It’s no accident that Stephen King is one of the most heavily-adapted writers in horror movie history. From horror gross-outs and intense psychological thrillers to far-out sci-fi romps and ambitious horror epics like It Chapter One and Chapter Two, there’s a King movie or TV show for everyone.

It certainly helps that King is also one of the most prolific and successful writers working today. Since 1974, with the publication of Carrie, his debut novel about a troubled girl with telekinetic powers, King has been raising the bar of weird fiction. He certainly has some of the best human villains and supernatural villains of all-time.

Perhaps it’s his B-movie sensitivity that really makes his ghoulies shine, but its really about how the prose flows in his novels and countless short stories — they aren’t your normal fast-paced reads for the most part. King takes his time building tension and suspense. Like a boy slowly turning the crank on a jack-on-the-box, King masterfully works his way to the final moment of horror. No one has painted a page with more terror than the master of pop horror himself.

That’s why he’s so deeply rooted in our culture, infiltrating every genre of entertainment known to man. From e-books to comics to musicals, King has conquered them all. Besides books, King’s work has seen MAJOR success in movies and TV. The Shawshank Redemption is an instant classic of mystery and drama, while Carrie continues to scare us all half to death.