Monsters

I read my first Stephen King novel when I was 10. I started with Carrie and Christine, and have been hooked even since. I haven't read all of his books, but I've read most of them, some several times. My favorites are, in no particular order, Carrie, The Stand, IT, Christine, Graveyard Shift (short stories), Misery, The Shining, and Salem's Lot. Movie-wise, I'm a huge fan of the original Carrie, both versions of IT (although the 1990s miniseries is my favorite), The Stand (only the 1994 miniseries), Maximum Overdrive, Stand by Me, Christine, and The Shining. Stephen King is an interesting person to follow on Twitter, and I hope to one day do my "Stephen King's Maine trip" with my brother (he and our Grandma G are the reasons I started reading horror fiction).

One of the things people tend to ignore about Stephen King's work is the fact that it's not really about fictional monsters. I mean, it is. Pennywise the Clown is a terribly frightening monster, and there are many more in his work, but the real monsters aren't Pennywise and his cronies. They're us - people. Whether it's ignoring the horrors happening in our town or taking our family to a remote hotel in the middle of the winter or buying a possessed car from a creepy old dude, it's always the people who are the true monsters of King's fictional worlds. I've written about this before, and it rings true every time I read his work or watch one of the film versions. 

Today's piece is based on a quote from 1977's The Shining. I combined it with Pennywise's red balloon for a little fun effect. The quote is a perfect example of what I think of when I think of the true villains of Stephen King's world. 

Details:
Stitches: back stitch, whipped back stitch, French knots
Thread palette: DMC 310 (2, 3 strands), 666 (3 strands), B5200 (3 strands)
Other materials: wild cherry fabric paint
Book and movie recommendations:

• Books:
• Stephen King: Carrie, Christine, The Stand, IT, Salem's Lot, Misery, Needful Things, The Shining, Joyland, Graveyard Shift, If It Bleeds
• Other authors: NOS4A2, Heart-Shaped Box (Joe Hill - Stephen King's son), The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson), The Turn of the Screw (Henry James), Rosemary's Baby (Ira Levin), The Witching Hour (Anne Rice - we'll get to the vampires later this week), Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
• Movies - I'm only going to recommend Stephen King movies today since I'll be sharing more recommendations throughout the week. 
• Carrie
• The Shining
• IT (both versions)
• The Stand (I haven't seen the new series, but LOVE the 1994 miniseries)
• Firestarter
• Christine
• Salem's Lot
• Misery, Stand by Me
• Doctor Sleep
• Maximum Overdrive
• Rose Red (another made for tv movie - a little made for tv cheesy, but I love it)
• The Green Mile (I prefer the movie to the book, although I loved the original release of the book as a serial)