The Kingcast

Originally published by Cavalier in 1972 and re-published in King's 1993 short story collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Suffer the Little Children is one of his nastier tales about an old schoolmarm who is becoming convinced her 3rd grade class is slowly being taken over by mischievous dopplegangers. 

Silver Bullet focuses on young Marty Coslaw (Corey Haim), a boy in a wheelchair who is the first to figure out that the mysterious deaths in his small town are the work of a rogue werewolf. Based on a novella by King, illustrated by the late, great Bernie Wrightson, this '80s movie is one that holds up more than a lot of its contemporaries.

This one is a little more of a nerdy deep dive into King's overall body of work, but we do talk a bit about Different Seasons, Cycle of the Werewolf, One for the Road, Dreamcatcher, Storm of the Century, If It Bleeds, The Stand, Dark Tower, and The Shining, all of which give some kind of passing nod to widely celebrated holidays or at least the bone-chilling horror of New England winters.

Young George is left alone with his ailing Gramma and starts to piece together that she's may be a legit danger to him. What's up with all those occult books, Gramma? This creepy King short story was published in Skeleton Crew and has been on the minds of King readers ever since.

Based on King's novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Frank Darabont's adaptation is commonly thought of as one of the all-time great movies. It focuses on a wrongfully imprisoned man and his decades long bid for freedom and all the folks he impacts along the way.

This live recording of The Kingcast was done last week in Las Vegas at KingCon in a room full of Stephen King super fans. Thankfully, Tom Jane proves his King credentials as this deep dive chat covers King's books, short stories, and the adaptations that Jane has had a chance to partake in. Yes, including Dreamcatcher. Maybe especially Dreamcatcher.

Revival is King's underappreciated masterpiece about seeking for the truth behind the afterlife. The story follows a young man from childhood into adulthood as a he keeps encountering his small town preacher who is becoming more and more obsessed with piercing the veil through his experiments with secret electricity.

The Mist is Stephen King's stab at Lord of the Flies as he explores the microcosms that form when a group of small town strangers are trapped in a small grocery store while a supernatural mist hides deadly creatures just outside the doors. 

What if the distance between two points could be manipulated? How aggressive can a single person be about shaving a little driving time off her commute? Turns out anything is possible in Stephen King's brain as this small town, deeply Maine, story unfolds and includes possible folding of time and space. 

Whelan is the recipient of 15 Hugo awards for his work illustrating for the most popular names in genre storytelling, including Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert A. Heinlein, Brandon Sanderson, and, of course, Stephen King.

What began as a weird short story with mythological overtones about an absurdly large man who eats a ton of lawn clippings ended up as a movie about a mentally challenged lawnmower who becomes VR Hitler thanks to Pierce Brosnan with an earring. This is the movie so radically different from the source material that it inspired not just one, but two different lawsuits from Stephen King. 

Romance writer Paul Sheldon is in a catastrophic car accident and that's only the beginning of his troubles as his rescuer turns out to be a psychotic fan who has some very strong opinions on the direction of his recent work. 

You can always count on Kate Siegel to keep things chaotic and Emily V. Gordon to bring her psychology degree to the table when analyzing King's work. Be prepared for lots of talk about "that scene" from IT and to desperately want a tee-shirt with the slogan "Stank Some Os" by the time this chat wraps up.

The Life of Chuck is a recent King novella published in If It Bleeds, a standout story about finding joy in life, even if that means dancing your ass off in front of complete strangers. The odd feel good story about a world falling apart that has been adapted into a wonderful new film from Mike Flanagan.

Revival is the story of a nice guy preacher who suffers great personal tragedy, loses his faith, and seeks for answers about the afterlife that he, and us, the constant readers, aren't ready to face. Released in 2014, this book still has yet to be adapted, even though folks like Mike Flanagan have tried. 

1408 is about a skeptical writer who is in search of ghosts. He stays at all the most famous haunted places without ever stumbling across anything supernatural... until, that is, he stays in room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York City. 

Edgar Freemantle travels to Duma Key, Florida for a little R&R after a horrible accident took his right arm and permanently damaged his marriage. He picks up a paintbrush and starts churning out amazing paintings that might have a sinister supernatural side to them.

Based on the Richard Bachman book of the same name, 1987's The Running Man is a cheesy action spectacular with some of the all-timer Arnold Schwarzenegger one-liners. The movie bears very little resemblance to the book, however it remains one of the more prescient movies of the '80s.

Maximum Overdrive is King's one and only outing as director and is based on his short story "Trucks," a much bleaker and meaner tale of mankind's machines turning against their makers. 

The Long Walk is set in an Authoritarian future where the masses are entertained by a competition where 100 of America's youth start in one spot and have to keep walking until there is only one walker remaining. Those who fall during the walk don't just lose out on the grand prize, but are executed right there in broad daylight. 100 boys enter and only one will win. 

King's latest short story collection, You Like It Darker, is a showcase of the master hitting all his best notes, from crime fiction to straight horror. From angry alligators to creepy aliens that grant wishes to terrifying ghost toddlers and dream doorways that should absolutely, positively never be opened, this one's a banger.

The Shining was released in 1980 to tepid critical response and weak financial success, but it has aged like a fine wine and is now considered a genre masterpiece. It's hard to deny that the movie's iconography is even stronger today than it was upon release, and that's thanks in no small part to young Danny Lloyd's central performance.

Based on the novella Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption, Frank Darabont's adaptation has become one of the most beloved films ever made, thanks in no small part to the villainous performance of today's guest. 

The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill is all about a lunkhead rural farmer who discovers a meteor that crashed on his land. He thinks he has hit the jackpot, his luck finally turning around, but all that happens is a strange moss grows out of the meteor and all over this poor guy. Based on King's previously published short story "Weeds."

Night Shift is King's first short story collection, published in 1978 and compiling a ton of his nudie magazine stories published before he hit fame and fortune. Night Surf is the standout for our guest and that one is more of a chill story about a group of friends hanging out on the beach as a super flu spreads across the world, taking humanity out person by person.