I first read this as a mere stripling yoof of 14 and I'm not ashamed to say it scared the living daylights out of me. 26 years later, and I stood with Danny outside the door of room 217 and felt like a child again. This book is a quantum leap ahead of where Stephen King was with 'Salem's Lot. Most people reviewing this seem to have difficulty separating it from Stanley Kubrick's movie, but not me. They're very different stories. The book is wonderful, as is the movie. Just for different reasons.