Stephen King Mistakes and errors in his books

Mistakes in Books R-S

Last Updated
31-Jan-2008

The following pages contain a list of errors, bloopers, and general mistakes in King's books. Often the errors seem small, and I mean no disrespect to King for these pages, and I am not picking on his excellent work.

Some people have pointed out that some errors appear to have been deliberate, and this may well be the case, but they have been included here for completeness.

My sincere thanks to B_Hansen at http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/4612 for many of these great errors.

When an error is added, I will place a small graphic indicating that it is a new error () and I will leave this there for a month or so.

Rage

While talking about Dick Cables car, Dick Keene says "Four-barrelled carb, overhead cam, fuel injection". It's a bit hard to have BOTH a carburettor AND fuel injection.
Jerry Moeller was called Larry Moeller in Chapter 25. The 2 names are only 2 lines apart.
In chapter 11 Vance is called Pete Vance (In the quote saying that he had a heart attack), but on the charge sheet in chapter 32 he is called John Downes Vance.

Chapter 10, subchapter 11 said that if Seth left his body completely, then all of his parasympathetic systems would seize to function. The problem here is that there is only one parasympathetic system (which name actually is: the parasympathetic autonomous nervous system), which includes all of the mentioned body systems.

Bob and Janet Preston reminded Bart Dawes of "Barney and Wilma Flintstone". It is in fact Fred and Wilma Flinstone and Barny and Betty Rubble

The street that Rosie lives on is called Trenton Street, but the second time it is mentioned in the book it is called Tremont Street.

In chapter 71 it says that Ben Richards didn't have a watch, but in chapter 33 it says that he was watching the second hand on his watch.

In Chapter 14 (The Lot IV), Subchapter 1, it is said that the vernal equinox is on 23rd of September (13 days before 5th of October). This is incorrect. The Autumnal Equinox, when the sun moves from north to south over the equator occurs near September 23rd, but the Vernal Equinox is where the sun moves from south to north over the equator, and it occurs about 21st of March each year.
Mark Petrie is, in the beginning of the book (Part I, Chapter 3, subchapter 9), described as being a tall kid. But later (Part I, Chapter 6, subchapter 5), when Mark is sitting at home of the funeral of Danny Glick, he is described as being a little smaller than the average boy at his age. (This error was discovered by Stephanie Robinson)
In chapter 11, subchapter 8, it says that the midbrain and the cerebrum are two separate things. That is not true. The midbrain is a part of the cerebrum. Stephen King could instead have written that there was a division between the midbrain and the rest of the cerebrum, and then he would have been right.
In Salem's Lot, in The Lot (IV), part 44, when Ben and Mark stop at Sonny's Exxon Sonny says to Mark, "Hi kid. No school today?" - a question that seems very out of place considering that when Ben returns to the car, it is 5:15. No public school system I know of holds classes that late! (This was found by Brion Woods, Thank You)
During the first Vampire sightings, a big deal is made regarding the fact that you have to invite a vampire into your home before they can enter, and removing that invitation causes them to leave. Yet Barlow enters the Petrie house without an invitation and kills Mark Petrie's parents and confronts Father Callaghan. Because he is the master vampire, the rules might be different for him, but others such as a stake through the heart, sunlight etc are not, so why this one? (This error found by Danielle)
When Ben and Susan are getting acquainted at Spencer's Sundries, he asks her what had happened to the old Nordica movie theatre. She replies that it has now been transformed into the office of Larry Crocket, the towns Real Estate Agent. We know that Ben had already been to ask about the Marsten house, so he must have already visited Crocket, so why didn't he know the fate of the Nordica already, since he had already been there? (This error found by Dan)

In The Shining Stephen King can't decide which car was Jack and Wendy's first. In chapter 6 it says that their first car was a five year old Buick. But in chapter 32 he writes that Jack traded his Honda in on a Saab shortly after he met Wendy. So that would mean that their first car was a Saab.
When Jack drives with his family up to Overlook, it says in Chapter 8, when he stops at a vantage point, that he stepped on the emergency-brake. The trouble is, that no Volkswagen has ever had a foot operated emergency-brake. Mercedes had, though, but that is another story.
In Chapter 15 Wendy decides to re-christen her husband, because on that page, she shortly thinks of him as John Torrance instead of as Jack Torrance. I know John is sometimes interchanged with Jack, but this is the only time she does it throughout the book.
The date of the opening ball was 29th of August 1945, but in the paper, it was incorrectly stated as 1947. Even later an article says that Derwent only owned the Overlook from 1946 to 1952. A bit hard since his opening was in 1945.
The date of building the Overlook is also in doubt. Robert Watson was said to have built it in 1907, but then later it is stated that it was built in 1917. Maybe extended and reopened in 1917?

In The Monkey there is a problem concerning the monkey's eye-color. In the beginning of the short story it says that the monkey had amber eyes. Then later it says that it had brownish-yellow eyes, which is an approximate colour description of amber. But later still it says that the monkey had brown eyes.
In The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands On page 329 Brower says he spent two years in Bombay, but on page 338, Greer (Brower's friend) says that Brower's obsession "stems from his year in Bombay..." Which is it? One year, or two? (This error found by Lisa Escamillo)

Chapter 8 says that Joe Bob on the 18th, five hours after he talked to his cousin, infected a speeder with Captain Trips. The problem here is the chronology, because according to Stu Redman in chapter 7 he had been picked up on the afternoon of the 17th together with the others, including Hap, whom Joe Bob had talked to. So it hadn't been five hours since Joe Bob had talked to Hap, when he infected Harry Trent, it had been at lot longer since he had talked to Hap.
In Chapter 9 Nick broke one of his attackers nose, judging from the sound it made. A bit hard to judge this if you are deaf.
In Chapter 9 Nick kicks Ray in the stomach it says that Ray made a sound like a terrier with laryngitis. Again hard to describe this if you are deaf.
In Chapter 9 Ray tells the others to dump Nick when a car comes. The problem is that Nick wouldn't have been able to hear what Ray said, because he didn't stand in front of him, as it says in the book. But still it says that Nick was glad that they would let him go. Which would mean that he had heard what Ray said. Which would be impossible.
In Chapter 9 When Nicks attackers throw him in front of the car, it says that the screeching brakes and whining tires filled the world around him. But he couldn't hear these sounds.
This error concerns the second communique (771), in chapter 26. Like the other communique in that chapter (234), the sender has written his name at the top of the letter and at the bottom of the letter. The problem is, that the sender of communique 771 at the top of the letter calls himself Gareth but at the bottom of the letter he calls himself Garfield.
Chapter 32 (its chapter 42 in the un-cut version), were Stu meets Harold and Frannie for the first time, Stu says "Hi!" to them, but never mentions his name, then Frannie says to Stu (After Harold shows much displeasure in having another guy around, and Fran tells him to shup up,) says, "Have you ever ridden a hundred and seventy miles on a Honda, Mr. Redman? Not recommended." .. How did she know his last name was Redman?? He never introduced himself. Now I do note that there is a break in time, between when they meet and when Frannie sits down (which starts a new section), and it is possible that they simply introduced themselves then, and King simply failed to put it down on paper. (This error is from Emilie - Thanks)
Chapter 31 has Chris Bradenton, whose throat is shut to a tiny opening by his sickness, so much so that he can barely breathe, screams FOUR TIMES before Flagg's splash of cold water first opens his throat so that he can breathe. Then his throat closes up again to a "raw slit" forcing him to gasp for air again, but this still doesn't stop him from screaming one more time. (Thanks to Robert Whelan)
If you examine the last part of the passage about the Freezone Committee meeting in Chapter 54 you will see that Fran mentions that she is very tired and want to go to bed. But in the next passage it seems as if Fran and Stu has chosen to forget all about Fran's tiredness and instead travel to The Boulder County Courthouse where Stu is to start working as a Sheriff. Why couldn't they wait 'till the next day?
Whatever happened to the 20th of August? The Permanent Freezone Committee meeting took place on the 19th of August and the next time a date is mentioned is the day Harold Lauder goes to work with the Burial Committee which is the 21st of August.
In Chapter 48 of the Uncut version of the Stand, the MGM Grand is mentioned as being where Flagg's followers stayed. A fire destroyed the real MGM Grand on 20/21 November 1980, and the new MGM Grand opened in 1993. Because the book was set in 1990, the new MGM Grand was not opened, and thus could not have been mentioned.
In chapter 56 Nadine goes over to Joe/Leo who is sitting in an armchair. Whilst looking at him, she notices how his old scars and bruises have gone. But she has already noticed this once! In chapter 53 she makes the same observations about Joe/Leo's scars.
In chapter 56 On the bottom of one page it says that it was the morning of the 24th of August and Nadine had spend the previous two nights at Harold's. Now we know from the end of Chapter 55 that Harold awoke with Nadine on the morning of the 22nd. Basic maths will show that it was the previous THREE nights.
Stu Redman is supposed to be from a town 110 miles away from Houston. On the key chain that he attached to Kojak's collar, his phone number starts with area code 713. A town 110 miles from Houston in any direction would have the area code 281 or 409.
When In Boulder they get the power back on for just a moment, one generator blew because of the overload, well when Nadine is going to set the bomb she is thinking of what to say and is going to ask about the two generators that blew when it was only one. (From James A. Cook)
The movie version of The Stand, Mother Abagail is noted as being 106 years old, while in the book she is 108. (From James A. Cook)
Harold and Nadine are the only ones that knew about the bomb being in a shoebox. When Stu visits Fran in hospital, he wonders how Nick felt when was holding the shoebox and the bomb went off.
When Harold and Nadine hit the oil skid and Harold goes over and breaks his leg, after Harold writes in his ledger it says that he replaces it in the saddlebag then blows off his head. Well when Stu Redman and gang happened by and found Harold, the Permacover Ledger is firmly clasped in Harold's fist. Now I have heard of corpses moving (and in some of Kings books they indeed do), but this is a bit much! (From James A. Cook)
Fran breaks her ankle and injures her back, when a sofa lands on top of her after the explosion. But later in the book, the broken ankle seems to have been forgotten. When Fran and the others visits Mother Abagail in Larry's home, Stu helps her inside and up the stairs, allegedly only because she has an injured back. And later, when Mother Abagail heals her, it is only the injured back that is mentioned as being healed.
In Chapter 62, section 6, King writes "There will still be room for both of us in 2190. That's if the babies live, something we won't know about here for at least another five months. If they do, and humanity continues, let our grandfathers fight it out". Their grandfathers are DEAD, but I think he means grandCHILDREN...

Part 1, Act 1, 3A, the fire truck is described as red - "Gleaming Red hide", but in Act 7, 214, the pumpers are all apple green!
In Part 2, Act 6, 211, the TV reporter says that the inhabitants of Roanoke, Virginia, disappeared without a trace in 1857, but this is incorrect as it was actually the inhabitants of Roanoke Island, North Carolina, that disappeared (and they disappeared in the 17th century, not the 19th century). King appears to be aware of this, as when Linoge talks to the islanders in Part 3, Act 4, 95 , Roanoke Island is said to keep a secret.

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