Stephen King is undoubtedly one of the most adapted authors to film and television in the history of literature. From classics such as Carrie and The Shining to lesser-known works, Hollywood has brought a vast portion of his output to the screen. Currently, there are over a dozen projects in development, including new versions of Christine, The Running Man, and The Long Walk. However, there is one book that remains in the shadows, out of reach of screenwriters, directors, and producers. Rage was written by a young Stephen King when he was just 18 years old and published years later under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The story, centered around a school shooting narrated from the perspective of the perpetrator, diverges from the author’s characteristic supernatural horror to delve into deeply human and disturbing violence. Its protagonist, Charlie Decker, is a high school student who murders a teacher and holds his classmate’s hostage, unleashing a psychological and social chaos that culminates in a greater tragedy.
The cursed book by Stephen King that he himself withdrew from the market.
Unlike other works by King that approach horror from the fantastical or symbolic perspective, Rage was directly linked to several real school shootings. In his essay Guns, published in 2013, the author himself reflects on how his novel was mentioned by young individuals responsible for attacks between 1988 and 1997. Some cited the book directly as inspiration; one even repeated phrase from the text after committing a crime. In light of the severity of these connections, King made a decisive choice: he asked his publisher to withdraw Rage from circulation. The decision was not easy. Rage was part of the anthology The Bachman Books, which was very popular among readers. However, King argued that it was not worth keeping a work that, while not the cause of the crimes, could act as a trigger in already fractured minds. He compared his novel to a can of gasoline left within reach of someone with incendiary tendencies. The potential damage outweighed any literary merit or nostalgic value.
Since then, King has never raised the possibility of a film adaptation of Rage, and it is unlikely that he will. Although some fans have debated this option in online forums, the response is usually unanimous: if the author himself chose to withdraw the work, it is because he understood that its existence could do more harm than good. In this regard, Rage has become a unique case in the writer’s career: a work that he silenced out of moral responsibility.Over the years, other films have addressed school shootings from more ethical and sensitive perspectives. Titles such as We Need To Talk About Kevin, Mass, or Spontaneous have found indirect and artistic ways to address the issue without glorifying the perpetrator or focusing on violence. In contrast, Rage offers a raw, intimate, and direct account of the attacker’s thoughts, which has been one of its most controversial and dangerous aspects.