Fear

Stephen King is well known for being able to create fear in the reader through his masterful storytelling skills. “Joyland,” unlike most King novels, is more about the coming of age of a young man than about fear. Fear does play a large part in the story when it comes to uncovering a killer’s identity.

The first real example of fear can be seen in Tom Kennedy’s experience involving the ghost of Linda Gray. Linda Gray had never shown herself to anyone but the employees at Joyland. Tom, a non-believer, is scared when he sees Linda Gray’s ghost during a ride in Horror House. Devin and Erin, the two that most wanted to see the ghost, are left empty handed.

The most fearful experience in the entire book involves Devin being confronted by Lane Hardy, the killer of Linda Gray and three or...