What’s the most frightening book Stephen King has ever written? I posted this question a while back as a possible “Guest Post” topic, my feeling being that if thirty people were asked it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think thirty different book titles could be offered up. Here is what Michele, the writer behind the wonderful site The Girl Who Loves Horror had to say:I can't count how many times I've heard this response from people when I've disclosed the fact that Stephen King is my favorite author: "Oh, I don't like reading him. He's too scary!" I usually either just scoff and tell that person that he or she is a weenie, or fruitlessly try to explain that King's work is really more character-driven than most believe. But it seems like King will never be able to escape his fame as an author who only writes about "scary stuff."
Of the 30+ King novels I've read - not to mention countless short stories - I must admit that I've never been truly frightened or scared by the scenarios he has created. It's more difficult to create true terror in me from a book rather than a movie, where you have visuals and sound to heighten the tension. However, there is one book of King's that seems to have amazing power over me, and just what book that is might be a surprise.
Maybe authors don't like to hear that they wrote their best work several decades ago, but I am convinced that King's most fascinating book is the very first novel he ever wrote. No, not Carrie - years before that was published, King had written another novel while he was a freshman at college. Published in 1979 under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Long Walk is a tale unlike any other.
Though the story of The Long Walk is a simple one, and the pain endured by the characters is far less than what people in King's other works have endured, for some reason this book always gets to me. I believe this might be because that while reading The Long Walk, you can't help but put yourself in the characters' shoes and therefore you feel every ounce of their pain.
The book takes place during an unknown period of time where the government has instituted a horrendous competition known as The Long Walk. One hundred teenage boys participate in the event where the objective is simply to out-walk all the others until there is only one winner. The winner receives The Prize - whatever you want for the rest of your life. There are rules in The Long Walk, though. You must walk at a rate of at least 4 miles per hour. Drop below 4 mph and you receive a warning. Receive three warnings within an hour and you are eliminated from The Long Walk. Elimination, however, comes in the form of death - being shot dead by military personnel following the walkers on halftracks.
The Long Walk can be seen as one of King's most frightening books, at least to me, because the enemy that these teenagers face is not external but internal. Their fear is not the soldiers with high-powered rifles per se but themselves, for it is their ability to go on and continue walking that can save their lives. But that feat is not as easy at it sounds. The difference between life and death for them is as simple and as difficult as putting one foot in front of the other. By the end of the novel, the remaining competitors have walked hundreds of miles - from Maine near the US/Canadian border to 40 miles outside of Boston - over a period of about five days. Five days of continuous walking with no breaks for sleep. Think about the last time you walked for any long period of time. I recently traveled to New York City where walking everywhere is what New Yorkers are used to, but not me! After the first day I had blisters on my feet and was thoroughly worn out. But I could stop and rest any time I wanted to without fear that that short period of relief would have the consequence of a bullet in my head.
The main character of the book is "Maine's Own" Ray Garraty, number 47. It is his thoughts and feelings that we are most privy too, although the descriptions of the actions of other characters also gives examples of the mental and physical anguish that is a result of The Long Walk. Several boys go insane after their minds become so disconnected from their bodies and the unbearable pain they are in. One main character, Barkovitch, has probably the most violent death when he goes crazy and rips out his own throat. Most succumb to the extreme physical conditions caused by the walking and being exposed to the elements all day and night - cramps and charley horses, fatigue, sunstroke, convulsions, pneumonia, diarrhea, and even appendicitis.
Every time I read this book I can’t help but imagine that instead of just sitting on my butt the whole time reading that I am actually walking with boys. I wonder just how long I could last in a competition like that. After a certain point there would no doubt be immense pain and fatigue, but could my mind overcome all that so that I could keep going and survive? The truth is probably not. I wouldn't even choose to participate in The Long Walk to start with, no matter how big the prize. It is rumored among the walkers that most of those who win The Long Walk don't survive for too long after the event anyway.
Another frightening thing about the competition is the fact that it even exists. It is no clandestine operation by the government - thousands of people show up to watch the event and billions of dollars are exchanged betting on who the winner will be. But what could the overall purpose of this event be? And, knowing the slim probability of survival, who would volunteer to participate? That is the issue that most of the walkers struggle with. Some admit that they didn't believe that "buying your ticket" really meant death, while Stebbins (Garraty's biggest competitor) is convinced that all of the boys have a subconscious death wish, and that's why they entered. Can things really be so bad in the world of this book that sixteen-year-olds would want to die? If that thought isn't enough to convince you how frightening this book is, then I don't know what is.
No other book invokes more feelings of sympathy for the characters for me than The Long Walk. The situation that these young men are in is one that absolutely terrifies me because I know that there is no way I would be able to push myself that hard, even if it meant my own survival. Being in control of your own demise is harder than it being in the control of others because it relies on your own strength as a person. I think many people would admit that they are perhaps not as strong as some of the boys in this book.
A Quick Thought by William: Anyone else surprised by the choice? I was, initially. I read the book back in high school and didn’t really think much of it (not in a bad way, just an ‘okay, another King book under my belt way’ since I was gobbling them up like candy at the time). Now, having just read Michele’s thoughts, I want to go back and look at the book again because she described it in a way that brought to light many things I didn’t really notice the first time around, things that I believe will make me appreciate the book more.
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