If you happen to be a fan of the thriller genre, you have probably read at least one Stephen King book. It always seems as if they have the ability to give us chills, but there have been some that take things too far.
When you think about some of the stories that Stephen King has written, you can see why he has earned the name, ‘King of Horror’. After all, with books including Carrie, IT, and The Shining, it’s easy to see why he is known for giving us the chills.
There is one particular novel, however, that has become very popular and people are constantly looking for it. It isn’t necessarily because of its popularity, however, it’s because Stephen King decided to pull the publication from the shelves.
This wasn’t to elevate some type of fake popularity for the book, rather it was because he felt that it was ‘the responsible thing to do’. He spoke about it in 2013 in an essay entitled ‘Guns’. He said that when he wrote the book, he was in a different world.
He said: “I suppose if it had been written today, and some high school English teacher had seen it, he would have rushed the manuscript to the guidance counselor and I would have found myself in therapy posthaste.
“But 1965 was a different world, one where you didn’t have to take off your shoes before boarding a plane and there were no metal detectors at the entrances to high schools.”
Unfortunately, the book that Stephen King wrote has been tied to a number of events, some of which have cost people their lives. One of those events was in 1988 when a student held his high school class hostage before he backed out. He said that it was the novel that made him do it.
The next year, a classmate was held hostage for nine hours by a school senior and they later found the book in his locker.
A 14-year-old killed two students and teacher in 1996 and he had a copy of the book on his nightstand according to reports.
Another 14-year-old student shot some other students and killed three in 1997, and he had a copy of the book in his locker.
That book, ‘Rage’ was published in 1997. Stephen King used the alias Richard Bachman and it was part of a collection of books called ‘The Bachman Books’.
Eventually, King decided to let the book go out of print but it was in the collection for a short amount of time. It is a psychological thriller that follows a high school student who takes guns to school, kills a teacher, and takes a class hostage.
According to some reports, King used his own frustrations as a teenager to inspire him when writing the book. It has remained one of the most sought-after books that is out-of-print, ranked at number two. Typically, you can purchase one at a price of between $700 to over $2000.
