If Cujo Would Have Me King...

         Recently, a letter from Stephen King (who is totally probably writing right now and is not torturing rodents in his basement with a hacksaw) to a fan about what he read to learn to write. He had a lot of classics on there, but the last one caught my eye. He said, “Macbeth.”

            

          Now, as anyone who studies theatre will know that even writing about this play which is believed to be cursed risks bringing a plague upon me. But this is a powerful thought, powerful enough for me to ignore 400 years of history where people have literally died while performing the play. Here is one of this century’s most prominent and/or popular writers (You should agree with the “popular” statement, you know… just in case) and even he goes back to the bard when talking about influences.

            I’ve made no secret in previous postings that Shakespeare was entertainment in the day, and we have remind students of that fact. But then, I haven’t sold millions of books that have been turned into mediocre movies. Go watch “Dreamcatcher” and tell me that statement isn't true. Do it. But if you don't believe me, believe the master of horror himself: Shakespeare rules. Put Titus Andronicus, Macbeth, or even Hamlet against some of the best horror movies of today, and see how they stack up. Those guys that wrote saw WISH they could have written something as disturbing as Titus Andronicus.