Writing under a shadow can be suffocating. Imagine your dad isn't just a writer, but the writer—the man who basically owns the modern nightmare. For Joseph Hillström King, that wasn't a hypothetical. It was Tuesday.
Most people know him now as Joe Hill. He’s the mind behind Heart-Shaped Box, NOS4A2, and the sprawling, brilliant comic series Locke & Key. But for a solid decade, the literary world had no clue he was Stephen King’s son. He didn't want them to know. He wanted to fail—or succeed—entirely on his own terms.
Honestly, he did a pretty good job of it. Hill kept the secret until around 2007, even though his face is a dead ringer for a 1970s-era Stephen. By the time the cat was out of the bag, he already had a collection of short stories and a major novel deal. He’d proven he could scare us without the "King" branding.
The Secret History of Joe Hill
Hill didn't just pick a pen name out of a hat. He shortened his middle name, but there’s a layer of "feisty liberal" parenting in there too. His parents, Stephen and Tabitha, named him after the legendary labor activist and songwriter Joe Hill, who was executed in 1915.
It’s kind of funny. While his brother, Owen King, entered the scene using the family name from the jump, Joe went the "Richard Bachman" route but for keeps. He spent years collecting rejection slips. He learned the craft in the dark.
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When you look at their work side-by-side, the DNA is obvious, but the execution is different. Stephen King is the master of the "voice"—that folksy, Maine-inflected narration that feels like a friend telling you a story by a campfire. Joe Hill, on the other hand, often feels more modern, more "fantastic" in the literal sense.
Why the Collaborations Work
They’ve written together a few times, and the results are usually pretty grisly. Take Throttle, for instance. It’s a tribute to Richard Matheson’s Duel, involving a faceless trucker and a motorcycle gang. It’s lean, mean, and nasty.
Then there’s In the Tall Grass. If you haven’t read it or seen the Netflix adaptation, it’s basically a masterclass in making something mundane—like a field of weeds—absolutely terrifying. They lean into the "lost" feeling. It’s claustrophobic. It’s that shared ability to take a simple "What if?" and turn it into a 50-page panic attack.
In 2025 and heading into 2026, Hill has been talking more about how he’s "relaxed" regarding the family connection. His latest massive novel, King Sorrow, is a perfect example. He described it as a horror-infused "bonus season" of the show Friends. It’s a group of friends, a dragon, and a whole lot of Maine-based dread.
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The Difference in the Scare
Some fans argue that Hill is actually the better technical writer, while King is the better storyteller. It's a weird distinction, but it makes sense if you’ve read them both. King’s endings are... well, they're controversial. You either love the cosmic weirdness of IT or you think the ending fell flat.
Joe Hill tends to stick the landing with a bit more precision. His endings often feel bittersweet but earned.
- King’s Women: Historically, King has been criticized for how he writes female characters (though books like Dolores Claiborne are exceptions).
- Hill’s Women: Hill’s female leads often feel more grounded and less like "objects" in the narrative.
- The Vibe: King is Americana. Hill is often more "weird fiction" or dark fantasy.
There’s also the healthcare thing. Joe Hill recently admitted he writes at least one screenplay a year primarily to keep his Writers Guild of America health insurance. It’s a refreshingly human detail. Even the son of the wealthiest author in the world has to worry about premiums and coverage, especially after his wife’s cancer diagnosis in 2024 (she’s thankfully recovered).
Exploring the Shared Universe
If you’re a "Constant Reader," you’ve probably noticed the Easter eggs. Hill isn't shy about it anymore. In King Sorrow, he mentions John Smith from The Dead Zone. He echoes the language of his father's books because, as he says, "it’s fun."
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It isn't just a gimmick. It’s a dialogue. The King family—including Tabitha, Owen, and Kelly Braffet—operates like a literary guild. They read each other’s drafts. They steal each other’s best lines. It’s a beautiful, creepy ecosystem.
If you want to understand the modern horror landscape, you can't just read one or the other. You have to see how they influence each other. King’s later works, like The Outsider or Holly, seem to have a bit of that Hill-esque crispness. Meanwhile, Hill’s NOS4A2 is a total love letter to the "Old School King" vibe, complete with a map of the United States that features places like "Mid-World" and "Pennywise’s Circus."
How to Read Them Right Now
If you are new to this duo, don't just jump into the 1,000-page doorstoppers. Start with the short stuff.
- Read 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill. It’s his first collection and still arguably his best. "Pop Art" will break your heart.
- Pick up Full Throttle. This collection contains both collaborations with Stephen King (Throttle and In the Tall Grass).
- Check out King Sorrow. Since it’s the big 2025/2026 release, it’s the current cultural touchstone for Hill fans.
- Watch The Black Phone. It’s based on a Hill short story and shows exactly why his brand of horror works so well on screen—it’s about the people first, the monsters second.
The reality is that Stephen King isn't going to be around forever. He's in his late 70s. But with Joe Hill, the "King" legacy isn't just being preserved; it’s being evolved. Hill isn't a clone. He's a successor who actually put in the work to stand on his own two feet before ever claiming his crown.
To dive deeper into this world, start by comparing the short story "Trucks" (by Stephen) with "Throttle" (the collaboration). You'll see exactly where the father's grit meets the son's modern polish. From there, move into the Locke & Key graphic novels to see Joe Hill working in a medium his father rarely touches, proving that the family business has plenty of room for expansion.