“And then the world exploded.”

Fifty years ago, Stephen King published a slim novel about a lonely girl finding her power and the world of horror has never been the same. We all know the story by now. Outcast Carrie White gets bullied by her classmates and abused by her ultra-religious mother. Good Girl Sue Snell convinces her boyfriend to take Carrie to prom in her place. Mean Girl Chris Hargenson orchestrates a plot to get Carrie voted Prom Queen then coronates her with a bucket of pig’s blood. They all laugh and Carrie unleashes her deadly powers of telekinesis. King’s story of high school morality and bloody revenge has woven itself into the fabric of American life, extending its reach well past genre limits. To mark this milestone, The Losers’ Club celebrates the birth of a legend with a Twinner book episode on the 1974 novel Carrie.

Already an accomplished short story author, King wrote his literary debut on nights and weekends while teaching high school English and struggling to make ends meet. Challenged by a friend to write a story about a female character, the young husband and father dreamed up the story’s infamous opening on a janitorial trip to an empty girl’s locker room. King was Intimidated by the scope and content of the story and famously threw the first few pages away. They were later rescued by his wife Tabitha who wanted to know what would happen next.

While the conclusion of Carrie’s life is shocking and tragic, King’s decision to keep telling her story would spark a transformational phase of American literature and forever change the landscape of horror. Thanks to a stunning 1976 adaptation by Brian De Palma, Carrie’s story has become ubiquitous. It’s impossible to shop for a formal dress without picturing her worst-case coronation and the image of a prom queen screaming with rage has become seared into our collective minds. But why do we find her story so compelling? How has this shy teenage girl left her bloody mark on the world?

Losers’ Club co-hosts Jenn Adams, Rachel Reeves, Mel Kassel, and Ashley Casseday explore the legacy of Carrie and the five women at the tale’s dark heart. How did Stephen King revolutionize the horror genre? Why do stories about women stand the test of time? How does King handle the science of telekinesis and is the semi-epistolary format a blessing or a curse? Can Sue Snell’s motivations be trusted? Can a man effectively write about high school girls? Is Carrie a feminist novel and did it birth the concept of Good For Her horror? This fearless panel of Lady Losers will sift the wreckage to find answers for these questions and more as they honor Carrie and a fifty-year legacy of female fury.

Stream the discussion below and stay tuned next week when the Losers check into Doctor Sleep. For further adventures, join the Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock hundreds of hours of content in The Barrens (Patreon), including more Lobstrosities like this episode.

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