
Show Notes
When Stephen King tells you to have a guest on your podcast – you listen!
That’s how I came to meet Caroline Bicks, the inaugural Stephen E. King Chair at the University of Maine, and author of the Monsters in the Archive – the first full-length study of the King literary collection.
It’s part memoir, part literary biography, part granular exploration of King’s editorial process – but ALL fun. I’m a nerd on this subject, and I found out plenty that I didn’t know.
As well as discussing our own relationship with King’s early work, we also talk about the stuff that never made it to print. The exploding vampire babies, the Kaiju-sized Carrie and the original ending of The Shining that is so much darker than you could bear.
Enjoy!
Other books mentioned:
Carrie (1974), by Stephen King
‘Salem’s Lot (1975), by Stephen King
The Shining (1977), by Stephen King
Night Shift (1978), by Stephen King
Pet Semetary (1983), by Stephen King
On Writing (2000), by Stephen King
North Woods (2023), by Daniel Mason
Ulverton (1992), by Adam Thorpe
Support Talking Scared on Patreon
Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch
Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Talking Scared
The 300th author interview is here. And I’m delighted it’s with a debut author, about a truly wonderful book.
In Solace House, Will Maclean takes us back to the 90s for a drug-fuelled trip through some mindbending architecture. It’s a chance to get nostalgic for a more innocent time, when the clothes were baggy, the music was better, and you could spend a summer spent renovating an old asylum without needing to put in on TikTok.
This episode needs no attempt at a witty introduction. Stephen King is back to talk about Other Worlds Than These – the concluding volume of The Talisman saga, begun with Peter Straub 45 years ago.
Leaning into absolute high geekery this week – with Kyle Winkler’s novel of how family game night can go badly wrong!