Stephen King apologizes to people who feel like they're living in a Stephen King novel

Novelist Stephen King saw a virus like COVID-19 coming a long way off — like, way back in 1978, when he wrote his pandemic-themed horror The Stand. "[It was] bound to happen," King told NPR in a recent interview. "There was never any question that in our society, where travel is a staple of daily life, that sooner or later, there was going to be a virus that was going to communicate to the public at large."We really should have been listening to Stephen King. Of course, fans of the hugely successful writer were. And many of them have been reaching out to tell him how they feel: like they’re trapped inside one of his novels. "I keep having people say, 'Gee, it's like we're living in a Stephen King story,'" he said. "And my only response to that is, 'I'm sorry.'"[video_embed id='1817767']RELATED: 'Doctor Sleep' director was nervous about how Stephen King would react to 'The Shining' sequel[/video_embed]Which doesn’t mean he isn’t able to have a bit of a sense of humour about the difficult situation we all find ourselves in. Back in March, King riffed on another one of his novels, It, by tweeting a photo of his sewer-dwelling clown’s trademark red balloon accompanied by a roll of toilet paper, poking fun at what the Germans have dubbed “hamsterkauf” (which basically translates to “panic buying in the style of a brainless rodent”).

pic.twitter.com/lvzo45CnHU

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 27, 2020

For King, it isn’t panic or terror that’s tormenting him right now. “It's a kind of gnawing anxiety where you say to yourself, I shouldn't go out. If I do go out, I might catch this thing or I might give it to somebody else.” It’s also anger over the way his government has been handling the crisis. The author’s Twitter feed is a stream of criticism detailing the ways that the Trump administration has been endangering the lives of Americans since the earliest days of the outbreak. That, and a ZZ Top-inspired recommendation to mask up if you have to leave the house.

"The girls come running just as fast as they can/Every girl is crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man." pic.twitter.com/9IXMsA8oEc

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) April 9, 2020

[video_embed id='1936686']Before you go: Drug shown to block COVID-19 infection has entered trials[/video_embed]