Stephen King, a very popular writer, is most famous for his horror fiction stories. He wrote many books that inspired other writers to write and others to read more. He achieved many accomplishments that many writers never achieve. According to his biography, King has sold fifty bestsellers and starred in a few films based on his books. The use of suspense as a literary element is constant in the books written by Stephen King. This will examine the life of Stephen King and the literary criticism of his short story, “The Two Dead Girls” The Green Mile. In his works, he mixes elements of traditional, depressing and menacing Gothic tales with those of modern psychological suspense fiction stories. Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine on September 21, 1947. He said that at the age of 7 was when he started writing. When he was still very young, King's father left him and his mother. He and his mother were very unstable and were always moving from place to place until they finally settled in Durham, Maine when King was eleven (King p. 4). When he was just twelve years old, he began submitting stories to professional magazines and began his first novel in high school. He made his first fiction book sale at the age of 20, after graduating from high school. Stephen attended the University of Maine to major in English, from which he graduated in 1970. Life was difficult for King in 1970, although he married Tabitha Spruce and had three children. He worked in a laundromat, was a high school teacher, and continued to write to support his family. During this period he sold short stories to Cavalier magazine. But his first big, successful novel was Carrie. Since...... middle of paper...... March 1, 2011.J. Madison Davis. “International Crime and Mystery.” World literature today, May-June 2007: p. 16(4). “King, Stephen. » The Green Line. 1997. “King Stephen.” Critical investigation into mystery and detective fiction. 2008 ed. Gale Literary Resources. 2000. Patricia L. Daniel. February 2009..Maryles, Daisy. “Behind the bestsellers.” Publishers Weekly April 28, 1997: 18. Gale Literary Resources. Internet. March 1, 2011. Quinn, Judy. "Ballantine launches PB series from $1.99 to $2.99." Publishers Weekly January 13, 1997: 22. Gale Literary Resources. Internet. March 1, 2011.Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. “The Green Line”. The magazine of fantasy and science fiction January 1997: 4+. Gale Literary Resources. Web March 1, 2011. “Stephen King.” Contemporary authors online. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Web documentary resources March 1. 2011.