PEOPLE Picks the Best Stephen King Film and TV Adaptations — Is Your Favorite on the List?

On the 50th anniversary of the King of Horror’s first novel, we're looking back on some of his most notable TV and film adaptations

It may or may not have been a dark and stormy night 50 years ago when a Maine high school English teacher published his debut novel — one that would become a horror classic, and launch the career of one of the genre’s best storytellers.

It’s hard to imagine a world without Stephen King books, whose extensive bibliography began when he published Carrie on April 5, 1974. Now the best-selling author of over 60 novels and novellas, as well as 12 short story collections and five works of nonfiction, King has been terrifying readers for generations, and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

One of the ways the author keeps his work alive is through the many film and TV adaptations of his writing, which have brought his iconic characters and storylines to an even wider audience.

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From possessed cars to murderous clowns, here are PEOPLE’s picks for the best Stephen King page-to-screen adaptations.

Carrie

Though King sold his first short story in 1967, his debut novel, Carrie, wasn’t published until 1974. The paperback advance for the novel, about a bullied teenager with telekinetic abilities, was enough to allow King to pay for his mother, who was dealing with cancer, to quit her job.

In 1976, the book was turned into the iconic horror film starring Sissy Spacek as titular character Carrie White. Whether watching the original movie adaption, or the various remakes to come, including the 2013 adaptation with Chloë Grace Moretz, one thing is clear — nothing beats that epic, gory prom scene.

Related: Betty Buckley Was Scared She’d Actually Die on the Carrie Set in 1976: ‘The Terror You See Was Real’ (Exclusive)

The Shining

Cabin fever might not initially seem all that scary, but who better than King to turn it into something terrifying? In 1974, King and his family briefly relocated to Boulder, Colorado, where the author spent time in the infamous (and reportedly haunted) Stanley Hotel. The stay inspired him to write his 1977 novel The Shining, about an author who serves as the caretaker of a similar hotel, and who begins to lose his grasp on reality.

Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of the novel famously wasn’t King’s favorite, but its impact on pop culture — notably, Jack Nicholson’s hair-raising “Here’s Johnny!” line — has stayed.

King also penned the novel's sequel, Doctor Sleep, in 2013, with its film adaptation following in 2019.

The Stand

King wrote the 1978 novel The Stand after his family returned to Maine in 1975. The post-apocalyptic novel about a deadly pandemic outbreak is especially chilling today, but remains one of King’s best-known works.

The novel was adapted into a 1994 television miniseries starring Gary Sinise and Molly Ringwald. A remake premiered in 2020 starring Whoopi Goldberg and Alexander Skarsgård.

Related: Whoopi Goldberg and Alexander Skarsgård Star in New Trailer for The Stand TV Adaptation

Children of the Corn

King is also the author of numerous short story collections, including 1978’s Night Shift. One of those stories, “Children of the Corn,” follows a couple who find themselves lost in Nebraska during a road trip — and end up amidst a group of murderous children.

As if the story itself isn’t scary enough, the 1984 film adaption, starring Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton, is sure to keep you out of any corn mazes for the foreseeable future.

Firestarter

King exploded into the 1980s with his novel Firestarter, about a girl with pyrotechnic abilities whose father is trying to protect her from the government agency hunting her down.

Drew Barrymore appeared in one of her first leading roles in the 1984 Mark Lester-directed film adaption. Firestarter was also remade in 2022 with Zac Efron.

Related: 'Firestarter' 's Ryan Kiera Armstrong Got to Know Onscreen Dad Zac Efron Over a Game of Ping-Pong

Cujo

In 2006, King recounted to The Paris Review that he was inspired to write his 1981 novel Cujo after a trip to the mechanic. As the author waited for his motorcycle to get fixed, a Saint Bernard lunged at him, leading him to write of a mother and son who are being stalked by their own rabid dog.

Though King says that he doesn’t have many memories of the novel’s writing process, Cujo definitely sticks in our minds, as does the 1983 film adaptation — which sees a much happier ending than the novel.

Stand by Me

King’s 1982 collection Different Seasons featured two works that were later turned into iconic films. The first was Stand By Me, which was adapted from the novella The Body, about a group of four friends who are looking for a missing 12-year-old.

The 1986 movie version saw early roles for actors Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell and Kiefer Sutherland, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Shawshank Redemption

Different Seasons’ other well-known novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, follows a former bank vice president who is imprisoned after he’s wrongly accused of murdering his wife and her lover.

Related: Tim Robbins Is 'Open to the Idea' of a Film Reunion with 'The Shawshank Redemption' Costar Morgan Freeman

While not a horror novel, the prison break story is another of King’s highly recognized works. Its 1994 film adaptation starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman was also nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Christine

King’s 1983 novel about a teenager whose car is possessed by an evil spirit is just one more example of how the author can make an everyday object horrifying.

The John Carpenter-directed film starring Keith Gordon was also released in 1983 and has since become a cult classic.

Pet Sematary

King was famously inspired to write 1983’s Pet Sematary after his daughter’s cat died suddenly. The author imagined what it would be like if the feline were to come back to life, and the resulting book became one of the author's most disturbing reads.

The novel was first adapted into a 1989 film starring Dale Midkiff and Fred Gwynne, and a 2019 adaptation followed. Director Guillermo del Toro has also stated that he would like to make his own version of the novel, too.

It

It has scarred readers and audiences alike with its story about a killer clown that terrorizes a group of children, and later, their adult selves when they return to their Maine hometown to confront the evil entity.

The novel was first made into a TV miniseries in 1990, starring Tim Curry as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. It was also remade in 2017, with a second part coming back for more in 2019.

Related: The Internet Can't Handle Stephen King's 'It' First Trailer: 'Childhood Coming Back to Haunt Me'

Misery

King’s 1987 novel about an obsessed fan who captures her favorite author is every writer’s worst nightmare. Per King’s website, he was inspired to write the novel after reading Evelyn Waugh’s short story “The Man Who Loved Dickens," which left King wondering what it would be like if the Bleak House author was held captive.

The novel was adapted into a film in 1990 by Rob Reiner, starring Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes and James Caan as author Paul Sheldon.

The Green Mile

King’s 1996 serial novel follows a death row officer who begins to experience supernatural events after the arrival of a new inmate. The 1999 film stars Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan and was nominated for four Academy awards.

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