Collecting books can be an expensive hobby, but some lucky horror fans might secretly have an out-of-print Stephen King book on their shelves that’s worth quite a bit of money. Plus, the book will likely never be reprinted, meaning prices will only go up.

The book is called “Rage”, published in 1977 under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman, and online copies can sell for up to US$4,000, depending on several factors such as edition and state. This one seems a bit odd to collect, unless you’re a die-hard King fanatic, as it tells the story of a school shooter and copies of the novel have been found linked to several school shootings of the country. 1980s and 1990s, leading King to intentionally allow its publication. Even though there are many major films based on banned or controversial booksKing’s self-censorship is something completely different and that’s a good thing that there will never be a film adaptation of “Rage” or several printed copies. This makes existing copies extremely rare and extremely collectible, and it’s entirely possible that some fans of old-fashioned horror novels have high-value copies stashed away in their attic or on a shelf somewhere.

People who really want to read “Rage” are going to find ways to do so, but removing it from sale will hopefully help keep it away from more impressionable young minds who haven’t yet heard of King’s most infamous work. I first read it in the American edition, also out of print, of “The Bachman Books”, which contains “Rage”, “The Long Walk”, “Roadwork” and “The Running Man”. uncomfortable story that honestly sympathizes a little too much with its killer protagonist. Few other King stories come close to real-world horrors, except perhaps the short story “Apt Pupil”, which is also exceptionally disturbing. “The Bachman Books” are still available, but “Rage” is no longer included.

Copies of the original series from “The Bachman Books” are significantly less expensive because many more copies have been printed, but the most expensive copies of “Rage” are mass market paperbacks from the first edition in 1977, in good condition. It seems strange to spend thousands of dollars, but hey, Stephen King fans are intense.

What is truly unfortunate is that school shootings have become so common that there are many examples of other creative works being altered or removed from shelves/shelves following another act of violence. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” episodes shelved because of Columbine 1999 school shooting, ‘Bones’ shot episode because of the shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007and “Stranger Things” had to add warning to season 4 premiere following the Uvalde school shooting in 2022. Much has changed since King published “Rage” in 1977, and tragically, school shootings have increased exponentially.

In a 2013 essay titled “Guns,” King explained his reasoning to no longer want “Rage” on the shelves, to take responsibility for its potential for harm, and to recognize that a book he wrote as a teenager, unfortunately, resonated with other teenagers in difficulty, but who have easy access to firearms. “Is it really so surprising that they would find a soul brother in the fictional Charlie Decker?” he wrote, “But that doesn’t mean we excuse them or give them plans to express their hatred and their fear. Charlie had to leave. He continued his explanation for leaving the book out of print by writing:

“My book didn’t break [the readers in question]or turn them into killers. They found something in my book that spoke to them because they were already broken. However, I considered “Rage” as a possible accelerator, which is why I removed it from sale. You don’t leave a can of gasoline where a boy with incendiary tendencies can get his hands on it.”

This is similar to the decision made by director Stanley Kubrick to withhold “A Clockwork Orange” from release until his death, because there were concerns about copycat crimes inspired by those committed by Malcolm McDowell’s character Alex. In both cases, the creators behind these stories had reason to believe that their work was more likely to cause harm than the average movie or book, and they did their best to negate that harm. It’s impossible to stop people from doing terrible things and no amount of censorship, self-imposed or otherwise, will change that, but as King said, it’s best not to give them an accelerator.