What's your FIRST Stephen King book?

[Theresa (mysteries.and.mayhem)]

I was probably 11 or 12. My mom was always reading the latest Stephen King books (early 80s at the time). I wanted to read one, so she gave me her copy of Night Shift to start out with. From there I graduated to the Bachman Books and a new King fan was created. :)

[Stephanie]

My mom gave me her collection of Stephen King books around age 10, I started with Pet Sematary, scared the crap out of myself and tried again at 16 with The Shining - so I suppose my first full novel was The Shining :)

[nandita ✰]

the shining !

[DaniPhantom]

Carrie, because I loved horror movies at a young age and used to watch a ton of the oldies with my dad. So of course, I had to read the book

[Pete]

The Dead Zone back in 1983.

[Gareth]

My first was The Shinning,, it took me 30+ years of life to commit to reading that.

[Nicole]

My mom gave me her SK collection when I was ten which was over 20 years ago so I don't exactly remember but I think it was either Cujo or Christine.

[Izzy]

First book I ever read from SK was Carrie.

[Michael]

Carrie. I was hooked from that point forward.

[Squire]

The Shining in 1981. And still my favorite. Followed up immediately with The Stand (1978), then 'Salem's Lot.

The Shining made me a fan. The Stand made me a believer; 'Salem's Lot was icing on the cake (especially since I wasn't allowed to watch the TV movie.) I'd seen the movie Carrie, so I let that one go for a while.

[sonya]

Misery when I was 14.

[Finn]

i think it was either Christine or carrie

[VintageVamp]

Salem's Lot '79 I was 20 yrs old. I read Night Shift and then everything! I've been a Constant Reader ever since.

[Alison]

The mist ❤️

[Katie]

Carrie was my first one of his! But IT is my favorite

[DaniPhantom]

The iconic Cujo

[Diane]

Mine was "Carrie", I've been hooked on horror books ever since!

[Chase]

"IT" and I was in 7th grade. I remember my 12 year old brain exploding after reading a few particular scenes...

[Rikki]

I read “It” when I was 14 years old and I was immediately hooked on horror books.

[Robert]

The Shining, shortly after it came out in paperback. At one point I was reading it and a thunderstorm started and the lights went out. This put a cramp in my reading, but it added to the creepy feeling while reading the book!

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I read The Gunslinger first, intending to read the whole Dark Tower series, but once I realized that a big part of the series' appeal is the references to other King books, I set Dark Tower aside and started reading King's books in publication order from the beginning with Carrie. The first of his books to earn a rating higher than 3 stars from me was The Shining. Next up (later this year): Night Shift.

[The bookish Witch]

The Shining. But I do like Darcy Coates "Carrow Haunting" more.

[Carl]

I read Desperation back when I was 13 and got the Nevada desert highway burned into my mind.

[Books]

Pet semetary read when I was about 14/15 then I became obsessed with his work. it was also the first horror book I ever read.

[Carrie]

Carrie, as I was named after her.

[Alex]

Christine. I was about 9 and bought it at the bookstore and when I took it home my mom made me take it back. I did, because I was a good little me, but I I went to another bookstore and bought it again. This time on the dl.

[Alex]

Carrie wrote: "Carrie, as I was named after her."

Were you actually named after Carrie, or do you just have the same name....?

[Ashley]

Finished my first book a little over a week ago now, it was The Long Walk. An absolutely amazing psychological horror

[Kandice]

Ashley wrote: "Finished my first book a little over a week ago now, it was The Long Walk. An absolutely amazing psychological horror"

This will always be in my top five favorite books by anyone. It was so tight and suspenseful, and the ability to write that with basically one setting, and one event is phenomenal.

[Ash]

Salem's Lot. But I didn't care for it. The first one that I actually enjoyed was Rose Madder. It's not one of his better known works, but it's well worth the read.

[Rubi]

"It", when I was 13 years old. Since then I've been a huge King fan.

[Carrie]

Alex wrote: "Carrie wrote: "Carrie, as I was named after her."

Were you actually named after Carrie, or do you just have the same name....?"

Named.

[Anne (w/ an E)]

My first SK book was Night Shift, back in 1980-ish. I was 10-11.

[Tracee]

Pretty sure my first was Carrie because I can sort of remember my mom figuring it was okay because it was about a teen girl.. I would have been around ten I think.

[˚ ༘ lunar ♡ ⋆｡˚]

The Mist

[Amanda]

Mine was either Pet Semetary or Salems Lot. It’s been a while, I first read them in high school so I don’t remember which one was first. Lol.

[Ed]

My first Stephen King book was the original version of "The Stand" which I read in 1978 when I was in the 8th grade. I had recently watched Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" which I didn't like that much. But, my older brother bought the Stephen King book. And, said it was really good. And, a lot different than the movie.
So I searched for a copy of the "Shining" at my go-to bookstore. But, I couldn't find it. I came across "The Stand." And bought that. And, I really enjoyed it.

[Lizzie]

It was either the running man or the Shining- I read them about the same time so can't remember which

[Raomer]

IT. When i was 13 to 14 years old. 1987.

[Just Another Final Girl Review (Brittany)]

It at 15. My mind was blown, that the scarring movie of the clown that bit off arms and lived in the bathroom and pipes and grates ( I lived in toronto and believed he could be down in the subway grates in sidewalks) was not something that I had made up entirely in my head and was actually a FUCKING book/movie. The Georgie boat scene and the funeral book picture filling with blood haunted my childhood for years. Needless to say reading it was a therapeutic process and turned me into a horror addict

[Charlie]

I might be an odd bird out here when I say that my first King was The Talisman, meaning I got two for the price of one on that deal. A first King and a first Straub!? "If I had a dime..."

[Martha]

I read "Needful Things" when I was 10 (so, 20 years ago) and to this day is still my favorite Stephen King's book (it was a terrifying experience, since I grew up in a very small town, just like the one in the book)

[Jennifer]

My first (and only) book by Stephen King was The Institute I read this not too long ago. I hate to say it, but I was disappointed after all the hype about Stephen King. Now I KNOW I probably picked the wrong book to start out with, but I didn't want to read a book from 10+ years ago. Maybe I will try again in the future.

[James]

Brittany - My first King was IT also. I was 13 and it screwed me up. I’m sure I didn’t understand half of what I was reading but I knew it scared me and I keep coming back to it throughout my life. I still can’t believe my parents let me read it. I still have the paperback copy I read then, it’s shredded. It’s the TV movie tie in with Tim Curry on the cover. I love it!

[lauren]

My first was The Shining when I was 12! The experience rocked my little world and I read everything King I could get my hands on after that. I can't believe how brave so many of you guys were, starting with IT. What a long book to commit to for your first experience with an author! I'm impressed!

[J.]

Pet Sematary. Not only my first, but also my favorite still :-)

[Amanda]

Cell. Love a good zombie book and while this one isn't well-loved by many people, I really enjoyed it.

[Kang]

The Shining

[J.S.]

Four Past Midnight Four Past Midnight

I was eight. I didn't understand a lot of it, but the concept of there being a library policeman TERRIFIED me. Kept sneaking dad's stephen king after that, anyway.

[Kara]

If I remember correctly, as it's quite a while ago, my first Stephen King book was The Stand. It's always been my favorite and I re-read it every couple of years. I'm not taking about the 700 page one, I love the extended version.