Stephen King, the renowned master of horror, has made a significant decision to pull his novel Rage out of print permanently—a decision rooted in a chilling incident tying his fiction to real-world violence. Written in 1977 and published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, Rage is a psychological thriller centered on a high school student who holds his classmates hostage after a violent outburst.
Over the years, the book became infamous due to its association with several school shootings between 1988 and 1997, where perpetrators were found to have read or even referenced the novel. The most defining moment came in 1997 when 14-year-old Michael Carneal fatally shot three students at Heath High School, Kentucky. Authorities found Rage in his belongings, sparking widespread concern about the novel’s influence.
Deeply shaken by the incident, King requested his publisher withdraw Rage from print in the U.S. and has since refused to allow its reprinting, considering the risk it posed in inspiring violent behavior. The book remains out of circulation and has become a rare collector’s item.
King has expressed how the story reflected his own troubled teenage feelings, drawing from personal turmoil rather than an intention to incite violence. His experience reveals the complex and sometimes unintended impact of art on society.
In subsequent years, King became an outspoken advocate against gun violence, donating proceeds from related essays to anti-gun organizations. Rage now stands as a haunting reminder of the power of fiction intersecting tragically with reality.
