Master of horror Stephen King is a pretty interesting guy.
He’s a best-selling author.
And his classic book IT was made into a feature film that blew away critics and audiences alike.
He has an adorable Corgi named Molly, aka “The Thing of Evil.”
And has even been blocked by Donald Trump on Twitter.
But this week, he’s back in the headlines …
Because one of his books has been banned!
And people are feeling shocked about the decision.
So, scroll on to see what it is …
Basically, Stephen King is winning at life.
He’s published 54 novels and has sold more than 350 million copies worldwide.
Several of his most popular works have been made into TV series, miniseries, comic books and major motion films.
He first found inspiration for writing horror after reading a collection of short stories by H.P. Lovecraft.
King stated that, “I knew that I’d found home when I read that book.”
He’s also highly decorated.
He has received World Fantasy Awards, British Fantasy Society Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, a Nebula Award, an O. Henry Award, the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, the Canadian Booksellers Association Lifetime Achievement Award and the Grand Master Award for the Mystery Writers of America – phew!
He was awarded the National Medal of Medal of Arts from the United States National Endowment for the Arts for his contributions to literature in 2015 by President Obama himself.
There are some well known King tropes.
Many of his stories take place in fictional Maine towns, such as Derry and Castle Rock.
King has stated that Derry, the setting for IT, is loosely based on Bangor, where he currently resides with his wife Tabitha.
(And Thing of Evil Molly, of course.)
The movie adaptation was a huge success.
The creepy flick smashed box office records its opening weekend.
Not only was it the largest opening ever for a film debuting in September …
It was also the largest opening for a horror movie of all time.
There’s been a lot of talk about King lately.
Particularly thanks to his ongoing feud with Elon Musk.
But this week, it’s another controversy to hit Stephen King.
As one of his books has been banned!
People have had a lot to say about it.
“I don’t know how I feel about book banning,” one person wrote.
“This book sounds absolutely crazy,” added another.
So, what’s the title in question?
It’s a a book called Rage, which King wrote Back in 1965, when he was still in high school!
And if you haven’t heard of it, that may be because it wasn’t published under King’s name.
In fact, it first appeared as a paperback under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1977.
And was added to a collection of short novels in 1985, titled the Bachman Books
But it’s the subject matter of Rage that has caused the book to be pulled.
Because it deals with the tragic issue of a school shooting.
The title was allegedly linked to four different school shootings between 1988 and 1997.
In fact, King addressed the story in an essay titled Guns.
“I suppose if it had been written today, and some high school English teacher had seen it, he would have rushed the manuscript to the guidance counselor and I would have found myself in therapy posthaste,” he wrote.
“But 1965 was a different world, one where you didn’t have to take off your shoes before boarding a plane and there were no metal detectors at the entrances to high schools.”
Adding that “anyone who doesn’t feel a qualm of regret at throwing a blanket over the truth is an a**hole with no conscience.”
He explained: “I pulled it because in my judgment it might be hurting people, and that made it the responsible thing to do.”
But since the book has been pulled, paperback copies have been found on sale online for upwards of $2,000.
What do you think of his decision?