Morbid Monday: The King of Horror

Stephen King, Derry, Pet Semataries, and the Fine Art of Floating

Before I begin, I must address the elephant in the room: there was no Film Friday this past week. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to deliver, though I believe this was a one-time incident. I do apologize. However, on this Morbid Monday, I do have an adventure to tell you about.

This past weekend I found myself in Maine to visit by girlfriend’s parents just outside of Bangor. They knew how big of a Stephen King fan I am, so they naturally took me on a free tour of King-related sites around the area, which was a dream come true for me. Aside from meeting his son Joe Hill at a book signing earlier this year and seeing Mr. King himself pumping gas at a Mobil I used to work at (he was leaving and I was unable to speak to him), I have never had much contact with his world outside of his novels.

We began by seeing the house he lived in when he wrote Pet Sematary, and while I would’ve died to see the actual “sematary,” it is currently private property. To not only se the house, but to be on the very spot where his daughter’s cat was struck and killed by a car—the inciting incident which inspired the book—was breathtaking.

King’s house while writing Pet Sematary. Photo credit: Mary DeLorenzo.

The standpipe. Photo credit: Zach Shaw.

Among other sites were the standpipe from It, which is perhaps by favorite King novel, as well as one site that as not only gave me chills, but one that I have a personal familial connection to. The site of a gruesome murder that made its way into It…the murder of Charlie Howard. Charlie was not only an openly gay man, he was originally from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and attended Portsmouth High School with my father and uncle, with whom he became close. I have spoken to my dad only twice about Charlie, and each time he has given new details about their friendship.

To this day, it is hard for my dad to talk about Charlie. I will go into more detail about their friendship—and Charlie’s murder—in a future article (and maybe some other form of media…my father did agree to sit for an interview), but here are some details I am willing to disclose for the sake of this post: