In a moment of startling candour that left the audience both gasping and laughing, the undisputed master of modern horror, Stephen King, has shared his profoundly unsettling view of the divine.
The acclaimed author did not mince words during a recent talk in New York, bluntly stating his belief that the biblical God is "not a nice guy" and is, in fact, a figure far more aligned with the terrifying creatures that haunt his own novels.
A Divine Figure Rooted in Fear, Not Love
King elaborated on his controversial perspective, suggesting that the God depicted in the Old Testament shares more DNA with the grim morality of classic fairy tales than with a benevolent, modern creator. "He’s not a great guy. He’s not a nice guy", King asserted, framing the Almighty as a stern, fearsome patriarch.
He drew a direct parallel to the works of the Brothers Grimm, whose original stories were often brutal cautionary tales for children, devoid of the sanitised happy endings popularised by later adaptations. This, King argued, is the true nature of the biblical narrative—a collection of stories designed to instruct through fear.
A Fitting Tribute to a Fellow Storyteller
The revealing comments emerged during a poignant event honouring the late, great children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, known for his own beautifully dark and complex works like Where the Wild Things Are.
King, alongside other literary luminaries, gathered to celebrate Sendak's legacy at the 92nd Street Y, a famed cultural venue. His reflection on God was part of a wider discussion on the power of storytelling to confront uncomfortable truths, a theme both he and Sendak explored deeply in their respective careers.
The author's provocative take provides a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a storyteller who has spent decades plumbing the depths of human fear, suggesting that the greatest source of terror might not be a fictional monster, but a divine one.
