10 Lesser Known Stephen King Villains

Surprisingly, it wasn't until 31 years into his career that King released a zombie-centric novel. Yes, undead humans (and even undead pets) have appeared throughout his works prior to Cell's 2005 release, and he'd given us more than one apocalypse, but never a zombie apocalypse. And rather than just giving us a run-of-the-mill survival story, King told an allegorical tale in a similar vain to George A. Romero's critique of consumerism, 1978's Dawn Of The Dead.

Back in 2005, mobile phones weren't as popular and ubiquitous as they are now. Smart phones as we know them didn't exist - the first iPhone had yet to be released - but it wasn't unusual to see people glued to their mobiles.

In his novel, the world is reduced to chaos when a phone signal, known as the Pulse, is emitted from every mobile phone on earth at 3pm on 1st October. Those unlucky to hear it are transformed into zombies. Most people lucky to avoid hearing the signal are killed in the collapse of civilisation that follows, the remaining survivors fighting to stay alive in a world overrun by the undead. And that's where things get worse.

It's revealed that the zombies created by the Pulse are in fact telepathic and share a sort of hive mind, which employs numerous spokesman to do its bidding. One such spokesman is the Raggedy Man, identified by his crimson Harvard University hoodie and torn lip. He walks the earth with utter confidence, commanding his hordes, relentless in his pursuit of survivors to add to his army.

In retrospect, King was ahead of his time. Mobile phones are far more prevalent these days, making Cell evermore relevant.