Stephen Kinghas choose winter as the main setting for various stories , and here ’s every one of them and why he has chosen this specific season . After writing short tale , Stephen King became widely do it whenCarriewas publish in 1974 , introducing readers to his narrative style and the horror and societal themes he likes to address . Since then , King has terrorized generations of readers with his novel and brusque story , allowing them to safely explore different fear and places , and encounter a variety of monster , both human and supernatural .

Many ofStephen King ’s storiesand persona have now become part of pop culture , such asITand Pennywise , Miseryand Annie Wilkes , andThe Shiningand Jack Torrance . As more and more stories by King are published , readers direct out similarity and links between them , admit that some of them are set during wintertime . The time of year of cold and snow has witness some of King ’s most notable and terrifying stories , and here are seven of them and why Stephen King seems to know wintertime as a setting for his stories .

relate : What Stephen King Thinks Of Every Adaptation ( Movies & TV show )

A collage image of Luke Skywalker in A New Hope

1The Shining

In 1977 , Stephen King ’s third novel , The polishing , was write , and it has since become one of his most popular and praised works . The Shiningfollows Jack Torrance , an alcoholic writer move through writer ’s blocking who takes a job as the off - time of year caretaker ofthe Overlook Hotelin the Colorado Rockies . Jack charter his phratry – his married woman , Wendy , and their son , Danny – with him in hopes to reconnect with them and improve their relationship , which has been damage by his alcoholism , but once at the hotel , Danny ’s psychic ability get strong and the Torrances get a glimpse at the hotel ’s frightening nature – and to make it all worse , they are pin inside the hotel due to a winter violent storm . The Shiningwas famously adapted into a film in 1980 by Stanley Kubrick , into a TV miniseries in 1997 ( written by King ) , and into an opera in 2016 .

2One For The Road

“ One For The Road ” is a short story first published in the March / April 1997 take ofMaineand by and by inthe 1978 collectionNight switch , and it answer as a subsequence to the novelSalem ’s Lot . Set three old age after the effect ofSalem ’s Lot , with vampires still prowl the cadaver of Jerusalem ’s Lot , “ One For The Road ” follows Booth and Herb “ Tookey ” Tooklander as they seek to deliver the married woman and girl of a automobilist as their vehicle is stranded in a snowstorm .

3The Dead Zone

The Dead Zoneis a sci - fi novel published in 1979 and the first to be set in Castle Rock , Maine . It follow Johnny Smith , who after waking up from a five - year coma , now has precognitive and precognitive visions touch off by touching . When information is blocked from his perception , he refers to it as being in “ the dead geographical zone ” part of his brainiac . A heavy part ofThe Dead Zoneis set during the winter , though the season does n’t make for a crowing role in the story like in other King novels . The Dead Zonehas been adaptedinto a 1983 picture show by David Cronenberg and a TV series in 2002 .

4The Breathing Method

The Breathing Methodis a novelette publish in the 1982 collectionDifferent season , in the section “ A Winter ’s Tale ” . Through a storyteller diagnose David , reader meet Dr. Emlyn McCarron , who tells the story of a affected role of his , Sandra Stansfield , who was go to give birth to her illicit child back in the 1930s . However , when Sandra choke into labor and on her way to the hospital on an icy wintertime Nox , her taxi crash and she was decapitated , but she was somehow still alert , allowing Dr. McCarron to help her give birth .

Related : What Stephen King Thinks Is The Best Thing He ’s Ever Written

5The Reach

“ The Reach ” is a unforesightful story first published inYankeein 1981 and latercollected inSkeleton Crewin 1985 . “ The Reach ” follow Stella Flanders , a 95 - year - old woman and the old resident of Goat Island , who after she starts see the deceased resident physician of Goat Island , decide to interbreed the body of water between the island and the mainland as she pull in that the cancer she has is now in its final stage . Stella manoeuvre across the frozen reach toward the mainland and it start to snow , make it difficult for her to bump her manner .

6Misery

Miserywas published in 1987 , and it ’s one of King ’s most personal whole shebang , with the independent antagonist , Annie Wilkes , being a bandstand - in for cocain . Miseryfollows best - selling novelist Paul Sheldon , who after break up his car during a blizzard in a small town in Colorado , is rescued by Annie Wilkes , a local former nurse and a big fan of Sheldon ’s Good Book seriesMisery . Wilkes turns out to be a psychopath who forces him to write a newMiserynovel as she did n’t like what Sheldon did to the champion in his latest novel . The heavy snow append toMisery ’s claustrophobic feeling and Sheldon ’s despair as he could n’t escape , but just as winter pass away , Sheldon got dear and hard . Miserywas adapted into a moviein 1990 , widely regarded as one of the best Stephen King adaptations .

7Dreamcatcher

Dreamcatcherwas published in 2001 , and like many other King ’s stories , it ’s typeset in the townspeople of Derry , Maine . Dreamcatcheris the story of four friends – Gary " Jonesy " Jones , Pete Moore , Joe " Beaver " Clarendon and Henry Devlin – who bring through Douglas “ Duddits ” Cavell from a group of sadistic bullies when they were teenagers . Thanks to their newfangled friendship with Duddits , Jonesy , Beaver , Pete , and Henry percentage Duddits ’ powers , such as telepathy , shared dreaming , and pick up a psychic trace get out by the movement of human beings they referred to as “ the line ” . year after , while on a hunting trip in the woods , they are catch by a blizzard , and they become caught between an foreign invasion and an insane US Army Colonel . Dreamcatcherwas adapted into a moviein 2003 , but it was a critical and commercial loser .

8Why Various Stephen King Stories Are Set During The Winter

Although Stephen King has n’t explained why he has choose winter as the setting or background for some of his storey , it might have something to do with how this time of year allows create a claustrophobic and isolating environment , with the characters facing obstacle that are completely out of their control , and it also help as a way of life of symbolise the change and growth of the characters as the season alteration . wintertime has played a role in some of the above stories byStephen King , while in others it has but been the background knowledge setting , but in both event , it total to the horrors and unsettling vibes of each tale .

Next:1 Stephen King Story create A Confusing Castle Rock Mystery

How Rachel Zegler’s

Keanu Reeves looking over one shoulder as John Wick in Ballerina

Stephen king misery annie the shining  jack torrance

Jack Nicholson as a frozen Jack Torrance in The Shining

Night Shift Stephen King cover

Christopher Walken in a tunnel in The Dead Zone

Stephen King Different Seasons collection cover

The book cover for Stephen King’s Skeleton Crew collection of short stories.

Kathy Bates with a sledgehammer in Misery

The main characters of Dreamcatcher around a table

The Shining Jack Torrance chasing Danny in the snow

Stephen King

The Shining