Stephen King has discussed his dementia fears, revealing that he experiences a great horror when he struggles to remember a word.
Widely renowned as one of the world’s most successful authors with a career spanning nearly 60 years, Mr King has made millions of dollars from his popular stories filled with his trademark ‘dread and wonder’.
Now, ahead of his new adaptation set to hit theatres next month, the 77-year-old writer has revealed his deep anxieties around suffering from dementia, stating that he is ‘afraid of that happening to me’.
Speaking to The Times, the bestselling American novelist, often dubbed ‘The King of Horror’, added: ‘Every time that I can’t remember a word or something, I think, ‘This is the start’.’
His fears come more than 10 years after the tragic death of British fantasy author Terry Pratchett, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2007.
Mr Pratchett, who passed away aged 66 having sold more than 85million books worldwide, was best known for the Discworld series of 41 comic fantasy novels.
Following his diagnosis with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), a rare form of Alzheimer’s, he was forced to rely on technology to assist him with his writing, with the disease often forcing him to ‘fight for the right word’.
Now, Mr King has shared his acute anxieties surrounding dementia. His next book, a retelling of the classic tale ‘Hansel and Gretel’, is set to be released on September 2 and could, he adds, be his last to hit the shelves.
Widely renowned as one of the world’s most successful authors in a career spanning nearly 60 years, Stephen King, 77 (pictured) has made millions of dollars from his popular stories filled with his trademark ‘dread and wonder’
Now, ahead of his new adaptation set to hit theatres next month, the 77-year-old writer has revealed his deep anxieties around suffering from dementia, stating that he is ‘afraid of that happening to me’
Mr King has also revealed that his next book could be his last to hit the shelves, adding that in the future he ‘might’ continue writing for his own enjoyment, but described it as ‘creepy’ imagining a scenario whether somebody else may publish his work in future
The award-winning novelist adds that, at present, he writes up to 1,200 words a day, six or seven days a week.
When questioned if he will continue to write in the future, Mr King responded: ‘I have at least one more book that I would like to write, and beyond that, man, I’m not going to say… I’d like to go out where people say, ‘I’d like another one.’
The beloved author did, however, add that in the absence of being published, he ‘might’ continue writing for his own enjoyment, but described it as ‘creepy’ imagining a scenario whether somebody else may publish his work in future.
It comes ahead of a new adaptation of Mr King’s 1979 novel The Long Walk, set to be released on September 12.
The award-winning dystopian thriller novel follows a group of teenage boys who compete in an annual walking contest with deadly consequences.
The boys must maintain walking at a certain speed or get shot, with the last person standing walking away with a cash prize – and their life.
In a special ‘biometrics screening’ of the upcoming film held recently, moviegowers’ heart rates were found to have been pushed to over 200 beats per minute, which can be considered ‘hazardous’ outside of extremely intense exercise.
While the average human heart rate is around 70 to 80 beats per minute, the heart rates of viewers more than doubled within the first 20 minutes of the film.
According to a promotional video of the screening, moviegoers’ heart rates were the equivalent of a fighter pilot’s body under 9gs of force.
Mr King’s next book, a retelling of the classic tale ‘Hansel and Gretel’, is set to be released on September 2. When questioned if he will continue to write in the future, Mr King told The Times: ‘I have at least one more book that I would like to write’
Mr King’s fears come more than 10 years after the tragic death of British fantasy author Terry Pratchett (pictured), who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2007. Mr Pratchett passed away aged 66 having sold more than 85million books worldwide
A new adaptation of Mr King’s 1979 novel The Long Walk, is set to be released on September 12. The award-winning dystopian thriller novel follows a group of teenage boys who compete in an annual walking contest with deadly consequences
The award-winning dystopian thriller novel follows a group of teenage boys who compete in an annual walking contest with deadly consequences. The boys must maintain walking at a certain speed or get shot, with the last person standing walking away with a cash prize – and their life
‘I finished reading the book last month, and I am even more pumped for this movie now more than ever!’ gushed one fan in the comments section.
A chilling trailer for the film was released in May, with fans predicting that it could become one of the best Stephen King adaptations ever made.
It acts as just one of a number of adaptations of Mr King’s famous horror books made in recent years, including The Monkey (1980), a Salem’s Lot (1975) remake, alongside The Boogeyman (1973).
According to Deadline, Doug Liman is also set to direct a theatrical adaptation of Mr King’s The Stand.
Released in 1978, Mr King’s epic post-apocalyptic novel centers on factions of people trying to survive after a deadly pandemic.
The lengthy tome was acclaimed by critics and went on to become one of the author’s bestselling books.
It’s been adapted twice before for television, first in 1994 as a four episode miniseries that took home two Emmys.
The 1994 version starred Molly Ringwald and Rob Lowe, and was written and produced by King himself.
In a special ‘biometrics screening’ of the upcoming film held recently, moviegowers’ heart rates were found to have been pushed to over 200 beats per minute, which can be considered ‘hazardous’ outside of extremely intense exercise
It acts as just one of a number of adaptations of Mr King’s famous horror books made in recent years, including The Monkey (1980), a Salem’s Lot (1975) remake, alongside The Boogeyman (1973)
Released in 1978, Mr King’s epic post-apocalyptic novel centers on factions of people trying to survive after a deadly pandemic. The lengthy tome was acclaimed by critics and went on to become one of the author’s bestselling books
It was then revived once again by CBS in 2020 as a nine-episode limited series starring James Marsden, Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi Goldberg, Amber Heard.
Liman’s upcoming version will be the first time that The Stand has been adapted theatrically.
Alongside his novels, Mr King has embarked on a number of projects based on his repertoire of books, including The Institute, which hit MGM+ in early July.
The eight-part limited series follows the terrifying story of Luke Ellis, a 12-year-old prodigy whose life is shattered overnight when he’s kidnapped and wakes up inside a shadowy facility known only as The Institute.
Inside, he meets other children with psychic abilities who are being subjected to disturbing and painful experiments under the watchful eye of the calculating Ms. Sigsby, played by Emmy-winner Mary-Louise Parker.
While the children initially believe that they’re there to be taught and cared for, they soon discover that the staff at The Institute are trying to weaponize their powers for evil.
It was then revived once again by CBS in 2020 (pictured) as a nine-episode limited series starring James Marsden, Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi Goldberg, Amber Heard. Liman’s upcoming version will be the first time that The Stand has been adapted theatrically
In July, Mr King sparked backlash from his followers on X (formerly Twitter) after sharing a condescending post about convicted sex offender Epstein
King’s fans were furious earlier this year when Netflix announced it would be making a reboot of his novel Cujo.
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime also revealed that they are turning his iconic novel Carrie into a series.
In July, Mr King sparked backlash from his followers on X (formerly Twitter) after sharing a condescending post about convicted sex offender Epstein.
‘The Epstein client list is real. So is the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus,’ he posted on Tuesday.
Later that day, the 77-year-old followed it up with, ‘Boy, I hit a nerve with that Epstein post. The ‘list’ is like UFOs: Everyone knows someone who’s seen one.’
The second post also contained two crying-laughing emojis.
