Castle Rock is the setting of many of Stephen King’s best-known novels, including The Dead Zone, Cujo, and The Dark Half, and also features in a variety of his other books, such as ‘Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption’, The Stand and the most terrifying of all, IT. King named the fictional town after ‘Castle Rock’ in Lord of the Flies, an important place on Golding’s island, later dominated by Jack and his murderous tribe. In his introduction to the centenary edition of Lord of the Flies, King describes his first reading of the book:
‘I finished the last half of Lord of the Flies in a single afternoon, my eyes wide, my heart pounding, not thinking, just inhaling. But I’ve been thinking about it ever since, for fifty years or more.’
In exciting news, Hulu have announced that they have ordered a 10-part series of Castle Rock, a new adaptation of a range of King’s stories, based in Castle Rock, and a teaser trailer has been released. JJ Abrams is the executive producer of the series, and Abrams has previous Lord of the Flies form, with his work on Lost.
I can’t wait!