15 Queer Stephen King Characters You Should Know About

With last fall’s box-office smash It, Pennywise the clown briefly became a tongue-in-cheek queer icon as the Babadook’s boyfriend. Stephen King, the author of the horror classic, has had a touch and go relationship with the queer community. While much of his older work hits on some unfortunate territory, he has worked and grown towards better representation, inspired especially by his gay lesbian daughter, Naomi. Because of his prolific nature, we have narrowed it down to (with one notable exception) only confirmed queer characters from his novels, who are more than cameos.

WARNING: This list hits the ick factor in more than a few ways. Unfortunate stereotypes (and a lot of blood shed) ahead!