'Creepy' Stephen King Photo Terrifies Internet

Horror writer Stephen King is no stranger to giving his fans a fright, but it's usually thanks to his words and not his face.

But that all changed when he posted a "creepy" photo to X, formerly Twitter.

King shared a selfie of himself wearing a furry bunny mask that covered half of his face and had long ears.

"Look out, Jason...Freddy...Michael Myers...it's...THE RABBIT MAN!" King captioned the post, referring to iconic horror film characters Freddy Kreuger and Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th film franchise and Michael Myers from the Halloween movies,.

His fans loved the selfie but admitted it gave them a fright.

"That is darn right creepy. Thank you for the nightmares," replied one person on X.

Another added the photo was the most frightening thing he's produced: "That's arguably the scariest s*** you've put out to date."

And a third wrote: "*Runs away in fear*"

stephen king sitting
Stephen King poses during a portrait session in Paris, France, on November 16, 2013. Fans called his latest photo "creepy." Ulf Andersen/Getty Images

King regularly posts to social media, especially X, where he does not shy away from sharing his opinions about politics and social issues.

Recently, he went viral for criticizing Donald Trump when he implied the former president was having mental health issues.

"The cheese appears to be slipping off Donald Trump's cracker," King wrote on Sunday.

The post was a specific reference to his book The Green Mile, which is about a death row prison guard who comes across an inmate who displays unbelievable healing and empathetic abilities.

The 1996 book was adapted into a film of the same name where the line, "I think this boy's cheese has done slid off his cracker," was uttered by prison guard Bill Dodge to infer someone has gone insane.

King quickly amassed a range of responses to his post from both sides of the political divide but did not explain why he thought Trump was having mental issues.

Newsweek previously contacted Trump and King's teams about his comments by email.

The horror author has been a member of the Democratic Party since 1970 and in May 2016 was one of 450 writers to sign an open letter opposing Trump's candidacy.

Dubbed the "King of Horror," King has sold more than 350 million books worldwide since the beginning of his career, according to the Words Rated website.

His debut novel was Carrie in 1974 and other notable titles include, The Shining, Pet Sematary, It and Misery.

He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2015 by former President Barack Obama.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go