15 Stephen King Stories Made into Films

Stephen King sold numerous short stories to magazines before Doubleday published his full-length novel Carrie in 1973, launching a career that has spanned decades. As King churned out hit books like Christine and The Green Mile, Hollywood clamored for the opportunity to turn his prose into box-office gold. More than 50 King stories have been filmed for the big screen or TV so far, and there's no sign of stopping.

1. Carrie (1976)

This story about a young girl named Carrie (Sissy Spacek) has a spot in the hallowed halls of classic horror movies. Carrie's over-protective mother shelters her so much that when she gets taunted mercilessly by her classmates, they learn that teasing Carrie is a bad idea -- the girl's got a few nasty tricks up her sleeve. The movie, which also stars Piper Laurie and John Travolta, grossed more than $33 million. This was the first film adaptation of a King story and years later, the first Broadway adaptation, too. Carrie, the musical, was one of the biggest theater flops ever, closing after just five performances and losing around $7 million.

The cult classic Children of the Corn didn't garner any awards, but spawned an astonishing seven sequels.

2. The Shining (1980)

The term cult classic doesn't really cover what The Shining is to American pop culture. Starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall and directed by Stanley Kubrick, The Shining is essentially a story about cabin fever -- really, really, bad cabin fever in a haunted cabin where tidal waves of blood occur from time to time and a force called "the shining" possesses little kids. There is an element of camp that can't be denied about this particular adaptation (there have been others, including a 1997 TV version), but King intensely disliked what Kubrick did with the story. Nevertheless, the movie spawned a dozen catchphrases, including "Heeeeere's Johnny" and "Redrum! Redrum!"

3. Christine (1983)

Stephen King was so popular in the early 1980s that Christine wasn't even published before preproduction began on the movie version. Producers took a chance on his latest story about a boy and his car. That's right -- Christine is a car, not a girl. Arnie Cunningham, who might have been played by Kevin Bacon if he hadn't chosen Footloose instead, is a high-school nerd who falls in love with a 1958 Plymouth Fury. The car is possessed and threatens to kill anyone who tries to get in its way. The story and the film are well known but not regarded as King's best. The author has the uncanny ability to tap into people's basic fears (rejection, clowns, ghosts...), but his portrayal of a fearsome car didn't terrorize audiences as much as some of his other menaces.

On the next page you will find more Stephen King adaptations, including Cujo and Firestarter.