A Stephen King book worth thousands that may be hiding in your bookcase

Book collecting can be an expensive hobby, but some lucky horror fans might secretly have an out-of-print Stephen King book on their shelves that’s worth a fair amount of money. Not only that, but the book will likely never go back into print, which means prices will only go up.

The book, titled “Rage,” was published in 1977 under King’s pseudonym, Richard Bachman, and copies can sell online for up to $4,000, depending on factors such as edition and condition. Unless you’re a hardcore King fanatic, this seems a bit odd if you’ve gone out of your way to collect it, because it tells the story of a school shooter and copies of the novel have been found linked to several school shootings in the 1980s and 1990s, prompting King to let his writers stop writing. Posting intentionally. Although there are many Great movies based on banned or controversial booksKing’s self-censorship is something entirely different and a good thing There will never be a movie adaptation of “Rage.” Or print more than one copy. It makes existing copies extremely rare and collectible, and it’s entirely possible that some old-school horror fans have highly prized copies packed away in their attic or on a shelf somewhere.

People who really want to read “Rage” will find ways to do so, but hopefully removing it from sale will help keep it away from more impressionable young minds who haven’t already heard of King’s most famous work. I first read it as part of the out-of-print American edition of Bachmann Books, which contains Fury, The Long March, Roadworks, and The Running Man, a deep, disturbing story that sincerely sympathizes with its murderous protagonist. Few other King stories come close to dealing with real-world horrors except perhaps Apt Pupil is also an exceptionally disturbing novel. “Bachmann Books” is still available now, but “Rage” is no longer listed.

Copies of the original from “The Bachman Books” are much cheaper because more of them were printed, but the most expensive copies of “Rage” are the first edition paperback that came on the market in 1977 and is in good condition. Spending thousands of dollars may seem strange, but hey, Stephen King fans are pretty passionate.

What’s really unfortunate is that school shootings have become so common that there are numerous examples of other creative works being changed or pulled from the air/shelves in the wake of another act of violence. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” Rings on the shelf because of Columbine A 1999 school shooting, “Bones” pulled a loop Because of the shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007And “Stranger Things” had to do that Add warning to the Season 4 premiere After the Uvalde school shooting in 2022. Many things have changed since King published “Rage” in 1977, and it is unfortunate that school shootings have increased dramatically.

In a 2013 article titled “Guns,” King wrote He explained his reasoning Because he no longer wanted to “rage” on the shelves, take responsibility for the potential for harm and acknowledge that the book he wrote as a teenager, unfortunately, resonated with other struggling teens, but those with easy access to firearms. “That they will find a soul brother in the fictional character of Charlie Decker?” he wrote, “but that does not mean that we excuse them or give them schemes for expressing their hatred and fear in more ways than one.” He continued his explanation of letting the book go out of print by writing:

“My book didn’t break (concerned readers), nor did it turn them into killers. They found something in my book that spoke to them because they were already broken. However, I saw ‘rage’ as a potential accelerant, which is why I’ve pulled it from sale. Don’t leave a gasoline can where a boy can “He has a tendency to burn himself if he gets his hands on her.”

It is similar to the decision made by director Stanley Kubrick to withdraw the film “A Clockwork Orange” from release until his death, as well There have been concerns about copycat crimes Inspired by those committed by Malcolm McDowell’s character Alex. In both cases, the creators behind these stories had reason to believe that their work had the potential to do more harm than the average movie or book, and they did their best to undo that harm. It’s impossible to stop people from doing terrible things and no amount of censorship, self-imposed or otherwise, will change that, but as King said, it’s better not to give them speed.