The Dark Half by Stephen King. Short summary

5 seconds

Writer Ted Beaumond, under the pseudonym of George Stark, writes thrillers full of blood and murder. One day he decides to get rid of his dark half, but Stark is not about to give up so easily.

1 minute

The main character is Ted Beaumond, a writer and college professor in the town of Castle Rock. Under the pen name George Stark, he writes bloody thrillers. As a child, Ted underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor, which turned out not to be a tumor at all, but his twin brother, absorbed by the hero in utero.

One day the secret of the alias comes out, and Ted himself reveals his alter ego. He «buries» George Stark. But the next day, a cemetery worker discovers that Stark’s grave has been dug up. From this point on, the murders of everyone associated with Stark begin. First Ted’s assistant dies, then Miriam and Mike Donaldson die. From the pattern of the murders, Tad realizes that the killer is copying the deaths from Stark’s thrillers.

Stark then begins stalking Ted, demanding his continued cooperation. He kidnaps his wife and children. Upon arriving at the appointed location, Tad sees Stark’s decomposing body, which forces him to write a new novel. In the end, Ted is helped to defeat Stark by the birds, who tear him to pieces.