Stephen King Fans Flock to His Victorian Home In Maine-But Where Does the Horror Icon Actually Reside?

"Where does Stephen King live? Many fans know that the prolific horror author based the setting of his massively popular book turned film franchise, It, on his longtime town, Bangor, Maine. In recent years, however, King and his wife of over 50 years, Tabitha, have split their time between other properties where they have more privacy. The couple's Victorian house in Bangor has become a site of fan pilgrimage, iconic for its blood-red exterior and intricate black iron gate."

"In the fall of 1974, King moved to Boulder, where he wrote The Shining, his Colorado-based novel that became the basis for Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film. "I'd been writing about New England so much, I wanted to write about somewhere different. So I got a map and told my wife, Tabitha, to close her eyes and point," King explained in a 1980 interview. "She pointed at Boulder, Colorado. So we went there and lived in a tract house in a subdivision.""

"According to King's official website, he and Tabitha first bought property in the town of Lovell, Maine, in December 1977. After a brief stint renting a home in Orrington, Maine (more on that below), the Kings returned to Lovell in 1979. Following the purchase of their Victorian property in Bangor, Maine, in 1980, they retained their Lovell pad as a summer home."

Stephen King and his wife converted their Bangor Victorian into a nonprofit archive and writer's retreat in 2019. The couple splits time among several properties to maintain privacy, with the Bangor house remaining an iconic fan pilgrimage site known for its blood-red exterior and black iron gate. In 1974 King moved to Boulder, Colorado, where he wrote The Shining and lived briefly in a tract house. The Kings bought property in Lovell, Maine, in December 1977, rented in Orrington briefly, returned to Lovell in 1979, and retained their Lovell home as a summer residence after purchasing the Bangor Victorian in 1980. They bought and later closed a campground near Kezar Lake in the early 2000s.

Read at Architectural Digest