This Week: Stephen King and the Horror of the Ordinary

Stephen King is often described as a master of horror, but I talked with fans and experts who believe that King is not actually a horror writer. Caroline Bicks (author of “Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King”), Neil McRobert of the podcast Talking Scared and Kim C. of the podcast The Year of Underrated Stephen King discuss the essential ingredients in his stories besides the scares, from the psychological demons of his characters to the isolation of living in a small town. We also explore how King meticulously crafts language, why so many film adaptations have missed the mark, and his impact on pop culture.