In an interview with Charlie Rose, King says that horror is a way to portray what isn’t permissible. The more wrong that something is the more attractive. One can see this in the controversy surrounding the Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz, when the very banning of the books made them more alluring:

An article on growing up with the "Scary Stories" series, and how it continues to influence individuals and society. Alvin Schwartz’ series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark came from folklore. Virginia Johnson tells us in her article “Alvin Schwartz Set Down Scary Stories and Silly Ones” that living in Princeton meant that Schwartz was able … Continue reading The Social Effect of “Scary Stories” by Alvin Schwartz