The 10 Scariest Stephen King Books, Ranked

Arguably Stephen King's most popular and beloved novel, It has everything that hardcore fans have grown to love about the acclaimed author. A story set in his beloved Maine, a group of friendly losers looking to take on the forces of evil, and evil incarnate itself to boot. It is undoubtedly one of King's most ambitious and epic tales, and arguably his most terrifying. With a demonic creature hellbent on the death and destruction of the planet but who will suffice on eating a  child or two, Pennywise has become a staple and beloved figure in pop culture, and with the ability to take any and everyone's worst fear, fans would be hard pressed to find anything scarier than fear itself!

His screams were shrill and piercing, and all up and down Witcham Street people came to their windows or bolted out onto their porches.

'They float,' it growled, 'they float, Georgie, and when you’re down here with me, you’ll float, too–'

Stephen King himself marks Pet Sematary as his most frightening work to date, and for good reason. While it may not have the biggest or baddest monsters in King's repertoire, what Pet Sematary does brilliantly is painstakingly instill a seemingly never-ending sense of dread and despair unto readers until it feels as though the entire world is against them. An incredibly difficult read even for the most veteran King readers, a dark and desperate tale of a man and his attempt to bring his deceased son back from the dead is not for the faint of heart, and will undoubtedly cause readers to have a real existential fright.

Faith is a great thing, and really religious people would like us to believe that faith and knowing are the same thing, but I don't believe that myself. Because there are too many different ideas on the subject. What we know is this: When we die, one of two things happens. Either our souls and thoughts somehow survive the experience of dying or they don't. If they do, that opens up every possibility you could think of. If they don't, it's just blotto. The end.

One of the most acclaimed and beloved horror stories ever written, Stephen King's The Shining is an atmospheric masterpiece of dread, terror, fear, and anxiety. This iconic and beloved supernatural story follows the legendary character Jack Torrance as he takes his family to the Overlook Hotel, as he has accepted the job of caretaker for the winter. With the cold and the isolation, horrifying revelations begin to unfold as the family realizes that they might not be alone in the hotel. The Shining is a bonafide classic and one of the scariest novels ever written, and while the much-beloved film by Stanley Kubrick may have altered the path of knowledge for this story, there is no doubt it is still an all-time classic.

The world's a hard place, Danny. It don't care. It don't hate you and me, but it don't love us, either. Terrible things happen in the world, and they're things no one can explain. Good people die in bad, painful ways and leave the folks that love them all alone. Sometimes it seems like it's only the bad people who stay healthy and prosper. The world don't love you, but your momma does and so do I.

Stephen Kings longest and arguably most expansive novel, The Stand is a drastic change of pace from what fans of the prolific horror writer were used to. An epic dark fantasy akin to what he would later write in The Dark Towers anthology, The Stand takes a look at the effects of a deadly virus inflicted upon the world, and what would happen to humanity when they don't take it seriously. A mighty timely novel, especially for today's day and age, King expertly weaves realistic tragedy with heart-stopping terror. The Stand also most notably introduces Randal Flag, a character who would return as The Man in Black in The Dark Tower series.

Show me a man or a woman alone and I'll show you a saint. Give me two and they'll fall in love. Give me three and they'll invent the charming thing we call 'society'. Give me four and they'll build a pyramid. Give me five and they'll make one an outcast. Give me six and they'll reinvent prejudice. Give me seven and in seven years they'll reinvent warfare. 

A beautifully haunting slow burn, Salem's Lot is masterfully atmospheric and one of the most compelling vampire novels ever written. Stephen King's self-proclaimed personal favorite of all of his works, Salem's Lot uses the mystery of the town and the townsfolk to masterfully weave a tale of suspicion and unease, all until the shocking revelation of vampires is finally revealed in one of the most nerve-wracking ways ever seen on paper. Standing alongside the likes of Bram Strokers Dracula, Salem's Lot is undoubtedly one of the most haunting and terrifying vampire novels ever written. 

The town has a sense, not of history, but of time, and the telephone poles seem to know this. If you lay your hand against one, you can feel the vibration from the wires deep within the wood, as if souls had been imprisoned in there and were struggling to get out.

A masterful portrayal of toxic fandom decades before such a term would become synonymous with fandom in general, Misery takes a painstaking and nightmarish look at the lengths to which fans will go to be a part of the story. Stephen King not so subtly allowed himself to be the main protagonist of this novel, but where the book shines is in its antagonist, Annie Wilkes. Wilkes is arguably the most real and most frightening character King has ever written, as she masterfully and perfectly embodies an over-enthusiastic fan who loses all sense of herself when her stories don't end the way she wants them to. 

Writers remember everything...especially the hurts. Strip a writer to the buff, point to the scars, and he'll tell you the story of each small one. From the big ones you get novels. A little talent is a nice thing to have if you want to be a writer, but the only real requirement is the ability to remember the story of every scar.