Carrietta Nadine White is the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

and

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of American author

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

's first published 1974

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

novel, ''

Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...

''. In every adaptation and portrayal of ''Carrie'', she is portrayed as a high school outcast, bullied, slandered and abused by students and even her own mother

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

, an unstable religious fanatic. She also has telekinetic powers that confuse and frighten her, and fuel Margaret's conviction that her daughter is possessed by the Devil.

Novel

Carrie White is blonde-haired with brown eyes, slightly overweight, shy, lonely, and isolated. She is severely bullied at school. Her widowed mother,

, is a mentally unstable religious fanatic who beats her daughter and throws her into a "prayer closet" whenever she does something that her mother thinks is sinful. When Carrie gets her first period on the floor in the girls' locker room, Carrie panics; she does not know what is happening as Margaret never taught her about menstruation. The terrified Carrie seeks help in the other girls, believing that she is dying. The other girls, led by the popular

Chris Hargensen ''Carrie'' is a 1974 horror novel by American author Stephen King. Taking place in Chamberlain, Maine, it revolves around Carrie White, a friendless, bullied high-school girl from an abusive religious household who discovers that she has teleki ...

and her friend Sue Snell, shout 'period' over and over and stare at Carrie as she showers. The school gym teacher Rita Desjardin - who pities rather than likes Carrie - punishes the girls who were involved with a week of detention, and bans Chris from the prom when she refuses to comply. Chris schemes for revenge against Carrie with the help of her boyfriend, Billy Nolan. Meanwhile, Carrie is thrilled when Sue's boyfriend Tommy Ross asks her to the prom, unaware that Sue had asked him to do it in order to atone for bullying her. When Margaret learns about the prom, she is furious, and forbids her to go. Finally fed up with her mother's abuse, Carrie uses her powers to knock Margaret to the floor, and proceeds to go the prom with Tommy. At the prom, Tommy and Carrie are voted Prom King and Queen - unaware that Chris had engineered Carrie's victory as part of a plan to get revenge for being banned from the prom. As an elated Carrie accepts her crown, Chris and Billy dump a bucket of pig's blood over her head, provoking the entire school, even Desjardin, to start laughing at her. Humiliated and enraged, Carrie loses control of her powers and lets loose a torrent of telekinetic energy that demolishes the school and kills several students. As she walks home, she unleashes her powers on the town as well, destroying several buildings and killing hundreds of people. When she returns home, she tells Margaret what happened, and Margaret tells her that she has been possessed by Satan and must be destroyed. Margaret attacks Carrie with a carving knife, and reveals that she became pregnant with her after her husband, Carrie's father, raped her. She stabs Carrie in the shoulder, but Carrie kills her by telekinetically stopping her heart. Mortally wounded, Carrie makes her way to the roadhouse where she was conceived. She sees Chris and Billy leaving, having been informed of the destruction by one of Billy's friends. After Billy attempts to run Carrie over, she telekinetically takes control of his car and sends it racing into the tavern wall, killing both Billy and Chris. Sue finds Carrie collapsed in the parking lot, bleeding out from the knife wound. The two have a brief telepathic conversation (revealing that Sue has

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...

), in which Carrie realizes that Sue was not involved in the prank and forgives her for her past cruelty. Carrie then dies, crying out for her mother.

Performers

* Sissy Spacek (1976;

theatrical film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

) * Linzi Hateley (1988;

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

) *

Angela Bettis Angela Marie Bettis (born January 9, 1973) is an American actress, film producer, and director. Following her breakthrough role as Janet Webber in the drama film ''Girl, Interrupted'' (1999), she earned acclaim for her portrayals of Carrietta Wh ...

(2002; television film) *

Jodelle Ferland Jodelle Micah Ferland (born October 9, 1994) is a Canadians, Canadian actress. She debuted as a child actress at the age of four in the television film Mermaid (2000 film), ''Mermaid'' (2000) for which she won a Young Artist Award and received ...

(2002; television film ) * Molly Ranson (2012;

) *

Chloë Grace Moretz Chloë Grace Moretz (; born February 10, 1997) is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including four MTV Movie & TV Awards, two People's Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and two Young Artist Awards. She began actin ...

(2013;

) * Skyler Wexler (2013; theatrical film ) *

Madelaine Petsch Madelaine Grobbelaar Petsch (born August 18, 1994) is an American actress and YouTuber. She is known for portraying Cheryl Blossom on The CW television series '' Riverdale'' and Marissa in ''F the Prom''. Early life Petsch was born on August 1 ...

(2018; '' Riverdale: A Night to Remember'' ) *

Emilija Baranac Emilija Baranac (born August 4, 1994) is a Canadian actress and model. She is known for her portrayal of Midge Klump in The CW drama series '' Riverdale'' and as Genevieve in the ''To All the Boys I've Loved Before'' film series. Life and caree ...

(2018; ''Riverdale: A Night to Remember'' )

Musical

In 1988, ''Carrie'' was adapted into a musical co-produced by the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

. Carrie was portrayed by Linzi Hateley in both the London production and the Broadway transfer. Her songs include "And Eve Was Weak", "Evening Prayers", and "I Remember How Those Boys Could Dance" (duets with

Betty Buckley Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American T ...

, who also played teacher Miss Collins in the 1976 film, as her mother) and the solos "I'm Not Alone" and "Carrie". Linzi Hateley won a Theatre World Award for Best Newcomer for this, her first starring role. She recorded the song "Carrie" for her album ''Sooner or Later''. The pig's blood scene and the ensuing massacre are depicted in the musical number "The Destruction". Carrie seals off the exits, kills everyone present (staged through pyrotechnics and lasers), and brings down the ceiling, burying the promgoers. Carrie sinks to the floor and begins to cry. Margaret arrives in an evening dress, and comforts her. She then stabs Carrie on the school stairs (a "white-on-white staircase to heaven") during the song "Carrie (reprise)" in a moment described by one scholar as "the sort of moment

Florenz Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...

might have come up with had a lunatic asked him to stage a Grand Guignol version of his '' Follies''". Carrie uses her powers to stop Margaret's heart before dying herself, comforted by Sue.

2012 revival

The 2012 revival of the show portrays a different version of events. The blood is dumped onto Carrie (portrayed by Molly Ranson) from above, as in the book. She slams the doors shut and turns off the lights, creating a blackout. The lights struggle back on in a strobe effect as Carrie forces everyone else to the ground. The students writhe in desperation as Carrie sets the gym on fire, and telekinetically forces Chris Hargensen to break her own neck. Several try to escape but are pinned to the walls. Carrie then leaves, blowing up the gym as she does so. Sue narrates how Carrie cuts a trail of destruction across town on her way home, as Sue herself follows her. At the White home, Carrie finds Margaret reciting prayers. She takes Carrie in her arms and sings softly to her before revealing the kitchen knife and stabbing her. Carrie uses her powers to force the knife out of Margaret's hands before stopping her heart. Sue enters, and cradles Carrie as she dies of her wounds.

Other media

The television series '' Riverdale'' featured an episode based on the musical, " Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember", with series stars

and

, who played the characters Cheryl Blossom and Midge Klump as different versions of Carrie, respectively. In this story, Cheryl is a participant for the role of Carrie in the musical. However, the musical's director Kevin Keller (portrayed by

Casey Cott Casey Morton Cott (born August 8, 1992) is an American actor, known for his role as Kevin Keller on The CW series '' Riverdale''. Early life and education Cott was born in 1992, the middle of three children of Rick Cott, an investment manager ...

) had offered the role to Midge, until she was killed by the Black Hood at the end of the episode. The music video for " Hell in the Hallways" by the American metal band

Ice Nine Kills Ice Nine Kills (sometimes stylized in all capital letters or abbreviated to INK, and formerly known as Ice Nine) is an American heavy metal band from Boston, Massachusetts, who are signed to Fearless Records. Best known for its horror-inspir ...

is based on the story with Isabel McGinity as Carrie.

References

External links

Official website for ''Carrie'' the Musical
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Carrie Carrie (franchise) Characters in American novels of the 20th century Child characters in literature Female horror film villains Female literary villains Fictional characters from Maine Fictional characters who use magic Fictional Christians Fictional mass murderers Fictional matricides Fictional female murderers Fictional offspring of rape Fictional rampage and spree killers Fictional telepaths Fictional telekinetics Fictional terrorists Literary characters introduced in 1974 Stephen King characters Teenage characters in film Teenage characters in literature Teenage characters in musical theatre Fictional victims of domestic abuse Female characters in film Female characters in literature Female characters in musical theatre