Stephen King fans rejoice. The author’s prolific work was the subject of a category on a recent episode of Jeopardy!, another institution of pop culture for generations. With such a deep catalog of horror, mystery, adventure, and fantasy novels, the opportunities for trivia are endless, and this is before you even delve into his accomplished track record of getting his books adapted for the big screen. With one of his recent stories, The Life of Chuck, being recently released in movie theaters, King has been on many audiences’ minds. On the June 17, 2025, episode of Jeopardy!, host Ken Jennings presented the contestants, Stefany Meyer, Dan Hopkins, and returning champ Sarah Cox, with a batch of chilling clues in the Jeopardy round. How did they fare?
Stephen King Received a Category Dedicated to His Work on ‘Jeopardy!’
Like many $200 clues, the first box at the top of the eponymous category was a lay-up for any casual or die-hard fan, as it asked what type of circus performer the entity “It,” also known as Pennywise, embodies. Sarah correctly responded, and she proved to be an avid King fan during this match, answering four out of the five King-related clues correctly. Any question pertaining to an animal being revived from the dead could only be about Pet Sematary, which was the response to the $400 clue.
The $600 clue didn’t allude to Children of the Corn, but it referred to “He Who Walks Behind the Rows,” which refers to the correct response, corn. When it comes to stories about girls with volatile psychological powers, Carrie first comes to mind, the incorrect response Dave gave. However, the $800 clue was specifically about Charlie McGee, the girl with pyrokinetic powers in Firestarter. This did not trip up Sarah. The returning champion failed to complete the category sweep with the $1000 clue, but luckily, no one else buzzed in, leading to a triple stumper with the correct response being “Hearts in Atlantis”, which was eventually adapted into an Anthony Hopkins film. Sarah’s dominance in the category could not vault her to a victory, as Dan would finish the match as the winner, earning $10,799 after Final Jeopardy.
With categories themed around the work of an artist, the questions often skew too heavily on the mainstream works, and this is especially true with categories that rarely receive a spotlight in Jeopardy!, such as the unexpected NASCAR round in the June 18 episode. The Stephen King category did not resort to the most obvious source for questions. Excluding It, no one would place any of the correct responses in the upper echelon of his most legendary work. The slate of clues also did not lean too heavily on his movie adaptations, which would have eased the difficulty.
On the flip side, the clues very much favored King’s early works, and they didn’t dabble into his rich library of non-horror literature, as stories like The Body and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption have endured in culture thanks to their beloved film adaptations. With Mike Flanagan‘s adaptation of King’s The Life of Chuck, included in the author’s 2020 collection of unpublished novellas, If It Bleeds, now in theaters and opening to critical acclaim, one might suspect that Jeopardy! would tap into the current landscape of his work or anything on the lighter and sentimental side like Life of Chuck.
Stephen King’s History With ‘Jeopardy!’
Stephen King’s history with Jeopardy! roots back to the 1990s, when the man himself competed on Celebrity Jeopardy! Facing off against David Duchovny of The X-Files and renowned British and stage actor Lynn Redgrave, King would finish the match in first place, earning $11,400 for his charity, funding the Bangor Public Library in his home, Maine. In a recent match in April 2025, one contestant, Bob Callen, revealed in his mid-match interview that he was often mistaken for Stephen King, a striking coincidence considering that Bob is a librarian.
Stephen King’s vast array of books and movie and television adaptations is deep enough to fill out the board for a trivia contest solely centered around the author’s work. With only five categories to work with, Jeopardy! can barely scrape the surface of King’s oeuvre. For pop culture enthusiasts, it’s always enjoyable to see a category uber-specifically tailored to your interests. For a brief moment, when you nail every Stephen King question without breaking a sweat, you foolishly believe that you could walk on to the Jeopardy! stage and kill it.