I first read “The Stand” in 1978 or 1979, when we were living in the house across from what was then the High School. It was an old house that creaked and groaned with the slightest temperature changes. And as was my tendency, I couldn’t put a book down when it started to get good, which was pretty much right from the start with “The Stand.” Anyway, it was 3:00 AM. Stu Redman was trying to find his way out of the secret military/medical base that had imprisoned him because he hadn’t come down with the disease that wiped out 99% of the Earth’s population. He found a fire escape stairwell and was walking down when someone under the stairs grabbed his ankle. At that very moment, our house let loose a loud crack. Scared the shit right out of me. So much so, I got out of bed and checked the basement, where my bedroom was, to see if I was safe.
Why am I posting this? There are two situations in which you should not read a Stephen King novel. One is in a cabin in Maine, especially if the story takes place in a cabin in Maine, and the other is in the basement of an old, creepy house in the middle of the night. So, yes, I broke cardinal rule number two for reading a Stephen King novel.
