A Bowl For the Soul

CARRIE: A BLOODY PROM NIGHT

“People don't get better, they just get smarter. When you get smarter you don't stop pulling the wings off flies, you just think of better reasons for doing it.” ― Stephen King, Carrie

Since Halloween is coming up soon, I'm in the mood for some horror-fest. Now, my favourite horror story remains with Stephen King. Name a few of King's work and I'll be jumping up and down ecstatic to tell you all about the story from head to tail. Well, not that I'm much of a horror story-teller. I mean, I got creeped out myself when I watched Wes Craven's Elm Street so how do you expect me to actually  retell any horror or ghost story. I'm not a hardcore horror story fan; Rosemary's Baby and the Exorcist made me insomniac for several nights. Anyways, since there are so many of King's ingenious works I'll choose the very first book that I read which is "Carrie".

A paperback copy of Carrie

There are so many reasons why I absolutely named "Carrie" as one of the best horror stories ever written. Along with the Shining. Or Salem's Lot. Okay, you should realise by now that I'm a huge fan of Stephen King. But since the remake of "Carrie" will hit the theatres soon, a little nostalgia about the story won't hurt (fun fact: "Carrie" is the fourth book written by Stephen King but the first to be published). "Carrie" tells us the story of a girl, social misfit with the titular name, who develops a telekinesis power that she eventually uses to exact revenge on her tormentors; killing everyone in her  school and town, where this disaster left it as a ghost town after Carrie's rampage. When you started reading "Carrie", it doesn't feel like that it's a horror story but by the time you have reached the middle of the book, this is when King really starts his brilliant gift for writing horror story. 

Until this day, "Carrie" remains my favourite yet most horrific horror story. Also, I have learnt an exceptional lesson from "Carrie". Bullying is a big no-no. Readers can feel the pain and humiliation that Carrie went through and the frenzy she had when she went on to massacre her town for all the misery she had endured. Plus, the fact that hypothetically telekinesis does exist then bullying can cause such a horrific thing to happen, then this makes it a solid belief that bullying is just wrong. 

The first edition of Carrie

"Carrie" isn't as gruesome as some of King's other works such as "It" and "Bag of Bones", to name a few. It focuses more on the telekinesis power that Carrie develops and her relationship with the secondary characters. Then the bone-chilling part came near the end of the story. The only part that could use some improvements is.. well, I got nothing. Even the first published edition of the book cover was brilliant. With a picture of a girl peeking out; wide-eyed and with a startled look, it was a good depiction for the overall story with a vulnerable girl as the central plot and if I came across a book cover like this in the bookshops during the 70's, my curiosity will be piqued instantly. 

There has been several film adaptation but the classic and most famous movie adaptation of Carrie was the one starring Sissy Spacek in 1976. Spacek makes a brilliant Carrie and the storyline was the most faithful adaptation so far. Now, I'm just waiting for the 2013 version with casts of Chloe Moretz and Julianne Moore. When I first heard the news of Moretz as Carrie, my first thought was: "Chloe is too pretty and too young to play Carrie." However, Moretz is an amazing young actress so I'm open to a possibility that she might make a convincing Carrie White. 

Theatrical poster of Carrie

Left: Chloe Moretz as Carrie White in the 2013 movie adaptation; Right: Sissy Spacek in the legendary Carrie film adaptation

So there you go, if you are in search of good horror story that's not too gory nor terror-inducing then Carrie is a piece of work you want to grab. Afterwards, let's wait for Carrie to hit the theatres soon on October 18th 2013. 

Up next: I'll be reviewing about It Ain't Easy Being Jazzy by Quanie Miller as a part of the blog tour. Wait for the hilarious, wonderful work of Miller, bookworms!