Stephen King on why he has no recollection of writing ‘Cujo’
Undoubtedly recognised as one of the most important authors of the 20th century, the American writer Stephen King is responsible for the era’s spookiest and most intense tales. Penning such classics as The Shining, Carrie, It, Pet Sematary, Salem’s Lot and The Mist, King has written over 60 novels with an arsenal of short stories under his belt. Yet, a large portion of his career is tragically omitted from his memory.
Finding his first morsel of literary luck in 1967 when he sold the professional short story, The Glass Floor to Startling Mystery Stories, King kickstarted his career with a bang but failed to gain considerable momentum until the release of his fourth novel, Carrie, in 1974. Becoming a considerable sensation, Carrie set the gears of King’s career in motion, especially once his novel was adapted into a successful horror movie directed by Brian De Palma in 1976.
Whilst this period of time was one teeming with career success, it was also significantly marred by the death of King’s mother shortly after the release of Carrie. Developing a serious drinking problem, King descended down a spiral of depression, even admitting that he was drunk while delivering the eulogy at his mother’s funeral.
This addiction seriously affected King throughout the remainder of the decade up until the early 1980s when his friends and family would stage an intervention, confronting him about his problem. As detailed in his 2000 memoir, On Writing, the writer barely remembers writing his 1981 novel Cujo. It was a frightening admittance that led those close to him to highlight his addictions, presenting him with everything from cigarette butts and beer cans to cocaine, Valium and mouthwash.
Seeking professional help, the writer became sober in the late 1980s and has since never touched drink or drugs. As a result, King turned to writing as his only vice, becoming an obsessive teller of stories, both long and short. “I love it. And it’s one of the few things where I do it less now and get as much out of it,” the writer stated during an interview with Rolling Stone.
Continuing, the author explained his love of writing, stating: “Usually with dope and booze, you do it more and get less out of it as time goes by. It’s still really good, but it’s addictive, obsessive-compulsive behaviour”. Ditching the drugs for the pen, he exclaims: “I’ll write every day for maybe six months and get a draft of something – and then I make myself stop completely for 10 days or 12 days in order to let everything settle. But during that time off, I drive my wife crazy”.
Thankfully, and rather surprisingly, despite being very high on cocaine during the book’s formation, Cujo, along with the likes of Firestarter, Dead Zone and The Shining, which were written before King’s sobriety, turned out to be critical and commercial successes. Telling the story of a bloodthirsty St Bernard who becomes rabid and starts attacking a suburban housewife and her young son, the film is a frightening piece of brutal horror.
Adapted into a movie in 1983 by director Lewis Teague, the film is an underrated thriller in King’s filmography.
