The Crimson King, known to some as Los' or Ram Abbalah, is a fictional character created by

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 ...

and the main antagonist of King's eight-volume ''Dark Tower'' series, as well as the novels ''

Insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

'' (1994) and '' Black House'' (2001). Described as "

Gan The word Gan or the initials GAN may refer to: Places *Gan, a component of Hebrew placenames literally meaning "garden" China * Gan River (Jiangxi) * Gan River (Inner Mongolia), * Gan County, in Jiangxi province * Gansu, abbreviated ''Gā ...

's crazy side", the Crimson King is the ultimate ruler of the Red (also called the Random and the Outer Dark), and the archetypal embodiment of evil in Stephen King's fictional multiverse. His goal is to topple the Dark Tower which serves as the

linchpin A linchpin, also spelled linch pin, lynchpin, or lynch pin, is a fastener used to prevent a wheel or other part from sliding off the axle upon which it is riding. The word is first attested in the late fourteenth century and derives from Middle ...

of time and space, destroying the multitude of universes which revolve around it so that he can rule in the primordial chaos which follows.

Appearances

Literature

The Crimson King is introduced in the Stephen King novel ''

'', where he is depicted as a powerful and mysterious entity that forces others to do his bidding. He seeks to kill a child named

Patrick Danville ''Insomnia'' is a 1994 horror literature, horror/fantasy literature, fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It follows retired widower Ralph Roberts whose increasing insomnia allows him to perceive auras and other hidden things, leading h ...

who is prophesied to aid in bringing the King down; he is defeated during a confrontation with that novel's protagonist, Ralph Roberts. He makes his next appearance at the end of '' Black House'', where he is revealed to be responsible for the events of that novel and is seen to have been weakened by the actions of protagonist Jack Sawyer and his allies. In the ''Dark Tower'' novels, the King is revealed to be behind the destruction of the beams that hold up the Dark Tower, which holds reality and all of the universes together. He is also master of the series' main villain,

Randall Flagg Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by American author Stephen King, who has appeared in at least nine of his novels. Described as "an accomplished sorcerer and a devoted servant of the Outer Dark", he has supernatural abilities involv ...

. He is shown to have gone insane and his intentions are not quite clear beyond that he wishes to destroy the Tower and possibly rule the darkness that would follow. He rules from the lands of Discordia and, as his insanity worsens, he kills nearly everyone in his employ and even himself. He thus becomes

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by super ...

and possibly immune to protagonist

Roland Deschain Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character and the protagonist of Stephen King's '' The Dark Tower'' series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of ...

's guns. He reaches the tower before Roland, but is trapped on a balcony on one of its lower levels. When Roland finally meets the King at the climax of the final ''Dark Tower'' novel, he appears as an old man with a white beard and blood-red eyes who throws "sneetches" from his imprisonment in the Tower. As previously predicted, Roland and Patrick Danville bring about the Crimson King's downfall. Patrick captures the King's image with his supernatural artistic abilities, using a mixture of Roland's blood and a rose's petals to finish the drawing; then he erases the King from existence, forever banishing him to some other world, or to the todash space between the worlds. Only his red eyes remain, trapped eternally on the balcony of the Tower.

Comics

Writer

Robin Furth Robin Furth is the personal research assistant to Stephen King and the author of Stephen King's '' The Dark Tower: A Complete Concordance'', which was published by Scribner on December 5, 2006. It is a compilation of her two previous encyclopedic ...

wrote a new backstory for the Crimson King in the ''Dark Tower'' comics. Here, the Crimson King was the bastard offspring of

Arthur Eld King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

, a legendary gunslinger, and the Crimson Queen, a demonic creature of the Prim – the chaotic primordial void from which the Dark Tower, and all universes, arose. With the aid of the wizard Maerlyn, the Crimson Queen took on human form and deceived Arthur Eld to achieve this union. Roland Deschain is himself a distant descendant of Eld; this makes the Crimson King Roland's half-uncle, albeit through many generations. This is the key through which Roland can defeat the King, as stated in a prophecy laid out during the course of the series. In the

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

comic '' The Dark Tower: The Sorcerer'', Randall Flagg and the Pink Grapefruit (one of the 13 Bends o' the Rainbow) refer to the Crimson King as their cousin.

Characteristics

The Crimson King has taken many forms throughout the series. In '' The Dark Tower VI'',

Susannah Dean ''The Dark Tower'' is a series of eight novels written by American author Stephen King, which incorporate multiple genres including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. Below are ''The Dark Tower'' characters that come into play as the ...

explains that, in her world, people see the Crimson King as a horned, red-skinned monster called

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

. As evidenced in ''Insomnia'', the Crimson King is a shapeshifter; like the titular creature in '' It'', he takes the form most terrifying to whoever confronts him. When he is injured by Ralph Roberts, he reverts first to a handsome, blonde man, and then to a creature Ralph is unable to see properly, suggesting that his true form is incomprehensible to human beings. When he finally appears near the end of the ''Dark Tower'' series, the Crimson King has the appearance of an old man with white hair and one fang, but in the comics he appears both as a monstrous entity with spiderlike characteristics, much like his son

Mordred Mordred or Modred (; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a figure who is variously portrayed in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he ...

, as well as a bald man with a large tusk or horn on his head. Throughout all of his appearances his one defining characteristic is his blood red eyes, which fascinate anyone who looks into them. Patrick Danville also mentions that the King fades in and out of view due to his transcendent magical powers. The Crimson King prefers to work from behind the scenes. His sigil, a glaring red eye, is seen throughout each of the books in which he has appeared. He employs other people to do his bidding, as well as numerous supernatural beings, including Atropos, Mr. Munshun, Dandelo,

, John Farson, and various vampires, low men, and

taheen ''The Dark Tower'' is a series of eight novels, one short story, and a children's book written by American author Stephen King. Incorporating themes from multiple genres, including dark fantasy, science fantasy, horror, and Western, it des ...

In other King works

The Crimson King is also mentioned in the

novella ''Low Men in Yellow Coats'', found within the 1999 collection '' Hearts in Atlantis''. He is also hinted at in ''

The Stand ''The Stand'' is a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which the few surv ...

'' by Mother Abagail. As she describes main antagonist

, she mentions that, "He ain't Satan, but he and Satan know of each other and have kept their councils together of old."

References

External links

Official ''Dark Tower'' web site

Official site for ''The Dark Tower'' Comics

Theories on the Crimson King
{{Characters created by Stephen King The Dark Tower (series) characters Fictional demons and devils Fictional kings Fictional mass murderers Fictional shapeshifters Fictional telepaths Marvel Comics demons Literary characters introduced in 1994 Characters in American novels of the 20th century Characters in American novels of the 21st century Male literary villains Stephen King characters Fictional suicides