Carrie (1974) is the groundbreaking debut novel by Stephen King, a visceral blend of horror, psychological drama, and supernatural revenge that launched his legendary career. The story centers on Carrie White, a tormented high school outcast with latent telekinetic powers, who endures relentless bullying from classmates and abuse from her fanatically religious mother, Margaret White. After a humiliating prank at the prom triggers her rage, Carrie unleashes her abilities in a cataclysmic massacre, destroying her town in a firestorm of vengeance.
King’s narrative—structured through fictional newspaper clippings, interviews, and scientific reports—creates a sense of inevitability, as if Carrie’s tragedy were a historical event. The novel explores themes of isolation, religious extremism, and the cruelty of adolescence, with Carrie’s transformation from victim to avenger remaining one of horror’s most iconic arcs.
For similar reads, try Firestarter (1980) for another King tale of a pyrokinetic child, or The Girl with All the Gifts (2014) by M.R. Carey for a modern twist on misunderstood power.
(Fun fact: King nearly trashed the manuscript; his wife, Tabitha, rescued it from the trash and urged him to finish it.)
