The Darkhalf
by
Stephen King

Illustration by David loew

King decided to use the idea of a writer having an alter ego to write novels. Thad Beaumont is an author and recovering alcoholic who lives in the tiny Maine town of Ludlow (the setting of Pet Sematary and about an hour away from the fictional town of Castle Rock, often used in King's novels). His own books are not very successful, but under the pen name George Stark, Thad writes gritty crime novels about a violent killer named Alexis Machine, which are very popular and successful. When it's learned that Thad Beaumont, who writes cerebral literary fiction, is really Stark, he and his wife Elizabeth decide to stage a daylight funeral for the fictional Stark. His epitaph at the local cemetery says it all: NOT A VERY NICE GUY.
However, that is not the end of Stark and over the weeks to come he resurrects himself from his mock-grave and kills, gruesomely, everyone he perceives responsible for his "death". Thad, meanwhile, is plagued by surreal nightmares and, is soon visited by Sheriff Alan Pangborn (a main character in the novel Needful Things), asking questions Thad can't, or doesn't want to, answer. Thad's finger and voice prints are identical to Stark's, and Stark has left plenty of evidence at the scenes of his crimes.
Thad experiences blackouts and comes to discover that he and Stark share a mental bond. He begins to find notes from Stark written in his own handwriting. The notes tell Thad what activity Stark has been engaging in. Observing his son and daughter, Thad notes that twins share a unique bond. They can feel each others pain and at times appear to read the others mind. Using this as a keystone to his own situation, he begins to discover the even deeper meaning behind himself and Stark.
Pangborn eventually learns that Thad had a twin. The unborn brother was absorbed into Thad in utero and later removed from his skull when the author was a child. He had suffered from severe headaches and it was originally thought to be a tumor causing them. This leads to questions about the true nature of Stark, whether he's a malevolent spirit or Thad manifesting a multiple personality. Thad eventually vanquishes Stark, but the book ends on an unhappy note with Thad's wife having serious doubts about the future of their relationship: not only did Thad create Stark (if unintentionally) a part of him liked Stark and his bloody-minded, psychotic outlook on life.