Why did a writer who was never particularly interested in the world outside America gain such fame among Russian (as well as German, Spanish, Japanese and many other) readers? Why in his homeland did he easily surpass all his eminent colleagues in terms of circulation and income? Why did his popularity suddenly decline with the advent of the new millennium, when many of the nightmares he predicted began to come true? All these questions relate not only to King’s personality, but also to the fate of modern literature and, more broadly, of the entire society. Stephen King, who is usually classified as fantasy, actually writes purely realistically. In addition to this, so to speak, external layer of King’s biography, there is also an internal one - the fate of a man who for a long time teetered on the brink of madness, lulling his inner demons with the sound of a typewriter. Until now, despite all the millions he has made, literature remains for him not only a means of earning money, but also a way of survival, which, by the way, is true for any real writer.