REMARKABLY MAINTAINING his position for nearly four decades as the most famous and beloved writer in America, Stephen Edwin King (1947–) was born in Portland, Maine, and graduated from the University of Maine with a BA in English. Unable to find a position as a high school teacher, he sold some stories to various publications, including Playboy. Heavily influenced by H. P. Lovecraft and the macabre stories published by EC Comics, he directed his energy toward horror and supernatural fiction, although he has dabbled in other genres, including mystery, western, and science fiction. The manuscript of his first book, Carrie (1973), about a girl with psychic powers, was thrown into a wastebasket and famously rescued by his wife, Tabitha, who encouraged him to polish and submit it. It received a very modest advance but was published as a hardcover and then had great success as a paperback, launching a career of such spectacular magnitude that King is a celebrity as recognizable as a movie star or athlete—not commonplace for authors.
In addition to writing numerous novels and short stories, King has written screenplays and nonfiction, proving himself an expert in macabre fiction and film. More than one hundred films and television programs have been made from his work, most notably Carrie (1976), The Shining (1980), Stand By Me (1986, based on the novella “The Body”), The Shawshank Redemption (1994, based on the short story “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”), and The Green Mile (1999).
“The Doctor’s Case” was originally published in The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Carol-Lynn Rössel Waugh, and Jon L. Lellenberg (New York, Carroll & Graf, 1987).