10 Scariest Stephen King Novels

10. Christine

Like a lot of Stephen King's novels, Christine has a premise which, at a glance, seems far too preposterous to take seriously: in this instance, a possessed car terrorising teenagers.

However, the author has long had a remarkable knack for lending credibility to his outlandish supernatural creations, thanks to the way in which he builds an all-too relatable world in which his stories take place.

This 1983 novel (King's lucky 13th) revisits similar territory to his breakthrough Carrie, but this time from the perspective of a male high school loser, Arnie Cunningham. The long-suffering teen faces physical and psychological torment at the hands of bullying thugs and uncaring adults, whilst his well-meaning parents fail to provide the compassion and understanding he needs.

But when Arnie discovers Christine - a severely battered old Plymouth Fury - and sets about fixing her up, he finds himself imbued with a new found strength and self-confidence. Alas, Arnie isn't overcoming his demons; he's falling prey to all new ones.

King's portrait of the cruelty of adolescence will doubtless ring true to many of us, which helps make Arnie's downward spiral into vengeance and insanity all the more chilling. Plus, you'll never look at an old red car the same way again.