Stephen King is called ‘The Master of Horror’ and is the reference author when it comes to horror literature. He is so prolific that he has more than 64 novels, short stories, non-fiction works, and film scripts. And although everyone knows him for horror classics like It, Carrie, or The Shining, he also has some non-horror texts that you probably know from their film adaptations.
Hearts in Atlantis
This is a collection of short stories by Stephen King composed of five stories, revolving around the 1960s and 1970s. It deals with how events such as the Vietnam War impacted an entire generation. Here are some of the short stories you should read: “Hamptons in Yellow Jackets,” “Hearts in Atlantis,” “Blind Willie,” “What Are We Doing in Vietnam” and “The Shadows of Night Are Already Looming.”
The Green Mile
An example of magical realism, The Green Mile is the story of Paul Edgecombe, a supervisor at Cold Mountain Penitentiary, known as The Green Mile. There he meets John Coffey, an empathetic man with incredible healing powers. It also has its adaptation starring Tom Hanks.
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
In this short novel, part of The Four Seasons collection from 1982, Stephen King tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a man sentenced to life in prison. Andy has only a couple of wishes; he asks Red, another inmate: a small pickaxe and a poster of Rita Hayworth. The film adaptation, The Shawshank Redemption, stars Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.
The Body
This short novella gave rise to one of the most memorable adaptations of Stephen King’s work: Stand by Me. The Body is also part of The Four Seasons and takes place during the summer of 1960 in Castle Rock, Maine, where a boy named Ray Brower mysteriously disappears. A group of 12-year-old friends goes on a journey to find him, and it’s all told by the main character, Gordie Lachance, from the future, where he is now an adult novelist.
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva