# Thanks to Stephen King . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651 "2012-02-22T19:15:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/61 "2012-02-27T22:45:25Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Let’s go to Derry this summer! A paradise, I tells ya. {Eyes Ellen suspiciously} You can’t fool me with that - I know better. “Let’s go to Maine - we’ll have a great time with all those lakes and stuff!” Sure, until the killing starts. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/62 "2012-02-28T00:29:43Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > {Eyes Ellen suspiciously} You can’t fool me with that - I know better. “Let’s go to Maine - we’ll have a great time with all those lakes and stuff!” Sure, until the killing starts. That mostly never happens “on the TR”. Mostly. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/63 "2012-02-28T06:27:03Z")
> [@Archergal](#): > > When I was a kid, somebody told me about the movie [The Tingler.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053363/plotsummary) > > I never actually SAW the movie. But the description scared me so bad that for YEARS, I wouldn’t get into bed without looking under all the furniture and even raising up the sheets to make sure the damn Tingler wasn’t in my room. :rolleyes: Better _not_ see the movie–The Tingler is on _your own spine_! I feel bland by comparison: Thanx to a glancing reference in _Travels With Charlie_, I still put eggshells in my coffee grounds. I also do all _sorts_ of crazy things because of _Illuminatus!_, though… ---
**Author:** ![PalJuicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a8b319/32.png) [@PalJuicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PalJuicy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/64 "2012-02-28T11:22:57Z")
In '91, our honeymoon trip was to Maine (/Nova Scotia) and while we’re walking around Bar Harbor, my husband says, “Between Stephen King and Jessica Fletcher, I’m surprised there’s anyone left alive in Maine.” ---
**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:** [February 28, 2012, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/65 "2012-02-28T11:32:49Z")
Before Lethal Weapon 2, I never thought there could be a bomb in my toilet! But now I check _every time_. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/66 "2012-02-29T14:03:12Z")
This one’s become such a routine I almost forgot it: Whenever I walk on the treadmill at the gym, I set it for 4 mph, because that was the speed requirement for contestants in _The Long Walk_. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/67 "2012-02-29T18:44:38Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > This one’s become such a routine I almost forgot it: Whenever I walk on the treadmill at the gym, I set it for 4 mph, because that was the speed requirement for contestants in _The Long Walk_. OOOoooooh - nice! I don’t do that (or walk on treadmills), but I definitely think about “The Long Walk” while I’m out on a nice, long walk (“Well, it’s been an hour and a half and I’m getting pretty tired - I don’t suppose I could do this for A WEEK!”). ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/68 "2012-02-29T19:13:30Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > This one’s become such a routine I almost forgot it: Whenever I walk on the treadmill at the gym, I set it for 4 mph, because that was the speed requirement for contestants in _The Long Walk_. That’s awesome. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/69 "2012-02-29T19:19:43Z")
Yeah, it’s a nice brisk pace…at the end of my twenty minutes, I’m about ready to collect my first warning! ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/70 "2012-02-29T20:38:33Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > There will never be any foreplay involving handcuffs, thanks to _Gerald’s Game_. > > I would check the rooftops of the neighboring buildings for aliens before I could sleep for a few days after I saw _Signs_. Say what you will, that movie scared the crap out of me. TMI and I totally shouldn’t share this but… 😃 I was actually _in_ handcuffs once and my partner – due to medical reasons – collapsed, mid-thrust. At least my hands were cuffed in front of me, so at least I could get the blindfold off to see that he needed medical attention immediately. But I didn’t want to call 911\* nekkid in handcuffs, and my thighs were chained together, so I couldn’t have answered the door anyway. So yeah, the _second_ thing I thought of (After, :eek: OMG, what am I going to _do_? How can I help him like _this_?) was Gerald’s Game. Damn you, Stephen King. - I managed to get out of the chains, find the handcuff keys, get myself out, and help my partner. Administered first aid as needed, stayed with him to make sure he was okay. And lo and behold, wouldn’t you know it, a couple hours later, he was up and ready to finish what we’d started. _Un_chained/cuffed that time. 🆒 I did _not_ have to gnaw my own hand off. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/71 "2012-02-29T20:41:26Z")
Thanks to _The Birds_, I still get creeped out by groups of birds. I thought I had overcome the fear, a couple of years ago when I bought a bird feeder,(to keep them happy), and started enjoying watching them. Then I got sick and didn’t refill the feeder for a few days. When I went outside, they lined up on the fence, waiting while I filled it. I had to restrain myself from throwing the bag of seed down and running for my life. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/72 "2012-02-29T20:42:12Z")
I think there’s some money to be made in manufacturing treadmills that issue warnings if you drop below 4 mph. On your third and final warning, you’re tased until you void your bowels. I think I read way too much King. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/73 "2012-02-29T20:53:54Z")
I just went to the doctor today for a cold that’s gone into bronchitis. Apparently something is going around, because the waiting room sounded like a TB ward. I will always, ALWAYS, think of the beginning of _The Stand_ in these situations. ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/74 "2012-02-29T21:24:47Z")
“Dont you want a balloon? THEY FLOAT!” _shudder_ I think Stephen King did the world good by making a long television PSA warning a generation of children about the dangers of sewer-dwelling clowns offering balloons :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/75 "2012-02-29T21:53:08Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > I think there’s some money to be made in manufacturing treadmills that issue warnings if you drop below 4 mph. On your third and final warning, you’re tased until you void your bowels… You just bought yourself a ticket, cmyk. Thanks to King, I no longer read King. I traumatized myself as a child. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/76 "2012-02-29T22:33:54Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > You just bought yourself a ticket, cmyk. > > Thanks to King, I no longer read King. I traumatized myself as a child. No problem, I just have to go an hour without-- OW, A CHARLIE HORSE! IT’S NOT FAIR!!! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/77 "2012-02-29T22:43:19Z")
> [@lisacurl](#): > > I just went to the doctor today for a cold that’s gone into bronchitis. Apparently something is going around, because the waiting room sounded like a TB ward. I will always, ALWAYS, think of the beginning of _The Stand_ in these situations. My husband and I both had the stupid coughing thing that was going around about a month ago, and at one point I said to him, “So, this is probably the Apocalyptic Plague, eh?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/78 "2012-03-01T20:58:17Z")
I have the stoopid coughing/flu thing right now. If it’s not Captain Trips, it sure feels like it. ---
**Author:** ![Renifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Renifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renifer)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651/79 "2012-03-03T04:43:46Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > That’s a good one - I do it, but I’m not entirely comfortable doing it. > > I also don’t like walking under our garage door as it’s opening - I can’t assign that to a particular book, but I have a feeling Stephen King was involved somehow. Perhaps The Best Christmas Pageant Ever? I remember in the book the Herdman kids used to shut the garage door on each other. They didn’t die, obviously, but it scared me nonetheless. Up until my late teens, I would activate the door closer from the garage wall then run away as fast as I could so the garage door would not close on me. This wonderful book also taught me the horrors of not piercing my own ears with a needle and an ice cube. On another trauma from childhood literature, I didn’t start fearing plane crashes until I read Flight #116 Is Down by Caroline B. Cooney. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-to-stephen-king/613651.md?page=3)