The House on Value Street
Encyclopedia
The House on Value Street is the title of an unpublished novel
attempted by Stephen King
in the late 1970s.
In his 1981 treatise on the horror genre, Danse Macabre
, King describes his attempts to write a fictionalized novel about the kidnapping of Patty Hearst
by the Symbionese Liberation Army
. King talks about attempting multiple drafts from various angles, before deciding he could not finish the novel to his satisfaction. King does not describe the plot in any detail, except that the fictionalized SLA's headquarters would be in the titular house on Value Street.
, while examining how the seeds of effective horror fiction may be found in the cultural climate and political current events, King credits his failure to complete House on Value Street as the genesis of his apocalyptic best-seller The Stand
.
As King tells it, he began free-associating on his SLA research, and typed the sentence "Donald DeFreeze
is a dark man
." This first evocation of his recurring villain Randall Flagg
, and the societal malaise at the center of Value Street gave King his core ideas to begin The Stand.
The House on Value Street was never completed.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
attempted by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
in the late 1970s.
In his 1981 treatise on the horror genre, Danse Macabre
Danse Macabre
Dance of Death, also variously called Danse Macabre , Danza de la Muerte , Dansa de la Mort , Danza Macabra , Dança da Morte , Totentanz , Dodendans , is an artistic genre of late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's...
, King describes his attempts to write a fictionalized novel about the kidnapping of Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
by the Symbionese Liberation Army
Symbionese Liberation Army
The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
. King talks about attempting multiple drafts from various angles, before deciding he could not finish the novel to his satisfaction. King does not describe the plot in any detail, except that the fictionalized SLA's headquarters would be in the titular house on Value Street.
House on Value Street and The Stand
In Danse MacabreDanse Macabre
Dance of Death, also variously called Danse Macabre , Danza de la Muerte , Dansa de la Mort , Danza Macabra , Dança da Morte , Totentanz , Dodendans , is an artistic genre of late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's...
, while examining how the seeds of effective horror fiction may be found in the cultural climate and political current events, King credits his failure to complete House on Value Street as the genesis of his apocalyptic best-seller The Stand
The Stand
The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It demonstrates the scenario in his earlier short story, Night Surf...
.
As King tells it, he began free-associating on his SLA research, and typed the sentence "Donald DeFreeze
Donald DeFreeze
Donald David DeFreeze , also known as Cinque Mtume, was the leader of the American guerilla group Symbionese Liberation Army, a group operating in the mid-1970s, under the nom de guerre "Field Marshal Cinque."...
is a dark man
Randall Flagg
Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by Stephen King. Flagg has appeared in seven novels by King, sometimes as the main antagonist and others in a brief cameo. He often appears under different names; most are abbreviated by the initials R.F. There are exceptions to this rule; in The Dark...
." This first evocation of his recurring villain Randall Flagg
Randall Flagg
Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by Stephen King. Flagg has appeared in seven novels by King, sometimes as the main antagonist and others in a brief cameo. He often appears under different names; most are abbreviated by the initials R.F. There are exceptions to this rule; in The Dark...
, and the societal malaise at the center of Value Street gave King his core ideas to begin The Stand.
The House on Value Street was never completed.