Stephen King — the one-man fear factory responsible for terrifying tomes like Carrie, Salem’s Lot and The Shining — is also dear old dad in a family of scribes. He and his youngest son, Owen King, may be bound by blood, but in many ways they inhabit very different kingdoms.
The older King is the highly-decorated, prolific master of modern horror. His latest book, Doctor Sleep, builds a story he unleashed upon the world in 1977, The Shining.
That same year, the younger King was born. He’s since grown up to become his father’s fresh-eyed editor, and is just beginning his own career with his humorous book Double Feature. And unlike his older brother, who writes under the pen name Joe Hill, Owen has decided to wear his famous name. But heavy is the head that wears the crown.
“I could write something about coal miners in West Virginia and people would be like, ‘Is your father the mine?'” joked Owen.
Jian Ghomeshi from CBC Radio chats with the Kings about their individual projects, their father-son relationship, and the thin line between horror and humor.
“Owen is also writing horror. It’s just got this big smile on its face,” said Stephen.
I just saw Stephen King speak at Harvard a few weeks ago. He’s a legitimately hilarious speaker, so I can buy the idea of his son writing funny books. I’m a big Joe Hill fan, so I’ll probably give the rest of the bloodline a chance sooner or later.