Stephen King’s Carrie (1974) was his first published novel, and when Brian De Palma adapted it for film two years later, it cemented itself as one of horror’s all-time classics. The shy, bullied girl with terrifying telekinetic powers is now part of pop culture forever.

But fans often wonder: was Carrie based on a true story?

King’s Inspiration

The short answer is no — Carrie wasn’t a true story. But she was inspired by real people.

Stephen King has said that Carrie White was a composite of two girls he remembered from high school in Durham, Maine.

• One was an outcast who came from a very religious family. She dressed differently, was constantly ridiculed, and never fit in.
• The other was shy and withdrawn, with an extremely controlling mother.

Both girls were bullied relentlessly. King later said that he imagined what would have happened if just one of them had “had the power to strike back.”

The Real-Life Tragedy

What makes Carrie feel so real is the way King drew from those memories of cruelty in small-town schools. Sadly, both of the girls who inspired Carrie died young — one by suicide, the other from epilepsy. King described it as proof of how brutal the world can be to outsiders.

The Supernatural Element

The telekinesis — Carrie’s ability to move things with her mind — was King’s fictional twist. In the 70s, there was a lot of talk about ESP, psychic research, and telekinetic experiments. King took that cultural curiosity and built it into Carrie’s story, turning her pain into something powerful and terrifying.

Final Thought

So, is Carrie based on a true story?

Not literally. But she was shaped by real people, real pain, and real cruelty that King witnessed. That’s why the story works — because under the buckets of blood and the supernatural powers, Carrie is about something we all recognize: the damage bullying can do, and the darkness it can awaken.

And maybe that’s the scariest part — because that is true.

Sam