Many authors, screen writers, and directors have made their name in the horror genre, but it's hard to deny that insanely prolific writer Stephen King is and will remain the king of horror for decades if not centuries to come.
Some of Stephen King's monsters and villains have become the most iconic and beloved in all of fiction, and it is often the film or television adaptations of said monsters that becomes the make or break element of their lasting power. However, some of them are much scarier and hold up much better than others. What Stephen King monsters are still terrifying, and which of them now seem more silly than scary?
10 Still Scare Us: Kurt Barlow
Kurt Barlow is clearly more monstrous and less human than most vampires that are portrayed in contemporary movies, however it's hard to deny that his over the top looks as well as the generally terrifying tale of Salem's Lot is still pretty terrifying.
In the novel he wasn't rocking such a classic vampire look, however the more old school styling of Kurt in the 1979 miniseries has still stuck in the minds of viewers and fans forty years later.
9 Too Silly: The Langoliers
Unfortunately, one Stephen King on-screen monster that looks dated but hasn't held up at all are the Langoliers.
Although The Langoliers miniseries is actually newer than the Salem's Lot series, the fact that it was made during the early days of CGI means that these time-eating monsters look absurd, despite the fact that the concept behind them and the story overall is still pretty intriguing.
8 Still Scare Us: Christine
Some of Stephen King's horror villains come from absurd places, and one would think that a seemingly demonically possessed 1958 Plymouth Fury would be on the silly side of his villains instead of the scary side.
However, the deadly duo of iconic writer Stephen King and legendary horror director John Carpenter is a huge reason why Christine is still terrifying, and the practical effects that were used in the film adaptation still hold up quite well today.
7 Too Silly: Sleepwalkers
The actual story of Sleepwalkers incorporates some classic, iconic horror ideas that anyone would expect Stephen King to knock it out of the park with. The titular Sleepwalkers are actually some strange breed of werecat that suck the energy out of virgin women and can make themselves and other things around them invisible.
However, it should be obvious why they're more silly than scary now. Just look at them.
6 Still Scare Us: The Overlook Hotel
Stephen King has undoubtedly come up with many different terrifying ideas for monsters, but the Overlook Hotel and the effects that it has on it's inhabitants is definitely one of the scariest.
Haunted houses or buildings are obviously a horror staple for a reason, but what makes the Overlook feel even scarier is that it's isolated, lonely, and that in a weird way, the victims of the hotel are already trapped and living inside the "monster".
5 Too Silly: He Who Walks Behind The Rows
The actual adaptation of Children of the Corn sort of walks the line between being silly and scary on it's own, however the main monster of the film, He Who Walks Behind the Rows, is much better and more frightening when it remains off screen.
The concept behind it, some sort of demon that requires the ritual sacrifice of every adult within a town, is definitely scary, but the fear kind of loses it's luster once the entity makes it's appearance.
4 Still Scare Us: The Mist
Sometimes simplicity is the key to making something truly terrifying. Yes, it's the strange, otherworldly entities that occupy the Mist that is actually the significant danger to humankind, but the psychological threat that the mysterious Mist poses clearly is even more terrifying.
Once again, it comes as no surprise that a horror master (Frank Darabont, executive producer and showrunner of The Walking Dead's early years) managed to make one of the scariest iterations of a Stephen King monster in film history.
3 Too Silly: Gage Creed
While Pet Sematary still qualifies as a Stephen King classic, the whole child possessed trope is kind of a played out one-trick pony.
Yes, the thought of losing a child is horrifying, and the idea of it being possessed by some kind of monster like a Wendigo is even ickier, but ultimately he's like 3 years old and probably 40 pounds at best, not exactly the terrifying or intimidating monster of most Stephen King stories.
2 Still Scare Us: Pennywise
Clowns are scary enough anyway, but after the release of IT Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, anyone who managed to make it through childhood un-traumatized by Tim Curry's version of Pennywise has likely had the pants scared off of them by the Bill Skarsgard version.
It seems like one of Stephen King's longest hit books would be difficult to adapt to the screen, but Pennywise still manages to be the scariest monster in his rogue's gallery.
1 Too Silly: Cujo
To be fair, the idea of being attacked by a rabid St. Bernard is still pretty scary in real world terms, it's just that in comparison to most other Stephen King monsters, Cujo isn't particularly intimidating.
And putting that aside, conceptually it's just kind of a weak idea, or at the very least it's not enough to sustain an entire novel or film.
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