Stephen King’s prolific writing career boasts numerous notable works, but there is one particular novel you won’t find at your local bookstore.
Known as the ‘King of Horror’, King’s repertoire includes classics such as It, The Shining, Salem’s Lot, and Carrie, many of which have been adapted into major films.
Carrie marked King’s debut as a published novelist in 1974. Salem’s Lot came out the following year, with Rage being published in 1977.
King wrote Rage in 1965 during his high school years. It was the first title released under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman.
The novel provides a “vivid first-person account of a disturbed student who commits a school shooting in Maine.”
Some have drawn parallels between Rage and the tragic events at Columbine High School in 1999, where students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed twelve students and a teacher.
The Columbine massacre remains one of the most deadly school shootings in U.S. history.
With the growing incidence of school shootings in the years following Rage’s publication, King decided that the book should be withdrawn from circulation.
In a 2013 essay titled “Guns”, he reflected: “I suppose if it had been written today, and some high school English teacher had seen it, he would have rushed the manuscript to the guidance counselor and I would have found myself in therapy posthaste.”
“But 1965 was a different world, one where you didn’t have to take off your shoes before boarding a plane and there were no metal detectors at the entrances to high schools.”
While King doesn’t believe Rage directly incited events like Columbine, he acknowledged it may have served as a “possible accelerant.”
In 1998, a year after the Heath High School shooting where 14-year-old Michael Carneal fatally shot three students, Rage was officially taken out of circulation.
Even though it’s been out of print for decades, Rage still attracts interest. A first edition can fetch up to $2,000, depending on its condition.
Remarkably, one fortunate person found a copy in a thrift store for just $2.
Craig Johnston, a Northern Ireland resident aiming to collect all of King’s works, recently came across a copy of Rage.
Despite its substantial value, Johnston is hesitant to sell the rare book.