a mix of dog pics, jokes, book and movie recommendations. Basically, he put a tap in his brain, and let the stream of consciousness flow. He has even earned praise for being “sassy.”

Survivor Type