The Science of Stephen King

Ubiquitous animals like dogs and birds can seem harmless, even cute. Stephen King harnessed their seemingly placid natures, subverting our expectations of these creatures in novels like Cujo, Pet Sematary, and The Dark Half. In Cell, he reveals the terror of one of our most beloved machines, the cell phone. So, naturally, our four-wheeled companions are not safe from the Master of Horror’s gory treatment. This tradition started with the short story Trucks (1973). Later adapted into the 1986 Stephen King–directed film Maximum Overdrive, Trucks is the story of strangers trapped in a truck stop when the semis outside suddenly get evil minds of their own. Next came the novel Christine (1983) in which a haunted 1958 Plymouth Fury causes death and chaos to whomever gets in its supernatural way. Considering the vehicular accident that King endured in 1999, it’s no wonder that he revisited murderous cars with the 2002 publication of From a Buick 8.

Special effects supervisor Roy Arbogast used hydraulics and rubber molds in the 1983 film adaption ofChristineto make the vehicle look like it was crumpling in on itself.

Centering on a troop of Pennsylvania cops, the novel unravels the narrative of when the car was abandoned in 1979, and all the chaos it has caused until present day, through multiple perspectives. In fact, it doesn’t seem to be a car at all. As described in her review for the New York Times, Laura Miller explains the odd nature of the car in question. “Everyone who sees the car instantly knows that it’s ‘wrong.’ It’s got an exhaust system made out of glass and a dashboard full of phony controls, for example—and it just gives people the creeps.”1 The Buick in the novel, described as similar to the make of a Buick Roadmaster, is not just murderous like the Plymouth in Christine. It seems to be a portal between worlds; our own, and another that is frightening and vastly different from what the cops are used to. This theme of a schism between two worlds has been explored numerous times in King’s work, including in the novella The Mist (1980) and the Dark Tower series.

In 1902, Eugene C. Richard applied for a Buick patent on an overhead valve, or valve-in-head, engine. The design was later adapted across the auto industry.

Evil cars are not a new idea created by Stephen King. While he undoubtedly is the horror fiction master, there are urban legends about cursed or possessed cars that stretch further back in modern history. Like the 1964 Dodge 330 that has been blamed for the murder of fourteen people! The story is that the car began as a police vehicle. Three officers who drove the Dodge all committed suicide after murdering their families. It then found its way to Wendy Allen, an owner who claims the doors had a mind of their own. Then came a spate of strange deaths, all happening to people who had vandalized the notorious Dodge. From a strike of lightning to a horrific semi-truck accident, the car sought its bloody revenge. The legend says that it was then chopped into bits by a worried church group. (Okay, there are no documents or proof that this Dodge was truly murderous, but it sure makes for great fiction like Christine and From a Buick 8.)

A more verifiable story of a possibly “cursed” car is the 550 Spyder owned by movie star James Dean. Nicknamed “L’il Bastard” by Dean, the Spyder caused so much death and destruction, it was purposely hidden from the world. First, it took its famous owner’s life. On September 30th, 1955, twenty-four-year-old Dean was killed when he hit a vehicle in rural California. After this tragedy, George Barris, creator of the Batmobile for the Batman TV series (1966–1968) came into possession of the Spyder. He sold a few parts to two doctors who used them in a race. One of the doctors perished. Then, Barris loaned the car out to the California Highway Patrol in order to be used as a deterrent against reckless driving.