Have you forgotten the face of your father?
I hope not, gunslingers - because as many of you have pointed out in our previous video,
of course - the King of Horror himself has such a wide array of horrifying and all-powerful
fictional creations that we couldn’t ever fully justify a list without at least doing
a part two.
You know what - it was absolutely awesome to see so many of you guys declaring your
love for Stephen King’s fictional work in the last video - so on that point alone, it’s
about time that we do a Part 2.
Hello horror fans - what’s going on, and welcome back to the scariest channel on YouTube
- Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch - as today, I invite you all once again
to join my ka’tet - and take a look at the Top 5 Scariest Stephen King Characters - Part
2.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that clip was from 1990’s Misery starring Kathy Bates
as Annie Wilkes - who made the grade on the first part of our list, and she’s popping
up again - because she’s absolutely terrifying, isn’t she?
But there is someone else that King penned in the same vein as this fanatical psychopath.
Kicking off at Number 5 - Margaret White, Carrie
Because although we covered Mrs. Carmody from The Mist in our first video - no one does
terrifying zealotry quite like Mrs. Margaret White - the mother of the titular Carrie,
and a woman so entrenched in her own obsession with sin, that in Stephen King’s world - Carrie’s
own mother becomes her most horrifying adversary.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that although both novel and film versions of Mrs.
White are equally scary - Piper Laurie’s performance of Mrs. White in the 1976 cinematic
adaptation added so much to the fear of a mother lost to madness that it’s worthy
of separating the two.
Appearing in King’s 1974 debut novel, Carrie, Mrs. White is instrumental in forcing her
telekinetic daughter into a life of misery and emotional abuse, as Mrs. White battles
with her own ideology of judgement and punishment, inflicted on her after years and years of
being in an abusive relationship.
I’m not going to lie - the events of Carrie covers some pretty heavy themes - often personified
by Mrs. White herself - but what King manages to perfectly capture in his debut novel is
that despite the supernatural, despite the corporeal - sometimes, the true meaning of
fear is left waiting at home.
Swinging in at Number 4 - Kurt Barlow, ‘Salem’s Lot
For some of you - that scene in Tobe Hooper’s 1979 T.V mini-series may have been one of
your more terrifying brushes with King’s work - and that reaction alone, the body freezing
in complete and utter moral horror at the sight of a Type-One Vampire in a prison cell
is exactly what we all want from a vampire movie, right?
Right.
Because that’s what Kurt Barlow is meant to represent, an all-consuming evil that humanity
can only hope to hide from.
Or - you know, build up enough courage to stake him through the heart.
From a personal perspective, ‘Salem’s Lot - written by King in 1975 - was the first
time that a horror novel ever made me actually terrified to turn the page - and it was because
of the ever encroaching dread of Kurt Barlow’s character.
It takes a while to get going - but during the events of the novel, Barlow arrived in
the town of Jerusalem’s Lot in a large, sealed box by his familiar and assistant Richard
Straker - posing as an antiques dealer while also kidnapping the local children of the
town in a human sacrifice appeasement ritual for his Vampire master.
Although I think it’s accepted to appreciate both the novel and 1979 miniseries versions
of Barlow - in the show, he took on a much more Nosferatu-esque appearance, resembling
a horribly disfigured mutant-like creature with snarling teeth.
Also, Telekinesis - as if Vampires aren’t already terrifying enough.
Next up at Number 3 - Donald Elbert, The Stand
And for those of you that have already seen the cheese-ridden pseudo-90s-classic of a
TV series - then this guy will be a bit of a curveball in your horror repertoire, to
say the least.
Donald Elbert - also known as The Trashcan Man - is somewhat of an enigma when it comes
to horror fiction, because with this guy - King plays on one of our most exploitable emotions
- empathy.
The overarching themes that the Trashcan Man embodies are why King is so masterful in his
horror fiction - because what we have in essence, is a man who is so fanatical in his urge to
burn things - who inevitably literally detonates a nuclear weapon and kills everything and
everyone - yet we still feel sorry for this guy.
Well, kind of.
All throughout his life, Donald Elbert was at the beck and call of powers outside of
his control - manifested and personified in his schizophrenic pyromania.
As a child, Donald’s father killed his eldest three children after getting into an argument
at a bar and killing the bartender - although Donald’s mother managed to flee the house
with then five-year-old Donny.
For the rest of his life, he would descend into an all-burning madness and social isolation
- that is, until the events of The Stand - where he meets the all-evil-man-in-black himself,
Randall Flagg - and old Walter O’Dim realises that this friend in need is a friend indeed
to help him rule the wasteland.
Donald Elbert is so damn scary because he’s a man that has literally nothing to lose,
and he’s a man that’s willing to burn it all to the ground.
Coming in at Number 2 - The Overlook Hotel, The Shining
And I know that many, many of you guys wanted to see The Overlook Hotel make this list - and
I’m more than happy to oblige - because much like with Blaine the Mono, King has an
uncanny knack for turning inanimate objects and structures into some terrifying horror
villains in their own right - so much so, that it’s been referenced several times
in King’s work - Misery, the spiritual sequel Doctor Sleep, the Castle Rock T.V series - and
of course - it’s crowning performance, in the 1977 novel - The Shining.
As the events of the novel gradually allude to, The Overlook Hotel - a grandiose residence
out in the Rocky Mountains - was actually the historical sites of many ancient atrocities
- including suicides, gangland murders - and a bizarre series of suspicious changes in
ownership.
Despite that though, the building managed to maintain it’s grand decor and sumptuous
grounds - but of course, there’s a little more to it - and it’s because The Overlook
Hotel, and the ghosts that inhabit it - have become an entity in and of themselves, and
as Jack Torrance finds out - it’s ravenous for a fresh new soul.
The machinations of The Overlook Hotel are later built on in King’s 2013 sequel to
The Shining - Doctor Sleep - and in some bizarre twist of fate - it kind of redeems itself.
It’s still terrifying though - and a stark warning to be careful of taking a caretaker
job that seems too good to be true.
And finally - at our Number 1 spot - The Crimson King
And - unfortunately there isn’t a cinematic clip to accompany this point - because there
is yet to be a worthy silver-screen interpretation of, perhaps - King’s most all-consuming
and all powerful evil entity, The Crimson King - and that’s because it would kind
of be impossible to correctly capture the shapeless form of the most powerful entity
in King’s Multiverse.
Also known as Los the Red, Ram Abbalah, Lord of the Spiders - and the Kingfish - this guy
is the puppet-master and main antagonist of the Dark Tower Series - although The Man In
Black comes a close second - he answers to this guy.
We’re in some pretty thematic territory here - but The Crimson King is only ever alluded
to in King’s fictional mythos as an ever-changing and shapeless entity, and his appearance is
as the orchestrator of the chaos and decay that occurs in the Keystone World and much
of that in all the other worlds connected by the Dark Tower.
His ultimate goal is to tear down the Dark Tower itself - bring about Discordia, which
is essentially the scrambled egg version of existence - and then re-make the universe
in his own image.
Although Randall Flagg is the big-bad-evil in many of King’s fictional works - he does
serve one guy, and it’s this guy - The Crimson King - Le Roi Rousse.
Pretty much King’s Satan himself.
If that doesn’t get you - he’s also a were-spider.
Nah, I’m good thanks.
Well, there we have it horror fans - our list for the Top 5 Scariest Stephen King Characters
- Part 2.
Why don’t you let us know your choices in the comment section down below, and who knows
- maybe we’ll even try out for a part 3.
Before we depart though, let’s do what we do best - and read out some of your more entertaining
remarks from over the past few days.
First up - Michael Gustafsson says - Walter o’Dim?
So now I understand were CD projekt Red got the name for Gaunter O’Dimm - Witcher 3
Expansion Heart of Stone.
And yes, yes, yes Michael!
Witcher 3 all day - every day - best damn game ever day.
Nice little observation, and I’m pretty sure the studio themselves confirmed Gaunter
O’Dimm was a direct reference to King’s work.
Now that’s a crossover.
Next up - Boa Boy says -- I’m pretty sure Mister Barlow is way scarier than Annie Wilkes
if you met him in person that is all.
--- Eh…
I don’t know about that Boa Boy - I think I’d rather take my chances with a Type-One
Vampire than a cock-a-doodie Annie Wilkes.
Well, on that note horror fans - cheers for sticking around all the way until the end
- if you were a fan of this video, make sure to hit that thumbs up button - as well as
that subscribe bell - and I’ll be seeing you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch - you’ve been watching Top 5
Scary Videos - and until next time, you take it easy.