Stephen King’s Carrie was first published in 1974, and it’s still a solid horror/thriller reread for me. I feel like the bloody prom scene is pretty familiar for anyone with a passing interest in thrillers or horror, but the novel has a lot more that just that famous horror-movie moment.

An adult reread can highlight the religious elements, too, over the iconic revenge storyline. There’s a clear reason that Carrie can’t relate to her classmates, and the notes hint at religious trauma and control in her mother’s life, without detailed explanation. This creates that amazing King atmospheric tension, when we readers know that something is just Wrong.

I’ve been reading a lot of 1970s scifi, and on this reread, I noticed the seventies vibes in the descriptions of TK in the notes. The main high school story is interrupted with flash-forward reports about the events and and other documents describing what happened clinically or offering semi-scientific explanations telekinesis and its implications. These passages add to the atmosphere, both in setting up the scale of the drama long before Carrie starts seeking revenge, and in adding a specific seventies vibe.

I read The Institute since the last time I reread Carrie,  another King novel that focuses on teenagers with psychic abilities. It’s intriguing as a recurring King idea, exploring what happens when someone possess mental abilities that can’t be explained. Both novels can be read as solid page-turners or as explorations of unusual abilities and how those might affect power structures.

The two novels approach the idea differently. Carrie focuses on a teenage girl, who is incredibly isolated and uninformed about her body on any level. Poor Carrie’s gotten zero health education and is shocked to find herself experiencing basic puberty, and this is also when her powers also start to manifest.

(Actually, Carrie in the locker room is disturbingly relatable on an adult reread, more as a comment on women’s health. Oh, that concerning symptom? It’s just menopause! Oh, guess no one told you about that horrible pregnancy side effect that women experience! Oh, that new chronic illness? We see that a lot in women your age!)

The Institute expands this idea of unexplainable telekinetic powers, and one of King’s staple ideas, of repressive, authority figures into a thriller about a shady organization targeting these gifted children as an asset to be controlled and used.

Spooky season is a perfect time to reread Carrie and see how it’s changed. For me, the high-school scenes still show that intensity of adolescent emotions, and the novel’s overall idea of the outcast seeking revenge is still compelling.