Stephen, King of England supporting the rebels in their campaign against the royal army, which included a number of Matilda's supporters such as Robert of Gloucester. Many of these barons had taken an oath to stay in Normandy until the late king was properly buried, which prevented them from returning to England. Stephen's elder brother Theobald was further south still, in Blois. Stephen, however, was in Boulogne, and when news reached him of Henry's death he left for England, accompanied by his military household. Robert of Gloucester had garrisoned the ports of Dover and Canterbury and some accounts suggest that they refused Stephen access
Stephen King called Richard Matheson "the author who influenced me most as a writer." In a current edition of Matheson's "The Shrinking Man", King is quoted: "A horror story if there ever was one...a great adventure story—it is certainly one of that select handful that I have given to people, envying them the experience of the first reading." Ray Bradbury is another influence, with King himself stating "without Ray Bradbury, there is no Stephen King". King refers to H. P. Lovecraft several times in "Danse Macabre". "Gramma", a short story made into a film in the 1980s anthology horror show "The New