Shining’s master of horror now King of the Jags
TO fans of his books, he is the uncontested master of horror.
But Stephen King is now bringing joy to the supporters of a Highland League football club.
For the author has not only name-checked Buckie Thistle in his latest novel – he has now posed in the team’s strip.
The writer has sent the club’s organisers a photograph of himself wearing their green and white shirt and scarf, along with the message: ‘Bucky (sic) Thistle for ever!’
The best-selling author of Carrie and The Shining first brought the Moray team to worldwide attention in April when he mentioned them in his new novel, If It Bleeds.
He also donated two copies of the book for the club’s fundraising auction.
Buckie have now sent an open invitation for King, who has Scots and Irish ancestry, to attend a game at Victoria Park.
Sharing the photograph of King, 72, wearing the team’s kit, the club wrote on their Facebook page: ‘As a thank you we sent to him some memorabilia as he is now a fully fledged fan of the Jags. Stephen is aware that there is an open invitation to visit Victoria Park next time he is in Scotland.’
It is not clear what drew the club to the attention of the author. However, a story in his new book tells the tale of a bomb threat at an American school and the pupils correspond with children in Scotland.
In the novel, a character explains: ‘They email and Facebook and send pictures to each other and things like that. The Scottish kids root for the Pittsburgh Pirates, our kids for the Buckie
Thistle Football Club. The Current Affairs kids watch the games on YouTube.’