10 Stephen King Stories That Would Make Terrifying Horror Games

Key Takeaways

• Stephen King’s works are ripe for gaming adaptations but have yet to succeed in the gaming world.
• Dark, gruesome stories like ‘The Dark Half’ and ‘Cujo’ could translate well into horror video game formats.
• Potential adaptations, such as ‘Desperation’ and ‘Cell,’ offer unique gameplay mechanics and thrilling challenges.

Stephen King is the master of horror for a reason. His books, and the movies based on his books, have been consistently unsettling us since the 1970s. Yet, in spite of that horror dominance in most creative mediums, King’s work has never effectively broken into the gaming world.

It’s a shame that this has never happened, because there is more than enough material to draw from for creative worlds and stories. Whether it’s video games or tabletop gaming, there are several Stephen King stories we’ll hopefully get adaptations for in the future.

Updated on October 9, 2024, by Dennis Moiseyev: Stephen King remains unparalleled in his horror storytelling abilities. He’s got a new tale out each year, sometimes even twice in one year, and movie adaptations of his works continue to be released in droves, with new projects constantly in development for a TV show or movie. However, his stories still have yet to make waves in video games and haven’t taken off in the way Lovecraft did. But since there are so many excellent terrifying books by King, here are a few more that need to become video games at the soonest convenience.

15 The Dark Half

A Dark And Gruesome Horror Story That Needs The Terrifying Atmosphere Of Alan Wake Rather Than A Pitiful ’90s Point-And-Click

The Alan Wake series was influenced by the works of Stephen King as much as by those of David Lynch, but the story with the most overlap is The Dark Half. This story is symbolic of King shedding away his own ‘dark’ pen name, Richard Bachman, with his fictional protagonist Thaddeus Beaumont burying George Stark, a pen name he uses for horror novels from the point of view of a murderer called Alexis Machine.

The George Stark persona comes to life and becomes Thad’s supernatural evil doppelganger, seeking revenge and murdering those he thinks made Thad kill him, with the police beginning to suspect that Thad is responsible. This could be done very similarly to the Alan Wake series, with the player also switching between Castle Rock’s sheriff, Alan Pangborn, and author Thad Beaumont on a quest to stop Stark.

The book even features disturbing excerpts from the fictional Alexis Machine books written by George Stark, and that could serve as collectible pages you would find.

14 Cujo

An Asymmetrical Horror Game Where One Player Can Become The Killer Dog

There are games where you pet the dog, but how about a game where you can actually play the rabid killer dog, Cujo, from the Stephen King novel, trying to claim as many victims as you can? This game would work best as an asymmetrical horror game akin to Dead by Daylight or Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game, where one player controls Cujo and the rest are trying not to get mauled to death.

Cujo is one of Stephen King’s darker and more depressing novels, especially with how bleak and sad the ending is. The game will obviously ignore much of the main story from the book to better function as a multiplayer game, but it still should be set in Castle Rock and leave plenty of room for Easter eggs of the Trenton family to be included.

13 Desperation

A Lovecraftian Horror Game Where You Battle Tak And Its Possessed Forces

Stephen King’s Desperation is set in a fictional Nevada town home to a mine that harbors an extradimensional entity known as Tak. Tak has taken possession of the sheriff’s deputy, Collie Entragian, who in the 2006 film adaptation is played by actor Ron Perlman. Entragian does Tak’s bidding and imprisons travelers off Nevada’s Highway 50, but Tak can also take control of wildlife.

Eventually, the survivors escape and decide to contain Tak in the mines by blowing the entrance to the pit in which it resides. This is the perfect setting and premise for a Lovecraftian horror game, with the player having to work together to save others from the homicidal Entragian and the other enemies that Tak possesses around the open-world town of Desperation and concluding with a final boss encounter down in the mines.

12 Holly

An Interactive Horror-Mystery Game With Elderly Cannibals As The Villain

After appearing as a character in the Bill Hodges book trilogy, 2018’s The Outsider, and then in the short story sequel, If It Bleeds, Holly Gibney finally got her own standalone novel in 2023.

King showcases one of his most disturbing villains yet in Holly with Rodney and Emily Harris, a retired old couple who are cannibals that believe eating human remains and rubbing themselves with their victims’ fat can remedy their many aches and pains.

The book’s main shortcoming was that King killed any mystery by revealing the Harris’ true motives from the beginning, while also throwing in an unnecessary amount of dialogue and viewpoints about Trump, masks, and COVID-19 vaccination, which the game should improve.

It can be turned into a Quantic Dream Heavy Rain-style game, where you play the lead investigator, Holly, one of the latest victims locked in the Harris’ basement, and Rodney and Emily Harris themselves.

11 The Jaunt

A Horror Game With Amnesia’s Gameplay, But Set In Outer Space

There are lots of excellent sci-fi horror games set in space, and Stephen King’s The Jaunt is a short story from the Skeleton Crew collection that should definitely join them. In this 24th-century society, humans have discovered a form of teleportation used to transport colonizers instantly to distant planets called ‘Jaunting.’ And as you might assume, things go horribly wrong for the characters.

The side effect of ‘Jaunting’ while conscious is that you will begin to lose your sanity and even start harming yourself, or even possibly die. This sounds perfect for an Amnesia-style horror title where sanity and creatures play a big role in the gameplay, and the short story’s setting of Mars will add even more to the horror atmosphere.

10 Cell

A Days Gone Open World With Zombies Called Dialers Instead Of ‘Freakers’

Cell is Stephen King’s one foray into the zombie-horror genre. But not zombies in the “brain-eating” sense: this zombie apocalypse comes from cell phones. Yes, that sounds a little like something a boomer would come up with, but there is an interesting world here to make a game with.

In other zombie-horror games, the zombies act like mindless individuals. In Cell, the zombies are all a part of a larger hive mind. Having to deal with a horde that can coordinate attacks is a thrilling idea for a challenge.

9 The Stand

Pandemic: Stephen King Edition

The Stand is one of the stories on this list that has a lot of potential for a tabletop RPG. The story is about a post-apocalyptic world divided into clearly good and evil factions. The two sides do whatever they can to prepare for what seems like an inevitable final battle.

Doing the post-apocalyptic setting in modern America, and giving the players the choice of siding with the protagonists or antagonists that they want to survive with seems like a wild setup for a tabletop game. One with just as much of a chance for spooky and divine elements as a D&D game.

8 Later

Potentially An Even Better Investigative Ghost Story Than The Medium

Later is a 2021 Stephen King story and his third to be published by Hard Case Crime, and it is absolutely bursting with potential. It’s about a kid who can see the recently deceased, and any question the kid asks, the soul has to answer. This is utilized in a detective-like way in the book.

Detective games are sorely missed in the community with each year that we get farther from the release of L.A. Noire. Considering how big of a hit that game was, it’s surprising how little else has come around trying to ride its success. This could be a chance to mix elements of that game with supernatural horror.

7 Rainy Season

The Friendly Frog Taxis From It Takes Two Turn Into Stephen King Horror

This is one of the lesser-known King short stories that has never been successfully adapted off the page. It’s a story about a couple who goes on a trip to a cabin in rural Maine, only to be devoured by monstrous black toads that rain from the sky. They’re devoured as part of a sacrifice that grants the local town prosperity.

If the toads could be properly visualized as terrifying, human-consuming monsters, this could be an interesting survival horror game about uncovering the dark side of an otherwise friendly-looking town.

6 The Dark Tower

Perhaps A Tabletop Game Adaptation Is What This Series Needs

The Dark Tower is the main Stephen King world that absolutely needs a tabletop adaptation. It’s a fantasy world like no other with its mixture of horror, Western elements, and so many other unique influences.

It also serves as a link between all of Stephen King’s creatively horrific worlds. Meaning, a Dark Tower tabletop game opens up the possibility of creatures and characters from King’s entire bibliography. How exactly the mechanics would be approached is an interesting question, but out of everything on this list, this one really needs to happen at some point.

5 The Running Man

A Survival Horror Stealth Game To Rival Some Of The Greats

The Running Man is not as action-oriented as a Schwarzenegger film would have you believe, nor is it the most horrifying plot conceived by King. However, it’s a dystopian thriller that’s as bleak as any of the stories King penned under his Richard Bachman pseudonym, where an average Joe enters a high-stakes game show competition to earn money, but has to be hunted by killers.

A video game version of The Running Man could go either way, leaning more into the survival horror genre as the main character attempts to stealthily escape their fate, like in Manhunt, or it could have more action like the well-known movie. Either way, it could make for a solid survival game.

4 Salem’s Lot

A Classic King Story That Could Be A Vampiric Silent Hill Nightmare

There aren’t too many horror video games in the vampire genre. Vampyr is one of the most recent notable examples, and in that game, you’re the vampire. Salem’s Lot is an opportunity for a game about humans facing off against vampires.

The thing about Salem’s Lot is, the humans suck at killing vampires. The vampires are stealthy, quick, and manipulative, and the numbers of the main characters quickly start to dwindle as things escalate. The idea of being completely helpless as your town is dismantled around you is perfect for survival horror.

3 Misery

A Granny-Esque Escape Horror Game Featuring Your Number One Fan

A video game adaptation of King’s Misery would land squarely in the survival horror genre. However, some significant changes from the original story would likely have to be made in order for the game to have the excitement and movement that most games require.

In the novel, the main character Paul Sheldon is bed-bound essentially the entire time. In a video game, there probably needs to be more of a sense of pursuit between Sheldon and the crazed Annie Wilkes, with severe consequences anytime he’s caught. Plus it’s a rare case of a horror story with a happy ending.

2 Under The Dome

Invisible Wall Sci-Fi Horror Done Right

Under The Dome is a great chance for a developer to finally make good use of the old ‘invisible walls’ video game trope. Whereas in older video games those invisible walls were a consequence of limited technology that the developers generally tried to make subtle, an Under the Dome video game could use those same walls for claustrophobic ends, like Alan Wake 2.

There are rarely survival horror games where the sole threat is fellow humanity, but King’s story accomplishes that in spades, and maybe an adaptation could do that as well. There is also an underlying alien threat that can play well into more sci-fi and Lovecraftian horror.

1 The Mist

The Most Worthy Stephen King Creation To Ever Deserve A Video Game

If there was ever a terrifying monster survival horror game a-la-classic Resident Evil that needs to be made, it’s The Mist. There would definitely be an early Silent Hill vibe to a game with this much-obscured vision and nightmare-inducing creatures.

Following the group in the supermarket from the story could be a little boring since it would be a very limited space with things only happening occasionally. But following a different group around as they attempt to navigate through the mist with limited supplies could be a great experience. Many of the adapted monsters in this game could definitely be contenders for the scariest video game monsters of all time.