The Monkey

Content Warning: This section contains references to addiction and child death.

American author Stephen Edwin King was born on September 21, 1947, in Portland, Maine. King’s childhood was filled with both enjoyable and challenging experiences. His father, Donald King, abandoned the family when Stephen was very young, leaving his mother, Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King, to raise him and his adopted older brother, David. King’s mother instilled a love of reading and storytelling in the boys at an early age, telling them stories at bedtime and encouraging them to read for themselves. A less positive formative experience was the death of one of King’s friends, who was struck by a train. According to later interviews and reports, King has no recollection of the event despite witnessing it firsthand; however, many theorize that this traumatic event influenced some of his darker works. Childhood trauma and the deaths of children feature regularly in his writing; “The Monkey,” for example, describes the deaths of two children (one in a vehicular accident).

King’s interest in horror was allegedly sparked when he stumbled upon a collection of horror and science fiction stories by H. P. Lovecraft that had belonged to his father. King credits Lovecraft with starting his writing career (King, Stephen. Danse Macabre. Everest House, 1981). He began penning stories and articles as a child. After graduating from high school in 1966, King studied English and pursued his writing ambitions at the University of Maine. He wrote for the university newspaper and published several short stories during this time. He published his first professional short story, “The Glass Floor,” in 1967 and graduated in 1970.

The early years of King’s writing career were financially challenging, and he worked various odd jobs, including teaching high school English, to support his growing family. In 1973, King’s perseverance paid off when his first novel, Carrie, was accepted for publication. The story of a high school outcast with telekinetic powers became a commercial success, and the subsequent film adaptation further propelled King’s popularity, establishing him as a rising star in the literary world. Other popular works from the 1970s and 1980s include The Shining, Salem’s Lot, The Stand, and Pet Sematary, which are all considered modern classics of the horror genre. His stories often explore ordinary people confronting supernatural forces, blending elements of horror, psychological suspense, and rich character development.

However, along with fame came personal struggles. King battled addiction throughout the 1980s but overcame his substance use disorder and emerged as an advocate for recovery. His experiences with addiction and recovery would influence some of his later writing, adding depth and authenticity to his characters’ struggles.

In the 1990s and 2000s, King’s best-selling work continued. His writing style also evolved, encompassing a broader range of genres and exploring new narrative techniques, including multiple points of view and nonlinear storytelling. He played with flashbacks, foreshadowing, and metafictional elements. At this time, he also delved deeper into his characters’ psychology and experiences, exploring the nature of fear, trauma, and the human psyche in novels like Gerald’s Game, Insomnia, and Rose Madder. Hints of this interest appear in “The Monkey,” which focuses heavily on its narrator’s childhood trauma and uses its supernatural elements to hint at themes of abuse, neglect, and violence.