The Kingcast

Wizard and Glass is a demarcation line in Stephen King's magnum opus: The Dark Tower. At the forefront is a tragic story of young love that left the series's lead character a cruel, empty shell of a man. Book IV of The Dark Tower series ups the stakes and bonds our beloved Ka-Tet even further.

Battleground is a simple story of a hitman fighting a bunch of revenge-seeking little green army men toys that King originally published in Playboy before rolling into his short story collection Skeleton Crew.

Gramma is one of Stephen King's creepiest short stories, all about a young boy left at home with his ailing grandmother... who might also be a witch and in the final stages of putting a master plan together that doesn't bode very well for her terrified grandson. Published in Skeleton Crew, this story made an impression on our guest at a young age and he came over to talk about that with the boys.

Conversation once again turns to Stephen King's second novel, 'Salem's Lot, which is about a corrupt small Maine town slowly being taken over by vampires. This chat largely focuses on Tobe Hooper's made-for-TV adaptation from 1979 which forever terrified a whole generation of kids who now can't look out a misty window without crapping their pants. Thanks, Tobe.

After the publication of Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot he decided to write a prequel short story in the style of Bram Stoker's Dracula about the origins of the cursed town that would, eventually, be overrun by vampires. Jerusalem's Lot is that story is perhaps the earliest story by the prolific author to go into some creepy Lovecraft territory.

The image of the toy monkey on the cover of Skeleton Crew traumatized a generation. This episode dives into the short story that inspired that cover image, all about a cursed toy monkey that can make really bad things happen when it clangs its little symbols together. 

The year of our lord 2022 saw the release of Blumhouse's remake of Firestarter in which a bunch of stuff got changed without much thought and all the stuff they left alone was boring. For the first time this new adaptation is up for discussion and they boys are ready with some sharp, sharp knives.

Insomnia is a rare Stephen King novel that has not yet been adapted. The book centers on an elderly protagonist named Ralph Roberts who must square off against a mischievous supernatural being working at the behest of the dreaded Crimson King.  The novel tackles abortion rights, ageism, and lets us know that a bout with insomnia is all you need to pull back the dull veil of our real world and see the colorful beauty and horror beneath it all.

Going back nearly 50 years of written material, Stephen King's queer characters run the gamut from authentic to caricature and it's about time someone took a long, hard look at that representation and have a lengthy discussion about where we think the popular author lands in terms of allyship.

If It Bleeds is the most recent novella compilation from Stephen King, containing four short stories (Mr. Harrigan's Phone, The Life of Chuck, If It Bleeds and Rat), three of which have either been adapted or optioned.