‘I Find ‘You Spoiled It!’ to Be, Typically, the Cry of Spoilt People’ — Stephen King Doesn’t Think You Can Spoil a Good Story, but He Does Have One Exception

Movie makers are often obsessed with preventing spoilers. The likes of Marvel and DC do their best to keep their productions under wraps — sometimes with limited success. Horror legend Stephen King, however, sounds like he has little time for people who complain about spoilers.

King, the author of horror masterpieces The Stand, The Shining, It, Misery, and many more, wrote an article for The Guardian on “the dark brilliance” of Daphne du Maurier, the English novelist behind Rebecca and The Birds.

Within the article, King revealed his feelings on spoilers in general, and those who complain about them.

Warning! Spoilers for Stephen King’s feelings on spoilers follow:

“I am impatient with the idea of ‘spoilers,’ a term that’s come into vogue along with other unpleasant side-effects of the internet in general and social media in particular,” King began.

“I find ‘You spoiled it!’ to be, typically, the cry of spoilt people. I’d argue you can rarely spoil a good story, because the joy is in the journey rather than the arrival. Du Maurier’s stories are a notable exception to that rule. To talk about any of them at length would destroy their effect. Suffice it to say that you are in the hands of a master storyteller. A diabolical one, at that.”

King includes an exception to his spoilers rule here: Daphne du Maurier’s work, which dulls the sharp edge of his argument somewhat. But this is Stephen King, who has delivered some of the greatest twists and turns in horror history, and he’s not suggesting any of his own stories should be exceptions, so who are we to argue?

King’s comments on spoilers follow his recent reveal of his top 10 favorite movies, although he kept adaptations of his own work out of the mix.

How do you feel about spoilers? Let us know in the comments below!

Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.