The Story of Castle Rock

One of the enduring traits of Stephen King is the creation of this world where stories occur with characters that can be compared to people in our own hometowns. If a town in America was like Castle Rock, it might be home to a satellite office of CNN, and, possibly, the FBI. Castle Rock, like the other towns in King’s domain, has had a colorful past where an underlying battle exists between forces that remain unseen to the outside world.

Castle Rock is the flagship town in Stephen King’s work, and is located in southwestern Maine, between Rumford and Augusta. The town, created by SK was to be more than a mere location for a story. The Complete Stephen King Universe asserts that it was designed to “function as a scale model of contemporary American society”. The small New England mill town was
named after a location in Lord of the Flies, the classic coming-of-age story by William Golding; a story that Stephen King has identified to be one of his favorite novels as a child.

On the surface, Castle Rock is a postcard snapshot of everyday America. It is the exact kind of town that politicians are referring to when they mention “helping Mainstreet America”, and Norman Rockwell painted in his Saturday Evening Post covers. However, this tranquil town, filled with Mom-and Pop stores and community spirit, has had a violent history; most of the tragic events occurred after 1978. Many people wonder what exactly happened in the little rural town in Maine that ultimately led to its destruction.

Although no one knows when Castle Rock’s problems began, many point toward one event as the moment when the town’s fate became sealed. In 1979, a serial killer was stalking young women on the innocent streets of Castle Rock. Sheriff George Bannerman turned to a local resident named Johnny Smith for assistance. Smith had suffered serious injuries in a car wreck; remained in a coma for four and a half years; and woke with the psychic ability to see the future by touching personal items or places where others have touched. Smith and Bannerman were able

to catch the killer, a deputy named Frank Dodd. However, Johnny Smith discovered his own fate in the process. (To read more about these events, see The Dead Zone (1979).)

KOCR note: The Dead Zone released in 1979 was the first Stephen King novel to reach #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

In 1981, Castle Rock was the scene of a fatal isolated incident at Vic and Donna Camber’s garage and home. The Camber’s Saint Bernard named Cujo attacked Donna Trenton and her four-year-old son, Tad, when they came to consult Camber’s about repairing their car. The normally lovable dog had been infected with rabies. The tragic events devastated the community that was still recovering from the Dodd murders and other tragic events during those years. (Cujo, 1981)

KOCR note: It is believed that Cujo’s ghost was seen by Polly Chambers in 1991’s Needful Things, according to The Complete Stephen King Universe.

In 1989, Castle Rock was once again the center of events in a Stephen King’s novel. In The Dark

Half, writer Thad Beaumont struggled through a personal dilemma, which included killing his pseudonym, George Stark. Unfortunately, Stark developed a life of his own in pursuit of “justice”, framing Beaumont for multiple murders in the process. Sheriff Alan Pangborn, who replaced George Bannerman, tried to prove his theory that Beaumont was indeed being framed. The Castle Rock papers once again carried headlines of savage murders, which spread fear throughout the community. (Dark Half, 1989)

KOCR note: The character Thad Beaumont was named in honor of writer Charles Beaumont (1929-1967), who created some of the most memorable episodes of the classic television series, The Twilight Zone.

In 1991, a series of tragic events unfolded in Castle Rock that destroyed the town in a very literal way, leaving its residents dead or struggling for survival. A stranger, Leland Gaunt, made his home in Castle Rock and opened Needful Things, a novelty store. Shortly after his arrival, neighbor turned on neighbor and a battle of good versus evil erupted on the town’s once quiet streets. Sheriff Alan Pangborn tried to protect the citizens of Castle Rock from Gaunt’s master plan. However, the town was seriously damaged after Ace Merrill, a local criminal, which is a name that should be well known to King readers, plants dynamite throughout the town. The

explosion did significant damage to the downtown area. Devices were placed in several buildings throughout Castle Rock, resulting in a significant death count. (Needful Things, 1991)

KOCR note: Needful Things is a tribute to Ray Bradbury, and shows the influence that the author’s work had on Stephen King. Many elements of Needful Things are reflective of Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. Bradbury is a heavy influence of King’s work.

Castle Rock’s influence does not stop with the works previously mentioned. The town was home to writer Gordon LaChance who wrote about his adventures as a boy growing up in Maine in 1960 ("The Body," Different Seasons, ). It is featured in three short stories of King’s 1985 collection, Skeleton Crew. It is the setting for “Nona”, “Uncle Otto’s Truck”, and “Gramma”. Stephen King’s work during the 1990s made a few visits to Castle Rock including The Sun Dog (Four Past Midnight, 1990), “It Grows on You” (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, 1993), and “The Man in the Black Suit” (Six Stories, 1997).

Its longtime citizens may no longer inhabit Castle Rock, but it remains an important part of the world created by Stephen King. Some of its previous residents make an appearance after leaving Castle Rock like Norris Ridgway, a former deputy of Sheriff Pangborn who becomes neighbors of writer Michael Noonan in Bag of Bones (1998). Although this town collapsed beneath evil’s darkness, it shall exist forever in the place that it was created – the heart of the readers.

11 February 2012 (TJB)