Stephen King reveals which horror movie was too scary for him to finish

Stephen King in It Chapter 2 — (Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Stephen King has revealed the horror movie that was just too scary for him to finish.

The acclaimed horror writer first made the comments back in 2019 on an episode of Eli Roth's History of Horror podcast, and they've since resurfaced. It turns out the one movie not even Stephen King could stomach is none other than The Blair Witch Project.

"The first time I saw [The Blair Witch Project], I was in the hospital and I was doped up," King said. "My son brought a VHS tape of it and he said, 'You gotta watch this.' Halfway through it, I said, 'Turn it off it's too freaky.'" (H/T Collider)

King, meanwhile, is the brain behind classics like The Shining, It, Pet Semetary, Misery, and Carrie. The author has recently adapted his novel Lisey's Story into a miniseries for Apple TV Plus, which stars Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, Dane DeHaan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Joan Allen. It sees Lisey (Moore) grappling with previously suppressed memories of her marriage to her husband (Owen) after his death.

This isn't the first time King has shared his thoughts on The Blair Witch Project. In a 2010 edition of his non-fiction book Danse Macabre, King wrote: "One thing about Blair Witch: the damn thing looks real. Another thing about Blair Witch: the damn thing feels real. And because it does, it's like the worst nightmare you ever had, the one you woke from gasping and crying with relief because you thought you were buried alive and it turned out the cat jumped up on your bed and went to sleep on your chest." (H/T Bloody Disgusting)

He added of his experience watching the movie in hospital: "It may be the only time in my life when I quit a horror movie in the middle because I was too scared to go on." King also commented that he has since seen the film all the way through.

Lisey's Story premieres on Apple TV Plus this June 4. Until then, check out our roundup of the 30 best horror movies of all time.

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.