In a rare and sobering act of authorial responsibility, the master of horror Stephen King made the decision to permanently ban one of his own novels from publication. The book in question is Rage, a psychological thriller first published in 1977 under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman.
The Disturbing Pattern That Forced a Decision
For years, Rage remained a relatively obscure part of King's vast bibliography. However, its narrative—centring on a troubled teenager who shoots a teacher and holds his classmates hostage—began to attract a grim and unwanted notoriety in the late 1980s and 1990s.
A deeply troubling connection emerged when it was discovered that several perpetrators of school shootings across the United States possessed copies of the novel. The book was found in their bedrooms and school lockers, with some individuals even citing it as a source of inspiration.
The Final Straw: The Kentucky School Shooting
The pivotal moment for King came following a tragic incident in 1997. Michael Carneal, a student in Kentucky, fatally shot three classmates during a prayer gathering. Investigators later found a copy of Rage in his school locker.
Speaking at a Vermont library conference in 1999, King addressed the link directly. He stated that while he couldn't be certain Carneal had read the book, the reported discovery was enough to prompt decisive action. "The Carneal incident was enough for me," King said. "I asked my publisher to take the damned thing out of print. They concurred."
By that time, the novel had been connected to at least three other school hostage situations in California, Kentucky, and South Dakota.
A Moral Reckoning and Permanent Withdrawal
Confronted with this horrifying pattern, King engaged in a profound moral reckoning. He publicly questioned whether his fiction had acted as a catalyst for violence.
"Do I think that Rage may have provoked Carneal, or any other badly adjusted young person, to resort to the gun?... The answer is troubling... in some cases, yes. Probably it does," he admitted.
King described the painful realisation that a work of art could serve as "an accelerant on a troubled mind," drawing a parallel to how serial killers like Ted Bundy consumed violent material. He firmly rejected hiding behind free speech arguments in the face of such a clear connection, calling it "immoral."
His resolution was final and without regret. "Once I knew what had happened, I pulled the ejection-seat lever on that particular piece of work," King stated. "I withdrew Rage, and I did it with relief rather than regret." He has since vowed the book will never return to shelves.
This decision stands as a unique chapter in literary history, where an author of unparalleled commercial success chose to silence one of his own creations, prioritising ethical responsibility over continued publication.
