10 Scariest Stephen King Novels

As we noted earlier, King's horrors aren't exclusively limited to the supernatural variety, and some of his most haunting tales revolve around threats which are all too human.

This is very much the case with Misery. One of four novels the ever-prolific author published in 1987, it's among his scariest and most personal works, as - once again - it centres on an author, Paul Sheldon, who, following a car accident, awakens to find himself in the care of a woman who proclaims herself to be his number one fan, Annie Wilkes.

However, on reading the manuscript for Paul's next novel - the latest in a series centred on romantic heroine Misery Chastain - Annie is more than a little upset to find that Misery is killed off, and furiously demands the bed-ridden author rewrite it in accordance with how she thinks the story should go.

Given how often we now see over-enthusiastic fans acting like the world has ended when a work of fiction doesn't adhere to their wishes (cough *Last Jedi*), Misery feels more relevant now than it ever has, and Annie Wilkes remains one of King's most unnerving antagonists.

Kathy Bates famously won an Oscar for playing Annie in the 1990 film adaptation.