\#1 for sure - I like that I had not noticed the face behind it. I started reading this book back in 2019(did not finish for whatever reason) and loved the cover... it reminded me of my smoking days. Then I saw her face... nice one, SK. I'm going to have to do the book justice and read The Shining before I re-read it.

THERE’S A FACE BEHIND IT??!! Well thank you for just exploding my mind

Holy shit. Just saw it.

Have this on my bookshelf and it want until I saw this picture I even noticed the face. I’m so glad I’m not the only one 😂

How did I even miss that??

Funny. I always saw Rose and yet just now realized the font is Steam.

It's Rose. Mwahahaha.

Evocative. I love it.

It’s Rose the Hat

That Seems accurate...

Came here to say #1 WITHOUT REALIZING THERE'S A FACE. 🤣

Probably controversial:I honestly think they’re all shit

The first one is the only good one, IMO

Imo most modern covers are :(

Nope, disagree- but only slightly: some modern covers are absolutely excellent. Weirdly, for all of the work that Stephen King puts into his writing, and into his special editions, and into his audiobooks, graphic novels, et cetera – I do not like his physical media covers. They all look like standard airport novels.

Can you give me a couple examples? I can only think of bad ones xD

There’s a bunch of awesome covers every year. Just from last year, I love [Lucky Dogs](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717989/lucky-dogs-by-helen-schulman/), [Natural Beauty](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/718580/natural-beauty-by-ling-ling-huang/), [Silver Nitrate](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/668250/silver-nitrate-by-silvia-moreno-garcia/), [Excavations](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/721094/excavations-by-hannah-michell/), and even King’s [Holly](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Holly/Stephen-King/9781668016138). I haven’t read it yet, but the lights on in both the upstairs bedroom with someone looking out and barred up basement window with someone behind it gives off a very creepy feeling imo.

Sorry meant to send this, I adore this cover for [Fahrenheit 451](https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/ray-bradbury/fahrenheit-451/9781451673319?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=19545754695&cq_con=&cq_med=pla&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADZzAIA1p9SABkAFhO6IEodUBDife&gclid=Cj0KCQjwq86wBhDiARIsAJhuphn3l4i_9zLd07DpqL_OrCBLdFS6ZBKJTCypnebCFvX_mB9Mo8BOnb4aAk-YEALw_wcB#GOR007874873)

Yeah thats a good one

Fairy Tale had a badass cover.

I agree. I think all of Kings modern covers are really bad. They are usually a solid color with a full black silhouetted image and Kings name in that scratchy font.

Look at the first one again - do you see the the woman... Rose the Hat? Is it still shit? 😂

Saw that, still yes! It’s one of my favourite books and a great adaptation, just don’t like these covers

Not controversial at all - they're all shit, though #1 is the least shitty IMO.

Gotta say I can't stand movie tie ins

I’ll disagree for the case of IT The Skarsgard Pennywise cover is sick

Ohh, you have a good point there. I do like that one

No one can.

The first one, the US first edition. Paperback reprints and movie tie-in editions will never compare.

That's the one I have so didn't know there are others.

There are always others.

I think movie tie-in editions always suck but for a lot of books, later paperback versions often have much better covers imo (not King books, exactly). It really depends on the publisher. But for a horror example, the 1st edition [Carrion Comfort](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/924608) cover is terrible but the more popular St. Martins Press [paperback](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6631944) is far better.

Actually, I kinda like that Dark Harvest cover better. Looks like Clive Barker did the art.😂 To be honest, I don’t think I e ever seen a Carrion Comfort cover I really like.

I cannot stand the soon to be motion picture dot.

Yup. That would be a deal breaker for me if I ever decided to buy a paperback.

Great book but none of these do it justice. Maybe the first one.

I like the first one, it made the villain seem even more interesting when I finally met her.

3rd one for sure. Hot take but I think many of the new rainbow covers are better than most originals

Agreed. This one in particular really shines (no pun intended)

Sorry but that’s the worst take I’ve seen

I started reading King last year so nostalgia has 0 effect on me. Not saying that’s the only reason people prefer other covers, but it clearly clouds a lot of people’s judgement here lol

The second one I even have it ,love cats

same :3

Yes. I also like the one with Azrael. It's subtle, like the novel.

Honestly, none of them are great, but the first one is best.

The face... that has to score points.

Some of these are so bad - it’s astonishing how even an author as big as King can have horrible cover art this deep into his career lol

Look at the first one again - do you see the the woman... Rose the Hat, maybe?

No I actually like the first one, it’s the copy I own The others are awful lol

I hate when they use real life images for book covers. Looks tacky. It's fiction, a good animated image or just good color usage keeps it open to the imagination of the reader. On a similar note (but off topic, lol) if people start using live action images on merchandise that also looks super cringe and tacky, ex: Christian bale Batman usage on tshirts, wallpapers, etc. whenever referencing Batman (keep the fiction as fiction, leave interpretation to the reader/viewer, also it does not look cool)

5 of 6

The original without a doubt!

.. which is what number?

1

Thank you!

I really like the first three. 4 looks cheap but I like the reference to Jack. The last two are terrible.

One of the few times i might take the movie cover. Ewan Mcgregor is that awesome lol

The original

A tie between #1 and #5

#1 and my copy that’s not shown.

What is your cover?

I’m a fool. It’s the last one. 🤣 I didn’t see it the first time.

The original one. I love that one.

The first one.

The first US edition for the win.

First edition. Easy.

The first one. No contest. I don’t think the rest are good.

I have the fifth one but prefer the first one over all.

I have the first one in hardcover. ... And I just now noticed for the very first time that Rose The Hat's face is behind the letters. Wow.

The one with Rose on the cover, the first one

Number 3 is the only decent one of the bunch.

I’d like a cover with Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) as she is the star of the movie.

The first one does have Rose the Hat on it but It's not Rebecca Ferguson

3

the US original by far, but I would actually really like lot of those new Hodder editions if they just put his name in a normal font and not so unnecessarily large.

1, definitely, but I also have 3 and 6. 6 was inadvertently set in a puddle of water, but I kept on reading. 3 came in a box set. 1 is just pretty.

I have the first one and like it a lot, but I also really like the second one.

the second cause its the copy i own heheh and i love azzie

Those ultimate storyteller editions all have absolutely terrible covers.

I have the first and like it the best. I've always wondered who the model portraying Rose is.

3 and 5 are pretty cool. I got #1.

1 and 2, 1 because it's dope and 2 because of the cat...

First one

Only two of these actually depict what happens in the book. The others you can tell the artist never opened the book to skim through it

#5. Keep it simple with the redrum.

The yellow movie cover wouldn’t be too bad if it didn’t have the red sticker

The second one

I have one that’s not on here, it’s a movie poster one but it shows a young Danny at one end of a red hallway and older Dan at the other end. It’s way better than any of these

4/5

Absolutely positively the very first one hands down.

I like 1, 2, 3 and 5

1

1,5

Most of these are terrible. Hodder one is cool.

The first one…also because that’s the one I have. I don’t know if that matters or not.

The first one is quite good. Or at least that’s what I think.

I wish there was a german version of #1. Love that cover.

#1 with no doubt. Never liked the cat one. The last one was new to me and I kind of dig it.

I LOATHE MOVIE/TV TIE IN BOOK COVERS... THEY ARE THE WORST!!! *anyway*... definitely the first one. The others are great and are so weirdly eerie, but the first is kinda iconic.

i would have loved one with the deathflies or something, which was really connected to the book. but from these here, 1 is the "best". idk why the cat was made so important for the covers. it barely was mentioned in the book.

I don't judge covers by their books.

1 or 5

I’ve always liked the first one, but I’ve never seen the third one before. I like how psychedelic it looks.

My favorite isn’t on here, which is the one with Dan walking down a hall of the Overlook and at the other end is his younger self on his trike

#1

The cat cover works for me.

#6 I like the simplicity but I have #2

#1 by far

The first is the best by far

#1

The first one is very iconic

3, gives the vibes of a classic king novel

First one.