• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
'Amazing' Stephen King book bought for 20 pence is actually worth a small fortune due to controversial inclusion

Home> News> US News

Published 15:30 21 Feb 2025 GMT

'Amazing' Stephen King book bought for 20 pence is actually worth a small fortune due to controversial inclusion

Certain Stephen King books are worth more than $1,250 - it just depends on what you have

Tom Earnshaw

Tom Earnshaw

A Stephen King fanatic has revealed how they came across a rare copy of one of his books for just a handful of pennies, with the real value of the novel a 476,000 percent increase on what they paid.

The find comes as King welcomes in yet another adaptation of his many works, with The Monkey starring Theo James and Tatiana Maslany hitting cinemas across the world.

A horror (of course), the trailer for the film was so shocking it was denied a spot on TV by four networks due to how eye-opening it was. And if it's anything like the adaptation of Gerald's Game, some might be left feeling rather nauseous.

Away from the big screen and Netflix adaptations, King's books remain among the best selling in the world from Misery and The Green Mile to It and Cujo, King truly is the GOAT of his genre.

Advert

But you can't buy everything he's ever written, with specific books no longer sold or even printed - and one particular creation banned by King from ever being produced again.

We're talking about Rage. Published back in 1977 under King's pseudonym, Richard Bachman, it is the quite terrible tale about a high school shooter who kills his teacher.

Rage is no longer printed (Wikimedia Commons)
Rage is no longer printed (Wikimedia Commons)

It was after the very real and tragic Heath High School shooting in West Paducah, Kentucky, back in 1997. Three students had been shot and killed by a boy named Michael Carneal, aged 14, in the incident, leading to King making the proactive approach to request the book was never made or sold again.

Obviously, copies of Rage still exist. Both on their own and in another book from King known as the The Bachman Books.

Advert

As it sounds, this is a collection of all novels King wrote under the pseudonym, with there being four in total.

A version of The Bachman Books before Rage was taken out (Wikimedia Commons)
A version of The Bachman Books before Rage was taken out (Wikimedia Commons)

And it is one of these that has been discovered over on Reddit. And not just any, but a first edition.

Posting in the r/stephenking subreddit, they labelled it an 'amazing find' adding: "Got this 1st edition Signet printing at the AMVETS thrift stores today for $.27. I have been wanting to buy a copy and so happy to find this for such a steal."

They added: "It isn't printed anymore, so it's pretty sought after by collectors and / or fans."


Advert

At 27 cents, we're talking 21 pence over here in the United Kingdom. Which is outrageous for such a find.

"That is identical to my copy but you got an amazing deal," one Redditor replied with.

As for how much it could be worth on the open market, LADbible found copies for sale for more than £1,000 ($1,260) mainly due to the inclusion of Rage. That's because copies of The Bachman Books continued after 1997 with Rage taken out; these sell for around £10 ($12.50).

Signed copies are also currently listed for up to $1,850 (£1,520). What a find, if you can do just that.

Featured Image Credit: Rick Kern/WireImage

Topics: Stephen King, Books, Money, Reddit, US News, Celebrity, Entertainment

Tom Earnshaw
Tom Earnshaw

Tom joined LADbible Group in 2024, currently working as SEO Lead across all brands including LADbible, UNILAD, SPORTbible, Tyla, UNILAD Tech, and GAMINGbible. He moved to the company from Reach plc where he enjoyed spells as a content editor and senior reporter for one of the country's most-read local news brands, LancsLive. When he's not in work, Tom spends his adult life as a suffering Manchester United supporter after a childhood filled with trebles and Premier League titles. You can't have it all forever, I suppose.

X

@TREarnshaw

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

16 hours ago
17 hours ago
  • 16 hours ago

    There's a worrying reason behind why some people enjoy watching true crime to relax, psychologist warns

    Having a slight obsession with true crime titles could be a sign of some mental health obstacles

    News
  • 16 hours ago

    Meaning behind why people sometimes get small white spots across their bodies

    They can sometimes have serious complications...

    News
  • 17 hours ago

    Moment of death was recorded for first ever time and reveals what our final thoughts could be

    Thinking about what happens when we die is enough to keep most people awake at night

    News
  • 17 hours ago

    Campaigners issue fresh warning over two orcas ‘at risk of death’ after being kept in abandoned theme park

    One of the orcas has spent nearly a quarter of a century in captivity

    News
  • Four legendary Stephen King books could be worth a small fortune if you have them lying around
  • Rare Stephen King book with just 26 copies in the world is worth enough to secure a house deposit if you have it
  • Stephen King had a three word response after discovering 50 of his books were banned by authorities
  • 2024's highest earning comedian made £56 million fortune but you've probably never heard of him