He ultimately ends up complying to burn the book, feeling so much shame and regret in his surrender, but also unable to bear the pain he’s in. The last thing Paul wants to do is burn his new manuscript, something he’s proud of, but he’s in so much pain without the meds that he almost wants to die. There’s an instance in the story when Annie refuses to give Paul his pain medication until he burns the new book he’s been working on because she didn’t like it. The way King writes human emotion is so true and tangible in its rawness. She hates curse words and instead uses child-like slang like “dirty-birdy” or “cock-a-doodie.” The overall situation with her holding Paul captive until he writes her beloved character back to life is almost like a giant temper-tantrum, but a deadly one. It’s strange to be afraid of Annie, because as readers discover, she’s actually childish. Annie is Paul’s tormentor and captor, and yet, he has no choice but to rely on her or he’ll die, and Annie knows it and uses it against him. The man has two broken legs and can’t move at all without her help, which is horrifying. The torture, pain and stress she makes Paul go through are so awful that at times it was even difficult to read because of how realistic it was. One minute she’s fixing Paul an ice cream sundae, the next she’s cutting off his foot so he can’t get away. What makes Annie Wilkes an iconic, terrifying character is the fact that she’s so unpredictable. Whoever said that humans are their own worst enemies are speaking the truth. Annie Wilkes may seem like she’s from Hell but she’s only human, and that makes her scary enough. What’s so fascinating and truly terrifying about this story is how fathomable it is. After all, Paul just killed her favorite book character, and now she won’t let him go until he writes her back to life. It tells the story of famous author Paul Sheldon being rescued and later held hostage by his “Number 1 Fan” Annie Wilkes, who has more than a few screws loose. “Misery” is undeniably one of King’s most iconic works. However, while many of King’s stories depict supernatural or unexplainable scares, some of the most haunting ones that stick with you are those telling of average people, such as in “Misery”. Stephen King is known today as the King of Horror when it comes to storytelling, with iconic movies and books depicting evil sewer clowns, foaming killer dogs and children rising from the dead wielding scalpels. Darrian Breedlove, Opinion Editor | October 21, 2019

Misery by stephen king