8 Stephen King Characters Who Deserve Their Own Book

The master of horror has many more stories to tell...

o far that even his side and minor characters are fleshed out and intriguing. Indeed, it's practically impossible to open a King novel without being confronted by a brilliant cast of unique people. In fact, some of these characters have so much depth and complexity that they practically demand their own novels. Their stories are distinct enough that they merit their own telling. From a mysterious artists who accidentally paints a living curse to a certain woman with telekinetic powers who shows up at the very end of Carrie, here are eight Stephen King characters who desperately deserve their own book.

8. George Bruckner

George Bruckner's first and only appearance in the King canon takes place in Gramma, a short story that's part of a 1985 collection called Skeleton Crew. The story is unique in that it directly acknowledges characters, creatures and unearthly forces that appear in the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, making it a story set in the Cthulu Mythos. The story itself is rather simple in nature, but it spawns a brilliant character nevertheless. Bruckner is an eleven year old boy who lives with his mother Ruth and brother Buddy. The family are forced to move to Castle Rock in Main so that Ruth can care for her sick mother. Once there, George realises that there's something sinister and supernatural about Gramma, who dies when he's alone in the house with her and then rises from the dead and attempts to seize him. At the end of the story it's implied that George has been possessed by Gramma, as he strikes down his Aunt Flo with a brain aneurysm. The story raises so many questions and spawns a potentially fantastic villain: a witch or spirit that manages to infiltrate families and slowly kill them off. At the end of the story, George is a sinister, Carrie-esque figure, but it feels like his story is just beginning. It's for this reason that a standalone story about Bruckner would be so perfect: most of King's characters have a sense of finality to their arc, whether sinister or otherwise, but George's story feels like set-up for something even larger.
Contributor
Contributor

Commonly found reading, sitting firmly in a seat at the cinema (bottle of water and a Freddo bar, please) or listening to the Mountain Goats.