Stephen King, Christine

Michael J. Meyer (DePaul University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1983

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Horror
Novel

Resources

Christine is the supernatural tale of a “possessed” automobile published by iconic horror novelist Stephen King in 1983. Given King's predisposition to pop trivia, the idea for such a car may have sprung from the urban legends surrounding the automobile accident that killed actor James Dean at age 24 in 1955. Dean's untimely death occurred in Cholame, California (near San Luis Obispo), when his Porsche 550 Spyder was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle. The car, which Dean had nicknamed Little Bastard, was later removed from the scene, repaired and offered for sale. While it retained its mythical status in the Dean legend, according to Wikipedia the car was seen as unlucky, leaving a trail of accidents …

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1767 words

Citation: Meyer, Michael J.. "Christine". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 December 2009 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=12639, accessed 25 November 2024.]

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