Trying to describe Stephen King’s work in words is a gross injustice to his craft. It’s the feeling you get after reading his stories that comes close to what it imbibes in us. No wonder the legendary writer is a huge influence on every filmmaker or content creator interested in the horror genre. That includes the reigning king of the horror of this generation, Mike Flanagan.

Of course, there are Flanagan’s direct adaptations of King’s pieces like Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep. These renditions display Mike Flanagan’s expertise and how effortlessly he’s able to recreate King’s characters for the screen. But apart from these, even his original creation, Netflix‘s Midnight Mass has nuanced yet unmissable similarities to an underrated Stephen King narrative. Let’s find out which one.

Mike Flanagan borrows from Stephen King’s world

A small, isolated town has a twisted secret. A supernatural entity shows up on a secluded coastal island. The responsibility to defeat the threat falls on a few islanders and the town sheriff who works at the only grocery store on the entire island. Is this Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass or Stephen King’s 1999 miniseries, Storm of the Century? Now, that’s a guessing game you can’t win unless you have more information.

If the story delves into spirituality, wherein mortals are forced to question their faith, then it is Midnight Mass. If the tale urges you to make an extremely difficult, almost impossible choice, then it is the Storm of the Century. Granted, the narratives are quite distinct from one another, but the thematic similarities between the two are extremely apparent. Mike Flanagan himself has explicitly admitted that Midnight Mass is, in fact, a homage to the miniseries penned down by King.

He actually wrote Storm of the Century specifically as a “novel for television” for the miniseries and it isn’t based on any of his previous tales. Apart from the setting, even the convoluted challenge of morality is commonplace in both stories. Additionally, another Stephen King story that influenced Midnight Mass is Salem’s Lot, owing to the vampires, of course.

Do you see any more similarities between the two horror pieces? Let us know in the comments. For those who haven’t seen it yet, check Midnight Mass streaming on Netflix.