Top 10 favorite Stephen King characters.

 Top 10 favorite Stephen King characters.

For today's post I decided to rank my top 10 all time favorite characters featured in a Stephen King novel/film. Mind you there are some more memorable ones, or huge favorites of mine, but here are ten stand out characters and the reasons why they made this list!

10). Charlene "Charlie" McGee

- Charlie never asked to be what she was. She was just an innocent little girl who was born with a terrifying power she didn't quite understand, nor could control. A power that her young parents had accidentally given her years before she was even born when they volunteered in college to be injected with an experimental drug. Shortly afterwards both discovered the entire test was covered up by the government, and they started possessing strange mind power. After Charlie was born her entire life was turned upside down when her mother was murdered, and her father was forced to take her on the run with the government always two steps behind. Charlie when it comes down to it is just a little misunderstood girl who loves her father more than the world. What makes her such a great character is how guilty she feels over something she can't control. How she learned from a very early age that her power (being able to create fire and set fire with her mind.) was dangerous, and felt awful whenever she was forced to use it. Charlie truly comes out during the film/novel's epic showdown. Drew Barrymore's take on this character was beyond amazing, mostly when she finds out about her betrayal by Rainbird, and witnesses the heartbreaking death of her father who she had done everything to be with again for. Listening to her father's last words "Burn it all done baby, make them pay so they never do this again." Watching her at the end, surrounded by fire and death, eyes filled with tears she utters one of the most heartbreaking lines..."For you daddy, for you."

9). Larry Underwood

- Larry was a flawed man. Even as a boy, he always looked out just for himself. Rising into a famous singer, he reaches stardom before he can truly handle it and it's responsibilities. Getting way over his head, he returns home to hide out for a while when Captian Trips aka the super flu hits the world, wiping out almost 99% of the entire population in less than a week. For those who have read the epic novel by King knows how much growth this character had. How he'll forever remember being told he wasn't a nice guy, and how downright human he appears. How even at his mother's death he hates to say it that this will mess up his plans, and how more than once he reveals his ugly selfish side when it comes to traveling across county.  Larry is a man who went from only caring about himself, to actually taking on a family, and being one of the few men to go to Vegas to place Flagg. I felt Adam Stroke did an amazing job capturing this character who was one of my personal favorites in the novel. In the mini series, and I'm sure I'm not speaking for myself but the moment after Glen is shot dead, and it cuts to his arm and Ralph's arm going out, holding each other as they begin to pray gets me every time...

8). Carrie White

- Another heartbreaking character. Carrie White is the product of King's very first novel. Raised by a crazy religious fanatic, a series of tragic events lead up to Carrie's terrible ending. In my eyes there is only ONE Carrie, and that's played by Ms. Sissy Spacek. Her mousy, and painful portrayal gets me overtime. I love how she apologizes for seriously everything, how she puts herself down without even thinking of it, and how completely and utterly alone she seems at the end. Just the look of shock in her big blue eyes after her mother stabs her and she stumbles down the stairs. You seriously want to scream how much more can this one girl take?! The best though has to be Carrie's moment of revenge at prom. I feel horror fans from all over the world will forever remember Carrie's face as the bucket of blood splashes down on her. Legendary...

7) John Edward Marinville

- John is a character in both Desperation and The Regulators, basically playing the same character. John, an older writer who has a long history of abusing drugs and booze finds himself in both books in the middle of some really crazy shit. With a haunted past, John seems to be one of the few people that remains calm, uses his head, and shows a more human side than anyone else. What makes John one of my favorite characters is how despite all his flaws, truly is the heart of both stories. I love the flashbacks of him with his ex-wife, how he always remembers a day long ago when they were both young pulling over the side of the road and making out among sunflowers. How over the phone she was the one to talk him into writing children's books, how years ago at a party him and his drinking buddies flipped the car over and he crawled out perfectly fine. All of these little moments make him one Hell of a character who in Desperation makes the ultimate sacrifice.

6) Johnny Smith

- If I had to chose one of the most tragic, but pure characters out of all of King's, John Smith would be the one. A school teacher who gets into a horrible car accident, leaving him into a five year coma. When he awakes, he finds his entire life upside down. His fiancé' is married to another man and with children. He's lost his job, his mother has gone off the deep end, he's in debit, his limbs won't ever truly ever work the same way again...and he discovers he possesses the terrifying power of second sight. Every time he touches someone he's able to either see the past, present, or future. The film and book are beyond depressing, but thanks to Christopher Walken, this character is brought to life in one of the most haunting roles he's ever played. Nothing against Anthony Michael Hall, but Walken will forever and always be John Smith to me. There are so many heart breaking scenes (mostly that ending) that I could recall, but the one that stands out to me the most is when John meets his finance's husband for the very first time. After closing the door, the student he's teacher walks over asking if anything is the matter. Overcome with emotional, he grabs hold of the child looking for any form of comfort.

5) The Losers' Club

- "Promise me you'll come back. Promise me if it isn't dead, and we didn't stop it you'll all come back." The world of horror blew up with news of the IT remake. As a huge fan of the epic terrifying novel and the mini series which is near and dear to my heart (childhood memories) I feel the lucky 7 are a magical group that you can't help but feel close to while reading about or watching. Each child felt like an outcast in their own way. (Being African American, having a stutter, being overweight, being Jewish, having "health problems", having glasses, or being poor.) These children overcame their worst fears and became their own family over the course of one summer. I can only pray the new group of kids can capture the magic these original actors brought, doing their parts in the book to total justice. 

4) Rose The Hat

- There are probably 5 top Stephen King villains in my eyes. Rose The Hat and The True Knot are on the top of that list. Rose The Hat is the leader of The True Knot. Immortal, Rose is not only a psychic, but possesses very strong power in which the Knot travels around collecting "steam" from gifted young children who have psychic powers themselves. After butchering them, they inhale the steam in order to stay healthy and alive. The Knot isn't very large, but Rose meets with match with Danny Torrance and a young girl Abra. 

3) Polly Chalmers

- Now I'm talking Polly Chalmers from the book. Nothing against how she was portrayed in the movie, but Polly in the novel is one of the strongest female characters I've ever read about. In the book, it goes into detail how Polly got pregnant very young but refused to settle and marry the father simply because she didn't love him. Moving to the West Coast, she has her baby and works constantly as a waitress as a single mother taking care of her infant son. Tragically, one night while Polly was working she received a phone call from her landlord. It appeared the young girl babysitting her fell asleep with a cigarette, causing the entire apartment to burn down killing with the girl, and the baby. Ashamed, Polly returned home to Maine and informed everyone that she gave the baby up for adoption. Shortly afterwards she buried both her parents, started her own business, and also developed nasty arthritis in both hands. It became so bad that she began thinking of amputating both of her hands, and becoming hooked on pain meds. Polly character even after she falls for Gaunt's spell remains strong. I love how what she holds onto the most is having her pride. 

2) Gage Creed

- Gage Creed goes down as one of the scariest monsters (besides Christine and Grandma) to grace the pages of a King Novel.  Once an adorable two year old, a horrible tragic accident kills him, driving his poor father insane with grief. Not thinking, he steals the body and goes up the an ancient burial ground in the woods that he learned has the power of raising the dead. Burying him, he hopes that maybe, just maybe there could be a chance that his little boy would return back to normal. Instead what returns is a horrible blood thirsty monster that ruins the last of his father's sanity.

1) Danny Torrance

- I'm talking Danny Torrance from Doctor Sleep. The sequel to The Shinning. We find Danny, many years later struggling with alcohol the same way his father once did. Hitting rock bottom, Danny is a hospice orderly who earns the nickname Doctor Sleep since he's usually sits with dying elderly patients and comforts them before they pass. Years go by, and Danny finally finds a new life up North. Going to AA, he slowly picks up the pieces of his life, trying not to follow in his father's footsteps. Getting visions of a lingering evil returning (The True Knot) Danny discovers family secrets and teams up with a young girl to stop these blood thirsty killers.