Despite being famously known as the “King of Horror,” Stephen King admits he actually has one fear.
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During a recent interview with The Times of London, King revealed he is terrified of being diagnosed with dementia. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” the 77-year-old novelist explained. “I’m afraid of that happening to me, and every time that I can’t remember a word or something, I think, ‘This is the start.'”
King further reflected on his dementia fears by recalling how he once wrote a story about the end of the world, which was about a man’s life ending and the whole world suddenly stopping.
“There’s a word for that,” he said. “And I can’t remember what it is. It is the idea that we all contain the world, and the world disappears when we disappear. There’s a word for that and I can’t f—ing remember what it is.”
While speaking about continuing his writing as he nears his 80s, King said he had “at least one more” story to share.
“Beyond that, man, I’m not going to say,” he pointed out. “I’d like to go out where people say, ‘I’d like another one.'”
Stephen King Once Spoke About How Embracing Fear Led to His Successful Career
During a 2013 interview with NPR, Stephen King spoke about how his need to embrace fear led to the successful writing career he now has.
“My childhood was pretty ordinary,” he said. “Except from a very early age, I wanted to be scared. I just did. I was scared. Afterwards, I wanted a light on because I was afraid that there was something in the closet.”
He then said his imagination was very active even at a young age. “For instance, there was a radio program at the time called Dimension X, and my mother didn’t want me to listen to that because she felt it was too scary for me, so I would creep out of bed and go to the bedroom door and crack it open.”
King further shared that his mother actually loved Dimension X. “So apparently I got it from her,” he added. “But I would listen at the door, and then when the program was over, I’d go back to bed and quake.”