101+ Stephen King Quotes From The Iconic Horror Writer

Stephen King is a world-renowned author who writes mainly in the suspense, horror, science fiction, crime, and supernatural genre.

He was born in Portland on 21 September, 1947.  He graduated from the University of Maine in English and worked as a teacher.

In 1973, he published his first horror novel 'Carrie' which brought him tremendous success. He made his name and fame with his writings like 'The Shining,' 'IT,' 'Cujo,' 'Salem's Lot,' 'Pet Sematary', and many more.

His novels turned up into successful movies, mini-series, and TV shows. More than 350 million books were sold, and many adapted films have received both critical and commercial success.

National Book Foundation has awarded him the 'Medal for his distinguished contribution to American Letters' in 2003 and 'The National Medal of Arts' in 2015.

If you want to read more exciting quotes, check out 'The Shining' quotes and J.K. Rowling quotes.

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Best Stephen King Quotes

Stephen King is the most successful writer of the supernatural genre and is well known for his scary and thrilling tales. Below are some of the King quotes collected from his famous novels.

1."Go then, there are other worlds than these."

-Stephen King, 'The Gunslinger'(1982).

2." Only enemies speak the truth; friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty."

-Stephen King, 'The Gunslinger'(1982).

3." Children have to grow into their imaginations like a pair of oversized shoes."

-Stephen King, 'The Shining'(1977).

4."Sometimes human places, create inhuman monsters."

-Stephen King,' The Shining'(1977).

5." Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."

-Stephen King,' The Shining'(1977).

6." This inhuman place makes human monsters."

-Stephen King,' The Shining'(1977).

7."A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar."

-Stephen King, 'Misery'(1987).

8." Book’s almost finished, your legs are getting better. Soon you’ll be wanting to leave."

-Stephen King, 'Misery'(1987).

9." I thought you were good Paul…but you’re not good. You’re just another lying ol’ dirty birdy."

-Stephen King, 'Misery'(1987).

10."'Oh, about beer I never lie,' Crandall said 'A man who lies about beer makes enemies.'"

-Stephen King, 'Pet Sematary'(1983).

11." Maybe I did it because kids need to know that sometimes dead is better."

-Stephen King, 'Pet Sematary'(1983).

12."Death is a mystery, and burial is a secret."

-Stephen King, 'Pet Sematary'(1983).

13."Sometimes there is absolutely no difference at all between salvation and damnation."

-Stephen King,' The Green Mile'(1996).

14."Sometimes the embers are better than the campfire."

-Stephen King,' The Green Mile'(1996).

15." Weird love’s better than no love at all."

-Stephen King,' The Green Mile'(1996).

16."I work until beer o'clock."

-Stephen King, Time Magazine, 1986.

17."High school isn't a very important place. When you're going you think it's a big deal, but when it's over nobody really thinks it was great unless they're beered up."

-Stephen King, 'Carrie'(1974).

18." The place where you made your stand never mattered. Only that you were there…and still on your feet."

-Stephen King,' The Stand'(1978).

19."Humor is almost always anger with its make-up on."

-Stephen King, 'Bag of Bones'(1998).

20."If a fear cannot be articulated, it can’t be conquered."

-Stephen King, 'Salem's Lot'(1975).

21."Hearts can break. Yes, hearts can break. Sometimes I think it would be better if we died when they did, but we don't."

-Stephen King, 'Hearts in Atlantis'(1974).

22."Any game looks straight if everyone is being cheated at once."

-Stephen King, 'The Long Walk'(1979).

23." There's no harm in hoping for the best as long as you're prepared for the worst."

-Stephen King, 'Different Seasons'(1982).

24."Nothing in nature is that even; man is the inventor of straight edges."

-Stephen King, 'The Mist'(1980).

25."A cowardly leader is the most dangerous of men."

-Stephen King, 'Under the Dome'(2009).

26."When it comes to the past, everyone writes fiction."

-Stephen King, 'Joyland'(2013).

27."Memory is the basis of every journey."

-Stephen King,' Dreamcatcher'(2001).

28."A short story is a different thing altogether – a short story is like a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger."

-Stephen King, 'Skeleton Crew'(1985).

29." There is no bad time for good news."

-Stephen King, 'Cujo'(1981).

30."Let me tell you something, my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."

-Stephen King, 'Different Seasons'(1982).

'The Body' Stephen King Quotes

'The Body' was published as a part of 'Different Seasons' and adapted as a movie, 'Stand By Me.' Here are some quotes from this famous work.

31."It's hard to make strangers care about the good things in your life."

-Stephen King, 'The Body'.

32." The most important things are the hardest things to say."

-Stephen King, 'The Body'.

33."'I'll see you.' He grinned. 'Not if I see you first.'"

-Stephen King, 'The Body'.

34." The only two useful art forms are religion and stories."

-Stephen King, 'The Body: Fall from Innocence.'

35."I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, did you?"

-Stephen King, 'The Body'.

36."Love isn’t soft like those poets say. Love has teeth which bite and the wounds never close."

-Stephen King, 'The Body'.

37."Gordie: Do you think I'm weird?

Chris: Definitely.

Gordie: No man, seriously. Am I weird?

Chris: Yeah, but so what? Everybody's weird."

-Stephen King, 'The Body'.

38." People. People drag you down."

-Stephen King, 'The Body'.

39." Some people drown, that's all. It's not fair but it happens. Some people drown."

-Stephen King, 'The Body'.

Stephen King 'It' Quotes

'It' was written in 1986 has received the 'British Fantasy Award(1987),' and was adapted into TV series and films. Below are some quotes from this scary work.

40."We all float down here"

-Stephen King, 'It.'

41."Adults are the real monsters."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

42." What can be done when you’re eleven can often never be done again."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

43."Swear to me swear to me that if it isn't dead you'll all come back."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

44." You pay for what you get, you own what you pay for, and sooner or later whatever you own comes back home to you."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

45." We lie best when we lie to ourselves."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

46." Kids, fiction is the truth inside the lie, and the truth of this fiction is simple enough: the magic exists."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

47." He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

48." Everything’s a lot tougher when it’s for real. That’s when you choke. When it’s for real."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

49." My heart's with you, Bill, no matter how it turns out. My heart is with all of them, and I think that, even if we forget each other, we'll remember in our dreams."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

50."Seven, Richie thought. That's the magic number. There has to be seven of us. That's the way it's supposed to be."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

51."You don't have to look back to see those children; part of your mind will see them forever. They are not necessarily the best part of you, but they were once the repository of all you could become."

-Stephen King, 'It'.

52."It was easier to be brave when you were someone else."

-Stephen King, 'It'.

53."Magic would not work on Henry. He was too stupid."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

54."Mrs. Cole was a perfect democrat. She hated all kids equally."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

55."In this universe, there might grow roses which sing."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

56."Drive away and try to keep smiling. Get a little rock and roll on the radio and go toward all the life there is with all the courage you can find and all the belief you can muster. Be true, be brave, stand."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

57."Come on back and we’ll see if you remember the simplest thing of all – how it is to be children, secure in belief and thus afraid of the dark."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

58."Eddie discovered one of his childhood's great truths. Grownups are the real monsters, he thought."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

59."No good friends, no bad friends; only people you want, need to be with. People who build their houses in your heart."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

60."Home is the place where when you go there, you have to finally face the thing in the dark."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

61."Not all boats which sail into darkness never find the sun again, or the hand of another child; if life teaches anything at all, it teaches that there are so many happy endings."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

62."You could start at a path leading nowhere more fantastic than from your own front steps to the sidewalk, and from there you could go…well, anywhere at all."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

63."The sun was a molten coin burning a circle in the low-hanging overcast, surrounded by a fairy-ring of moisture."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

64." One of the great true facts of the world is this: for every old-timer who dies, there’s a new old-timer coming along. And a good story never dies; it is always passed down."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

65."In the stutter-flashes of light, the clouds look like huge transparent brains filled with bad thoughts."

-Stephen King, 'It.'

Stephen King Quotes 'On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft'

Stephen King is a successful and award-winning author who has gained good experience in writing. Below are some of the quotes from 'On Writing' in which he shares his experiences and advice for aspiring writers who feel it is hard to write.

66."If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot."

-Stephen King, 'On Writing.'

67."Just remember that Dumbo didn’t need the feather; the magic was in him."

-Stephen King, 'On Writing.'

68."If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the tools to write."

-Stephen King, 'On Writing.'

69."The scariest moment is always just before you start."

-Stephen King, 'On Writing.'

70."Optimism is a perfectly legitimate response to failure."

-Stephen King, 'On Writing.'

71."Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way around."

-Stephen King, 'On Writing.'

72."Books are a uniquely portable magic."

-Stephen King, 'On Writing.'

73."You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will."

-Stephen King, 'On Writing.'

74."Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open."

-Stephen King, 'On Writing.'

75."Description begins in the writer’s imagination but should finish in the reader’s."

-Stephen King, 'On Writing.'

Stephen King Quotes On Life

While his works were gory and scary, they showed the human spirit to fight and survive. Below are some quotes by Stephen King on life.

76."The trust of the innocent is the liar s most useful tool."

-Stephen King.

77."I think that we're all mentally ill. Those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better - and maybe not all that much better after all."

-Stephen King.

78."FEAR stands for everything and run."

-Stephen King.

79."Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not."

-Stephen King.

80." The mind can calculate, but the spirit yearns, and the heart knows what the heart knows".

-Stephen King.

81."You can’t deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants."

-Stephen King.

82."People think that I must be a very strange person. This is not correct. I have the heart of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk."

-Stephen King.

83."God is cruel. Sometimes he makes you live."

-Stephen King.

84." Life is like a wheel. Sooner or later, it always comes around to where you started again."

-Stephen King.

85."We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones."

-Stephen King.

86."We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why."

-Stephen King.

87."People who try hard to do the right thing always seem mad."

-Stephen King.

88."Good books don't give up all their secrets at once."

-Stephen King.

89."And in real life endings aren't always neat, whether they're happy endings, or whether they're sad endings."

-Stephen King.

90." The devil's voice is sweet to hear."

-Stephen King.

Inspirational Quotes By Stephen King

Stephen King had his share of ups and downs in life, which inspired him to move forward even during hard times. Here is a compilation of inspirational quotes on life in general.

91."Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and got to work."

-Stephen King.

92."If you can read and write, you can own the world."

-Stephen King.

93."The only mortal sin is giving up."

-Stephen King.

94."Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work."

-Stephen King.

95."Get busy living or get busy dying."

-Stephen King.

96."A story should entertain the writer too."

-Stephen King.

97."Remember, Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

-Stephen King.

98."Nothing was certain; there were many strange twists and devious turns as one hopped down the overgrown bunny trail of life."

-Stephen King.

99."When you are talented you do it whatever it is until your fingers bleed or your eyes are ready to fall out of your head."

-Stephen King.

100."Quiet people have the loudest minds."

-Stephen King.

101."When the time is gone, you can never get it back."

-Stephen King.

102." Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free."

-Stephen King.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotesfor everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Stephen King quotes from the iconic horror writer, then why not take a look at Alfred Hitchcock quotes or Edgar Allan Poe quotes.

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