Stephen King

BITS AND PIECES

1. The short story "The Mangler" deals with a demonically possessed, uh, industrial shirt folder. It turns out that seven elements common to many possession spells have been introduced to the shirt folder's proximity (hence the newfound taste for blood). Name 'em.

2. The story "Quitter's Inc." tells of curing the nicotine habit through shock therapy. But the managers of the firm Quitter's Inc. have a unique method of combating weight gain after a subject has successfully stopped smoking. What is the punishment for subjects who exceed their weight limit?

3. "The Shining" inspired a series of gerund horror movies-- The Burning, The Screaming, The Howling, The Crawling, etc. Ironically, the original title of the book was not a gerund; the book was originally titled "The Shine." Why was it changed?

4. The Word Processor of the Gods, from the short story of the same name, had two function keys: one which caused things that hadn't happened to happen; and one which caused things that had happened not to have happened. What were these two keys labeled?

5. The antagonist in "Misery" was a psychotic nurse with the strength of an enraged bull and the vocabulary of ---a kindergarten teacher? What was Annie Wilkes' favorite aviary-inspired sobriquet?

6. What was the catchphrase used in the novel "It" by Bill Denbrough to avoid his nervous stammer?

7. In "The Talisman," a special device is used by the young protagonists to flip between dimensions. What is this device?

8. "Firestarter"s Andy McGee "pushes"-- telepathically influences-- a cab driver to see a five hundred dollar bill, while actually handing him a single. Unfortunately, McGee made an error in picturing the bill. Fortunately, the cab driver didn't catch it. What was it?

9. What formerly horrific actor appeared in the film "Pet Sematary," and what was his ghoulish claim to fame?

10. What promotional phrase did the film "Sleepwalkers" sport, given Stephen King's creative contributions?

11. We all know that vampires can be warded off with a cross. (Unless they're played by Gary Oldman, that is.) What is unusual about the cross young Mark Petrie uses to ward off a bloodsucking antagonist in "Salem's Lot"?

12. Red Raspberry Zingers, popularized in the novel "Cujo," seemed like a surefire breakfast hit-- until the cereal began producing an unusual reaction in its consumers. What was it?

13. Finally, what decorates the iron gates to Stephen King's Bangor, Maine home?

HORROR, PRIME TIME STYLE

(NOTE: A unique diagram looking like a bouquet of balloons was included, with a different TV series on each balloon, with all strings leading to "IT." The shows were:)

• WKRP in Cincinnati

• Three's Company

• Fade to Black

• The Waltons

• Cross My Heart

• Night Court

• Legend

• One Day at a Time

MURDER BY THE BOOK

n. a buffoon characterized by or indicating future misfortune; an ominous jester.

n. a domesticated carniverous mammal of or afflicted with an acute, infectous, often fatal viral disease.

n. a member of the only extant species distinguished by the ability to communicate by means of organized speech and to record information in a variety of symbolic systems exhibiting the perversion of taking pleasure, esp. sexual gratification, from simultaneous infliction of pain on others and subjection to pain.

n. aliens.

n. dishonest or unscrupulous example of one who is actively involved with the study, structure, or affairs of government, politics, or the state; fraudulent policy-maker.

n. a morally bad or wrong shelter that provides habitation and usually meals and other services; a public house causing ruin, injury, or pain.

JUST A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE KIDDIES

"He pushed the button that turned the Sony on, and better than two thousand volts of current slammed into him, AC which had been boosted, switched over to lethal DC, and then boosted again. His eyes popped wide open, bulged, and then burst like grapes in a microwave."

From:
Pain to:
Gore by:

"Her eyes flew open, wide and blue, as if from the very force of the blow. Blood gushed upward from the stake's point of entry in a bright and astonishing flood, splashing his hands, his shirt, his cheeks. In an instant, the cellar was filled with its hot, coppery odor."

From:
Pain to:
Gore by:

"For a moment he was all there, screaming silently under a transparent caul of flame, and then his features were blending, merging, running like tallow.... He staggered blindly down the driveway, waving his arms, and then collapsed facedown beside the third car. He didn't look like a man at all; he looked like a burning bundle of rags."

From:
Pain to:
Gore by:

"Just below the thrones, a live 220-volt electricity cable was crackling on the floor, and beside it Rhonda Simard was doing a crazed puppet dance in her green tulle formal. Its full skirt suddenly burst into flame and she fell forward, still jerking."

From:
Gore by:

"The ball of fire lit on his chin. There was a sudden cloying smell of burning flesh. The ball moved across his mouth, fusing his lips shut, locking the scream behind Whitney's bulging eyes. It crossed one cheek, digging a charred and immediately cauterized trench."

From:
Gore by:

"He lunged forward, her hands slipped, and suddenly he was biting her, biting her bare stomach just below the white cotton cups of her bra, digging for her entrails--"

From:
Pain to:
Gore by:

" 'THERE!' she cried, and drive the cross into his back again. And his buttocks. And the upper thigh of one leg. And his neck. And his crotch. She stabbed him with it a half dozen times, screaming "THERE" every time she brought it down again. Then the cross's upright split."

From:
Pain to:
Gore by: