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Topics: Stephen King, Horror, Books, News, School
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Stephen King, Horror, Books, News, School
Stephen King has written dozens of books over the course of his career, but there's one that you won't find in your local Barnes & Noble.
Dubbed the 'King of Horror', some of the author's best works include It, The Shining, Salem's Lot ,and Carrie - many of which have since been made into blockbuster movies.
Carrie was King's first published novel, released in 1974. Salem's Lot followed a year later, and Rage followed suit in 1977.
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Rage was penned by the acclaimed novelist in 1965 while he was still in high school. It was the first book he released under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.
The decades-old story gives 'a vivid first-person account of a disturbed student who commits a school shooting in Maine'.
Many have said that the novel is similar to the events of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, where students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered twelve students and one teacher.
To this day, the Columbine murders remain one of the deadliest mass shootings to have taken place in America.
With the rise in school shootings in the years that followed Rage's release, King felt it was right to have the book pulled from shelves, and that it should no longer be distributed.
He wrote in a 2013 essay titled 'Guns': "I suppose if it had been written today, and some high school English teacher had seen it, he would have rushed the manuscript to the guidance counselor and I would have found myself in therapy posthaste.
"But 1965 was a different world, one where you didn't have to take off your shoes before boarding a plane and there were no metal detectors at the entrances to high schools."
King went on to say that he doesn't believe Rage was the direct cause of school shootings like Columbine, but he did admit that the novel may have been a 'possible accelerant'.
Rage was ultimately pulled from shelves in 1998, a year after the Heath High School shooting where 14-year-old Michael Carneal killed three students with a rifle.
And while it was discontinued decades ago, it's still highly sought after. In fact, it's said that someone could get as much as $2,000 for a first edition copy of it (depending on its condition).
Incredibly, despite the hefty price tag, one lucky individual stumbled upon an edition of the book in a local charity shop for just $2.
Craig Johnston, from Northern Ireland, is trying to collect all of King's books, and recently discovered Rage.
However, he's said he's reluctant to part with the valuable book.