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Key Points Stephen King shared five Halloween movie and TV adaptation recommendations from his novels. Titles include The Institute, 1922, Gerald’s Game, Lisey’s Story, and IT: Welcome to Derry. King teased, “You can find other stuff, too. If you’re brave enough.” If you’ve been seeking the perfect scary movies or TV shows to watch this spooky season, look no further—Stephen King has you covered. Just days ahead of Halloween, the horror legend and best-selling author shared five movie titles and TV series based on his novels that are sure to give anyone a fright. 🎬SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬 In a post shared to Threads over the weekend, King wrote, “Need some Steve King for Halloween? Gotcha covered.” He then listed five film and TV adaptations of his books for his followers to sink their teeth into this week. Here are five movie and show adaptations of Stephen King’s books to watch this Halloween, straight from the horror legend himself: The Institute (2025) First up on King’s list of recommendations is one of his most recent series, The Institute. Based on his novel of the same name, The Institute is an 8-episode thriller series that premiered on MGM+ in July. It follows the story of 12-year-old genius Luke Ellis (Joe Freeman), who “wakes up in a strange place full of children who got there the same way he did, and who all, like him, possess unusual abilities,” per IMDb. Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now. View directly on Instagram The Institute, which has already been renewed for a second season, also features Ben Barnes, Mary-Louise Parker, Fionn Laird, Robert Joy and more notable stars in the cast. All episodes of The Institute are now streaming on MGM+ and Amazon Prime Video. 1922 (2017) Next on the list was the 2017 horror film 1922, adapted from King’s 2010 novella. Starring Thomas Jane, Molly Parker and Dylan Schmid, the harrowing story centers around a rancher who conspires to murder his wife and enlists his son to help him do it. 1922 is currently available to watch on Netflix. Gerald’s Game (2017) A suspenseful psychological thriller, Gerald’s Game also made King’s list of frightful films to watch this Halloween. The 2017 Netflix film, based on King’s 1992 novel of the same name, was directed by horror icon Mike Flanagan. Starring Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood, a woman is left in an impossible and terrifying situation when her husband unexpectedly dies of a heart attack while she is still handcuffed to the bed, leaving her to fight for her life. Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now. View directly on Instagram You can watch Gerald’s Game on Netflix. Lisey’s Story (2021) In this 2021 mini series, a widow (Julianne Moore) becomes the target of a dangerous stalker, obsessed with her late husband’s work. An adaptation of King’s 2006 novel of the same name, Lisey’s Story consists of eight episodes, all available to watch on Apple TV+. Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now. View directly on 𝕏 IT: Welcome to Derry Last but not least on his list, King recommended his newest small screen project, IT: Welcome to Derry. A prequel to the 2017 film based on King’s 1986 novel, It, Welcome to Derry is a new HBO original series that explores origins of the franchise’s villain, Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård) as well as the creepy Maine town where it all began. The new series premiered on HBO with Episode 1 on Sunday, Oct. 26, with Episode 2 to follow with an early release on Halloween night. The rest of the episodes will air weekly on Sundays from Nov. 9 to Dec. 14. Oops! We’re unable to load this content right now. View directly on Instagram Also in his post on Sunday night, King teased plenty more projects for horror fans to dive into. The renowned writer has dozens of other TV and movie adaptations of his books that are the perfect watch for Halloween night, including The Shining (1980), Carrie (1976 and 2013), Children of the Corn (1984), Pet Sematary (1989 and 2019), just to name a few. “You can find other stuff, too. If you’re brave enough,” the author added in his post.
