All Hail the Crimson King: The Mythos of Stephen King

MONDAYS, 5:30-7pm (Mountain), 4:30-6pm (Pacific); Six Weeks Stephen King is not merely America's most prolific horror writer—he is a modern mythmaker. Across dozens of novels and stories, King has constructed an interconnected universe with its own cosmology, recurring sacred sites (Derry, Castle Rock, Mid-World), and cosmic powers ranging from the benevolent Turtle to the malevolent Crimson King. This course maps King's mythology as a coherent whole, exploring how his work functions as American gothic scripture—addressing trauma, memory, childhood's end, and the thin membrane between worlds. We will examine storytelling itself as magic within King's universe, his Jungian shadow work, and why his vision of small-town evil and cosmic indifference resonates so deeply with contemporary readers. ISM PROFESSIONAL & STUDENT MEMBERS GET $50 OFF REGISTRATION COST Email info@ismythology.com for your discount code REVIEWS FROM PAST COURSES TAUGHT BY DR. JASON BATT "This was a fantastic course and I got a lot out of it. Bursting with ideas for my project, thanks a lot!" -Brian SUGGESTED READING LIST* 1. The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower I) — The spine of King's cosmology. Use the revised edition. 2. It — King's most mythologically dense novel. Derry, Pennywise, the Turtle, the Ritual of Chüd, childhood as power. 3. The Stand (Complete & Uncut Edition, 1990) — King's American apocalypse and the fullest portrait of Randall Flagg. Good vs. evil on a mythic scale. 4. 'Salem's Lot — The definitive small-town-as-organism novel. Deeply connected to the Dark Tower mythos through Father Callahan. 5. The Talisman (with Peter Straub) — Parallel worlds, "twinning" as metaphysical law, the boy-knight quest. King's most overtly mythic narrative outside the Dark Tower. *This list will be expanded during the course with short fiction and essays.