When it comes to sending chills down the spine & conjuring nightmares (that linger in broad daylight), could anyone surpass the eerie craftsmanship of Stephen King? Well, this is not a hard question! Grasping the reins of horror with the skill of a seasoned charioteer, this Maine-born maestro has been transforming our fears into a cacophony of terror since his debut, Carrie, set foot in the literary arena back in 1974.
King’s quill, dipped in the ink of the supernatural & the macabre, has sketched out thrilling geographies where cars like Christine (from his same-titled novel) develop deadly minds of their own, and hotels like The Overlook from The Shining become characters as complex as any human.
Did you know, however, that King once admitted to having embarked on a tale so bone-chilling, centered around the innocuous setting of a ladies’ room, that even he withdrew from the spectral maze of his own creation? Imagining such a story coming to fruition is akin to inviting the possibility of Patrick Wilson, a veteran of terrifying sagas like Insidious and The Conjuring, breathing life into King’s abandoned nightmare.
The Unwritten Terror of Stephen King: Imagining Patrick Wilson as the Protagonist?
Well, the twisted world of Stephen King and his spooky stories often had you sleeping with one eye open. The King of Horror, 76, has been churning out nightmare-inducing tales; with chilling classics like Christine, The Shining, Misery, and It.
But even the master of horror has his limits, as King once revealed a story so alarming that he couldn’t even bring himself to finish it. In an interview with Conan O’Brien, King shared details of a story he started about the ladies’ bathroom at Stapleton Airport in Denver, Colorado. To quote King (via Late Night with Conan O’Brien):
I had an idea one time for a story about the ladies’ bathroom at Stapleton Airport in Denver.
The premise seemed harmless enough, with a man and his wife rushing to catch their flight when she disappears into the restroom, only to never return. Explaining the story further, King said:
What the story was going to be was this guy and his wife are on their way to their plane, and the woman says, ‘Hun, I gotta use the ladies’ room.’ ‘Okay, but remember, five minutes, and we gotta be at the gate’.
As more unsuspecting victims fall prey to the mysterious bathroom trap, chaos ensues and even the highest authorities are brought in to try and fix the mystery. King thought he had struck gold with this bone-chilling tale, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t decipher what was truly lurking behind the closed doors of the airport bathroom.
King was aware that he had a story to tell, but the issue was that, despite sending countless people into that toilet of agony and hopelessness, he “could never figure out what the hell was going on in there”.
Perhaps if he ever finishes this dreadful tale, he could enlist the help of actor Patrick Wilson, 51, who has already made a name for himself in the horror genre. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll finally uncover the secrets of the haunted bathroom at Stapleton Airport!
The Untold Truth Behind Patrick Wilson’s Exorcism Expertise
Patrick Wilson may be known for his intense portrayals of Ed Warren in The Conjuring series and Josh Lambert in the Insidious franchise, but behind the scenes, he’s a surprisingly lighthearted guy. Despite delving into the dark world of ghosts and demons on screen, Wilson’s outlook on the supernatural has actually shifted over the years.
In a 2021 interview with People, Wilson revealed that a chat with the real-life Lorraine Warren, a paranormal investigator, was the catalyst for his change in perspective. Rather than viewing demons and ghosts as boring or purely evil, Warren’s casual mention of a child’s spirit just wanting to play, struck a chord with Wilson. Suddenly, the actor realized that not everything supernatural has to be bad.
Playing Ed Warren has certainly given Wilson some insight into exorcism, but he’s not taking himself too seriously. During a hilarious appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Wilson joked that he could potentially perform a real-life exorcism.
His secret weapon? Reading lines from a script, of course.
In a moment of comic splendor, Wilson even suggested that if his acting career didn’t pan out, he could start a business performing celebrity exorcisms. Who wouldn’t want a bit of supernatural cleansing from the guy who played Ed Warren, right?
Stream The Conjuring on Netflix.
