It turns out that King's works are the most frequently censored—and in America, states can now be clearly divided into two groups: those that actively ban his books and those that try to fight the bans and even reverse them.
During the 2024-2025 school year, more than 6,800 cases of books being temporarily or permanently removed from schools were recorded. This is fewer than last year (where there were over 10,000 such cases), but still significantly higher than a few years ago, when widespread bans were not even discussed.
The majority of these restrictions—around 80%—occurred in three states: Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. These states are currently engaged in real battles over laws requiring the removal of books with "objectionable" content. States such as Illinois, Maryland, and New Jersey, which have bans on tampering with school libraries, are almost entirely absent from these lists.
Interestingly, Stephen King's books have been censored 206 times, including his popular novels Carrie and The Stand. The record for most banned books belongs to Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange, which has been removed from library shelves 23 times.
So why is horror fiction banned? Most often, it's because of LGBTQ+ themes (*The movement is recognized as extremist in Russia and is banned), race, and violence, including sexual violence. PEN America emphasizes that their report is far from complete—some states, such as Ohio, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, simply don't have enough information.