# So... How does it feel, living in a Stephen King novel?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687>\
**Category:** The Quarantine Zone\
**Tags:** covid-quarantine\
**Created:** [March 17, 2020, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687 "2020-03-17T22:41:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/21 "2020-03-18T05:18:43Z")

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> [@RioRico](#):
>
> Maybe we need a new Cafe thread. What was the first book, movie, or drama you consumed where something plague-like obliterates humanity? ON THE BEACH was radiation, not disease, so it probably doesn’t count. I’ll go with the original MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH. Party hearty, kids!

Mary Shelley’s _The Last Man_, published in 1826, is probably the earliest of this sub-genre. _Masque_ was published in 1842. Another fairly early one is Jack London’s _The Scarlet Plague_, published in 1912. _Earth Abides_ by George R Stewart, published in 1949, is a relative latecomer, yet still way before _The Stand_.

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**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/22 "2020-03-18T08:58:09Z")

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> [@dtilque](#):
>
> Mary Shelley’s _The Last Man_, published in 1826, is probably the earliest of this sub-genre. _Masque_ was published in 1842. Another fairly early one is Jack London’s _The Scarlet Plague_, published in 1912. _Earth Abides_ by George R Stewart, published in 1949, is a relative latecomer, yet still way before _The Stand_.

I asked for the first that Dopers consumed, not the first produced. What first grabbed you?

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**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/23 "2020-03-18T11:23:11Z")

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> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#):
>
> I’ve been living in a Philip K. Dick novel since 2017, so Steven King is an upgrade.
> 
> [One of the overlooked gems of the 'Eighties.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggWS4tTzs60)
> 
> “A lot of people have directed Steven King novels and stories, and I finally decided if you want something done right, you ought to do it yourself.” Truer words were never more mispoken.
> 
> Stranger

Welcome back **Stranger**. Was getting worried by your absence.  
In future please don’t let it get to a global pandemic to compel your return.

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**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/24 "2020-03-18T12:01:22Z")

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> [@UltraVires](#):
>
> The issue I have is that in The Stand, the Captain Trips virus actually killed 99% of people and everyone who got it; the survivors simply had an immunity to it. I understand the extreme measure for that.
> 
> For this we are wrecking the economy and people’s lives for a disease that the vast majority of people survive without the need for any medical attention at all.

The vast majority do survive, but the problem is that it’s extremely contagious, so without extreme measures toward isolation many vulnerable people – the elderly and those with existing health issues – would die. The numbers are rising very rapidly but at this moment the worldwide total of confirmed cases is nearly 204,000, of whom over 8,000 have died, just under 83,000 recovered, and the rest still considered active cases. In the US alone cases and deaths total 6,524 and 116, respectively, and those numbers will be higher by the time you read this.

Without responsible management by health authorities the death toll could become horrendous. The latest graphs still show both the spread and the death tolls to be exponential.

Stephen King is right – this is not _The Stand_, and we shouldn’t be panicking (yet), but it’s a serious global problem and can’t be superseded by economic considerations. Spain, which has been hard-hit, though not nearly as hard as Italy, is devoting an unprecedented 5% of its total GDP to trying to contain it.

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**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/25 "2020-03-18T12:45:05Z")

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> [@echoreply](#):
>
> We’re living through all the boring parts disaster fiction skips over. I’m hoping we don’t get to the exciting bits, and this series gets cancelled before they have to film expensive scenes of cities burning and massive riots.

Like

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**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/26 "2020-03-18T13:10:58Z")

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Are you dreaming of the old woman, or the Walkin’ Dude?

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**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/27 "2020-03-18T13:15:26Z")

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> [@beowulff](#):
>
> Gym closed today for at least two weeks.  
> Mayor announced all restaurants and other venues closed at 8pm tonight for two weeks.  
> Grocery stores starting to look pretty bare…
> 
> Does this sound like The Stand to you?

Feels more like beginning of [The Division video games](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkOhn0rQZrU). Obviously a more serious contagion, but chilling, really.

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**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/28 "2020-03-18T13:18:43Z")

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Does this mean Trump is Randall Flagg?

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**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/29 "2020-03-18T14:11:53Z")

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> [@UltraVires](#):
>
> The issue I have is that in The Stand, the Captain Trips virus actually killed 99% of people and everyone who got it; the survivors simply had an immunity to it. I understand the extreme measure for that.
> 
> For this we are wrecking the economy and people’s lives for a disease that the vast majority of people survive without the need for any medical attention at all.

> [@wolfpup](#):
>
> The vast majority do survive, but the problem is that it’s extremely contagious, so without extreme measures toward isolation many vulnerable people – the elderly and those with existing health issues – would die. The numbers are rising very rapidly but at this moment the worldwide total of confirmed cases is nearly 204,000, of whom over 8,000 have died, just under 83,000 recovered, and the rest still considered active cases. In the US alone cases and deaths total 6,524 and 116, respectively, and those numbers will be higher by the time you read this.
> 
> Without responsible management by health authorities the death toll could become horrendous. The latest graphs still show both the spread and the death tolls to be exponential.

There’s also the fact that unless the spread of the virus is sufficiently slowed (“flattening the curve”), the medical infrastructure will be overwhelmed by the number of cases that _do_ require treatment, which in turn will lead to additional deaths from all sorts of causes that would be curable under normal circumstances but fatal when there are no more available hospital beds or trained personnel.

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**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/30 "2020-03-18T14:55:52Z")

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My gf hasn’t read _The Stand_ since it was originally published (1978). She wanted to reread it and I couldn’t find my copy, so I bought it for our kindles.

If the current crises was a movie, we’d still be in Act One.

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**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/31 "2020-03-18T15:22:25Z")

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> [@joebuck20](#):
>
> Does this mean Trump is Randall Flagg?

If Trump pledged himself to serve the Crimson King, the King would tell him to fuck off.

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**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/32 "2020-03-18T18:19:22Z")

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The Stand isn’t a good comparison, though a Stephen King reference makes for an eye-catching thread title. 🙂

Captain Trips was 100% lethal to everyone except that \<1% who happened to be naturally immune. It also was (apparently) much more contagious. Given the short lead times between exposure/obvious symptoms/death, there was less time for each person to pass it on, which should have made it spread more slowly and allow some to avoid it. But it was a human-made virus, so the unnaturally high level of transmissibility made sense in context. Coronavirus is nowhere near as lethal, and so far, it seems that many carriers are asymptomatic. Hopefully that doesn’t change.

I’ve read a ridiculous amount of apocalyptic fiction - so much so that I consider myself a bit of an expert. I’ll have to think on which book this is most similar to, but surprisingly, the first thing that popped to mind was World War Z. (Note that the book is nothing like the movie). In WWZ, we see a lot of discussion of how different countries handled the zombie outbreak as it spread. The

So far, I don’t see the coronavirus leading to a true apocalyptic scenario, but it is certainly interesting to find oneself in a story that feels lifted from a book. I felt the same way in the wake of Hurricane Sandy - it felt like a temporary mini-apocalypse in my bit of the country.

> [@RioRico](#):
>
> I asked for the first that Dopers consumed, not the first produced. What first grabbed you?

The Stand. I read it in high school and 30+ years later, I’m still a die-hard fan of the genre.

> [@RivkahChaya](#):
>
> Does NO ONE else read Robin Cook?

Once in a while. Doesn’t he usually do “widespread disaster averted” plots, though?

> [@Dung\_Beetle](#):
>
> Are you dreaming of the old woman, or the Walkin’ Dude?

Neither, but I was very surprised to have a mildly erotic dream about a coworker. He’s not particularly well-liked by most, and would definitely rock the Randall Flag fashion, but he’s really good-hearted underneath. So I’m not sure if he is more Walkin’ Dude or Mother Abigail. Does this make me Nadine?

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**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/33 "2020-03-18T18:49:06Z")

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Reminds me of the Dome a little bit as far as not being able to move outside a small area.

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**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/34 "2020-03-18T19:28:05Z")

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Love King, and this novel is tied with “The Shining” as my favorite of his.

It’s a solid a read as ever. I see very little in terms of the social dynamics in common with living in NYC right now. ( Except that most of the time when I have to drive through the Lincoln Tunnel I do have that moment of frisson… :eek: )

That shifting-antigen virus flew fast and hard and ugly. This is slow by comparison. People have time to hoard, stoutly ignore governmental dictates, etc. I can hardly imaging NYPD cruisers slowly moving down Steinway Street with their loudspeaker going, blaring out a stern warning to keep people inside. What language would it be in? I don’t know the hard count on spoken languages within a mile of where I am sitting, but just off of the top of my head? English Spanish Greek Arabic Farsi Russian German Mandarin/ other Chinese dialects Japanese French, ahhhh the list goes on.

I’m not living in a Stephen King novel from where I sit. I fear I’m living through a bloodless coup whose end-game has been obvious for a few years and where nobody can do anything at all be learn to live with the new reality.

Back to the novel. I want to have a beer with Stu before I die.

And, M-O-O-N spells COVID.

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**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/35 "2020-03-18T19:38:00Z")

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> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#):
>
> I’ve been living in a Philip K. Dick novel since 2017, so Steven King is an upgrade.
> 
> [One of the overlooked gems of the 'Eighties.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggWS4tTzs60)
> 
> “A lot of people have directed Steven King novels and stories, and I finally decided if you want something done right, you ought to do it yourself.” Truer words were never more mispoken.
> 
> Stranger

Hey, why should Steven King let some Hollywood hack fuck up his movie when he can fuck it up himself and skip the middleman?

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**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/36 "2020-03-18T20:11:03Z")

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> [@RioRico](#):
>
> I asked for the first that Dopers consumed, not the first produced. What first grabbed you?

Oh, sorry, missed that. I have a vague memory of having to read _Masque_ in HS, but don’t remember much about it other than it wasn’t that much fun. Not too long ago, I tried to reread _The Scarlet Plague_, but gave up, so that wasn’t it. So I guess that leaves _Earth Abides_, since I haven’t read the King book nor any more recent ones in this genre.

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/37 "2020-03-18T20:28:12Z")

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> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#):
>
> I’ve been living in a Philip K. Dick novel since 2017, so Steven King is an upgrade.  
> …

Good to see you back. You’ve been missed.

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**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/38 "2020-03-18T20:29:45Z")

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> [@Bill\_Door](#):
>
> Hey, why should Steven King let some Hollywood hack fuck up his movie when he can fuck it up himself and skip the middleman?

In other news, George Lucas to buy back Lucasfilm from Disney for five cents on the dollar so he can produce modified “Special Editions” of the sequels with his homebrew CGI that he did himself using Lightwave on a vintage Video Toaster.

Stranger

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**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/39 "2020-03-18T23:09:06Z")

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> [@Cartooniverse](#):
>
> I can hardly imaging NYPD cruisers slowly moving down Steinway Street with their loudspeaker going, blaring out a stern warning to keep people inside.

I saw a video yesterday of a line of police cars driving through New Orleans with their lights flashing and a loudspeaker telling everyone to go home or to their hotel.

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**Author:** ![Anxious\_Squirrel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anxious_squirrel/32/1083_2.png) [@Anxious\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anxious_Squirrel)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-does-it-feel-living-in-a-stephen-king-novel/849687/40 "2020-03-19T01:23:21Z")

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> [@PatriotGrrrl](#):
>
> I saw a video yesterday of a line of police cars driving through New Orleans with their lights flashing and a loudspeaker telling everyone to go home or to their hotel.

You stole your sig line from my head! I thought those exact words a few days ago. Only in my version it was “as a hermit I’ve been socially distant before it was cool.” You cut out the hermit part, but still you stole my thoughts. I demand compensation to buy thicker tinfoil so you can’t do that again. :mad:

😛 😃

Also, no one has mentioned “The Last Ship.” That’s what I think of immediately since it was the most recent pandemic story I have seen.

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