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Stephen King in 10 places of worship
From the state of Maine to California, films inspired by Stephen King and his novels take us across the United States. Back to those thrill seekers…
The bridge (Stand By Me – film by Rob Steiner – 1986)
Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, Burney, CA 96013, USA
Four friends (Will Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell) go on an expedition to find the body of one of their comrades, who was hit by a train. They begin their journey by crossing this bridge and narrowly miss being crushed in their turn. There is no risk of crossing a train on this bridge, which for years has been transformed into a panoramic bicycle path. Based on the short story The Body, featured in the collection Different Seasons, Stand By Me is directed by Rob Reiner, one of the few filmmakers to have adapted Stephen King several times for the screen. We owe him Misery, too. Stand By Me whose cast includes the late River Phoenix, Joaquin’s brother Jerry O’Connell, later famous for the Sliders series, Corey Feldman, one of the biggest child stars in American cinema and of course Will Wheaton, Sheldon Cooper’s Nemesis in The Big Bang Theory.
La Tour Sombre (The Dark Tower – novel)
One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, 245 E 47th St, New York, NY 10017, USA
In this multi-volume novel, Roland the Pistolero travels between dimensions. In New York City, One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza is built on the site of the Rose to protect it from the Crimson King. In short, it is our world’s version of the famous Dark Tower. The building, which actually houses the permanent missions of several countries to the United Nations, was built in 1972, although it is rather dark.
Cold Mountain Penitentiary (The Green Line – film by Frank Darabont – 2000)
Tennessee State Prison, Nashville, TN 37209, USA
Paul Edgecombe, the head guard on death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary in Louisiana, sees his life turned upside down the day John Coffey, a death row inmate like no other, arrives. Supposed to be in Louisiana, the prison in which scenes from The Green Line were filmed is actually located in Tennessee. A penitentiary closed since 1992, in which Bruce Beresford shot Last Dance, with Sharon Stone, and which can also be seen in Walk The Line, the biopic of Johnny Cash directed by James Mangold, with Joaquin Phoenix. The Green Line was originally published in the form of a soap opera with one episode per month.
Doctors Hospital (Misery – novel)
170 East End Ave, New York, NY 10128, USA
Writer Paul Sheldon is being treated at Doctors Hospital after being released alive from months of ordeal. Doctors Hospital closed its doors in 2004. This establishment remains famous for having treated prestigious patients such as Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe. Note that in the novel, Stephen King indicates that the hospital is in Queens, while it was located in Manhattan.
The Chemical Allied Bank (Charlie – novel)
277 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Charlie’s a granddaughter with a gift for pyrokinesis. The Box, a powerful government organization, is seeking to recover it in order to continue experiments on it. It was when she was in New York with her father that her father realized that his Chemical Allied Bank accounts had all been emptied. That bank doesn’t exist anymore. It was bought by Chase, whose offices are located in this building at 277 Park Avenue.
Statue of Paul Bunyan (this – novel)
519 Main St, Bangor, ME 04401, USA
In the novel that, Richie Tozier is attacked by this gigantic statue of Paul Bunyan, located in the centre of Derry. The statue is then inhabited by the spirit of the Pennywise clown. This terrifying scene, which is repeated in the film, exploits Paul Bunyan, one of the great figures of American folklore. Present in several cities in the United States, Paul Bunyan is a kind of lumberjack often accompanied by a blue ox named Babe. The statue described by Stephen King is still in Bangor, Maine, where the author lives for part of the year. King’s house, located at 47 West Broadway, a must for tourists, will soon be transformed into a retreat for writers.
Pennywise’s Manhole Cover (that – novel)
Corner of Jackson St. and Union St., Bangor, ME 04401, USA
Little Georgie Denbrough is playing in the rain with his paper boat when it goes into a manhole. It’s when the little boy tries to catch up with him that Pennywise, the evil clown, appears. The real manhole that inspired Stephen King to one of the most frightening scenes of his novel, it doesn’t look like the one in Tommy Lee Wallace’s TV movie, nor the one in Andrés Muschietti’s movie. The actual manhole is not located on a sidewalk. But this is where the Pennywise clown was born!
Mount Hope Cemetery (Simetierre – film by Mary Lambert – 1989)
1048 Stete Street, Bangor, ME 04401, USA
As the curse of the Indian cemetery begins to befall her, the Creed family attends a funeral. The first adaptation of Mary Lambert’s eponymous novel, Simetierre, was partly filmed in Stephen King’s town. An opportunity for the writer to make an appearance in the footage. We can thus see him interpreting a priest in this famous cemetery. A place where the Ramones will come later to shoot the video for the song Pet Sematary, composed by Dee Dee for the purpose of the adaptation. In fact, King got into the habit of acting from time to time. In adaptations of his books, including Creepshow, Maximum Overdrive or Le Fléau, but also in unrelated works. That’s how he was seen camping a “cleaner” in the Sons of Anarchy series.
The Overlook Hotel (Shining – novel)
Stanley Hotel, 333 E Wonderview Ave, Estes Park CO 80517
Jack Torrance manages to get a job as a concierge at the Overlook, a mountain hotel. It is here that he settles for the winter season with his family before gradually sinking into madness. On holiday in 1974 in room 217 of the Stanley Hotel, Stephen King witnessed paranormal phenomena. Immediately, he wrote the basis for Shining, a book set in a hotel largely inspired by the Stanley. It was here in 1997 that Mick Garris filmed his own adaptation for television. Stephen King never liked Stanley Kubrick’s version, not very faithful to his writings. The Stanley Hotel has a reputation as one of the most haunted places in the United States. Several spectres have been seen there over the years. It is amusing to note that the owners of the hotel decided to build a real boxwood labyrinth in order to capitalize on the success of the work. And it doesn’t matter if the maze is specific to Kubrick’s movie. In the novel, these are bushes pruned into the shape of animals that can be “seen” in front of the hotel. In a much less scary vein, Dumb & Dumber was also filmed there.
The Overlook Hotel (Shining – film by Stanley Kubrick – 1980)
Timberline Lodge, 27500 E Timberline Road, Government Camp, OR, 97028, USA
The Torrance family settles for the winter season in this remote hotel. Little by little, Jack (Jack Nicholson), the father, lets himself be won over by the demons that have taken up residence in the building since its construction. While Stanley Kubrick chose to build the entire interior décor at Elstree Studios in England, he chose the Timberline Lodge, a spectacular mountain hotel for the exteriors. The interiors were also inspired by those of another hotel, the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park in California. please note that Mike Flanagan, the director of Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining, has not returned to the Timberline Lodge. His sets were also partly built in the studio.
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Cult! novels : 100 mythical places of novels (French Edition)
Cult! Novels tells you the secrets of the places that made the history of literature.
Discover the history of Harry Potter’s house, the park that inspired the Lord of the Rings, Dracula’s castle and many other mythical places in literature in a new book.
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By Anthony Thibault
From the "Casimir generation", Anthony has kept (in addition to a passion for Goldorak) a taste for inventive images, experimentation and curiosity. Passionate about travel and pop culture, he co-founded Fantrippers with Nicolas Albert to share his passion with as many people as possible.