Stephen King’s horror novel Carrie (1974) is a novel of horror. It’s about Carrie White, a teenager living in a small town whom discovers she have telekinetic powers.

Whilst that is a famous work from King’s canon (boom), did you know there was a 1990s rip-off called Curry? Published in 1996 it was written by Stephany King (no relation to Stephen King), a student in London studying how to become a deep sea diver.

The book was panned by critics and an insult to curry-based foodstuffs, but was that a fair thrashing? Let us explore its themes today!

Telekinetic Curry in a Horror Commercial Failure

“They were still all beautiful and there was still enchantment and wonder, but she had crossed a line and now the fairy tale was green with curry and evil.”

Right, so the plot of this book is based in a reasonably well respected curry house set in Bolton of Greater Manchester. The main character, Curry, is set aside by the owners as it was an unfulfilled order and has been in the fridge for five days.

Realising the jig is up and Curry won’t fulfil its destiny, it decides to go on an insane killing spree.

As it can’t do that (no legs, arms, weapons etc.), it instead decides to make itself go off EXTRA FAST and becomes a slobbering mass of bacteria and unpleasant mould growth.

When one of the apprentice cooks accidentally includes Curry in a new order, six days into Curry’s putrescence, and is promptly consumed by a half drunk fat bald bloke in Blackrod expecting to enjoy his Indian takeaway, all HELL breaks loose. The Curry then:

1. Assumes control of the half drunk fat bald bloke via mind manipulations and absorption into his amygdala and other essential membranes etc.
2. Goes online to leave a 1/5 review for the curry house on Yelp!
3. Heads out into Bolton to find several supermarkets and pushes all the readymade curry onto the floor before doing a runner
4. Chucks up in the street
5. Yells at some young people about how they’ve “ruined” society by not eating enough curry

The Curry/man bloke hybrid is soon arrested. When in jail for the night to “cool” off, the book then steals from James Cameron’s 1984 film Terminator by having a Curryminator robot overlord from the future burst into the police station and shoot everyone dead with curry guns.

The rest of the narrative is about the Curryminator going around eradicating low-quality curry produce from supermarkets, in between bouts of looking organic turmeric (and other spices) from health food shops.

As a read, it’s actually quite good fun. However, the author has a habit of overusing “at the end of the day” across the copy. We did a count and it’s used 1,345 times across its 400 pages.

Not a huge problem… except it is and it made us want to punch the book in frustration. Instead, hungry, we went out and had a curry.

Free Poppadoms With the 1996 Edition Caused Riots

Back in 1996, as a marketing idea, each copy of Curry included a COMPLETELY FREE poppadoms with the work. This was available at designated bookshop launches only, leading to mass stampedes from citizens eager to consume free poppadoms.

There were several instances of riots with many people punching each other in the face. Author Stephany King condemned the violence and told the BBC in a contemporary interview:

“These stupid pricks are out of their minds! The poppadoms are nice, but you don’t even get any free chutney or chopped onions to go with them. It’s just plain old poppadoms, although granted you could take them home and buy some of those sauces on the way back… I guess that’s one thing you could do. Otherwise, stop fighting over the goddamn poppadoms and read my book Curry! It’s an amazing book, but those dumbasses are all beating the crap out of each other for free food and are leaving the book! Wankers!”

Due to the commercial failure and notoriety of the work, Stephany King never had another book launched. She now works as a delivery driver for a supermarket chain, delivering frozen ready meal currys to stores across the UK.

Her failed writing career doesn’t affect her outlook. We spoke to her employer in July of 2025 and he told us:

“I didn’t not know about the book. Huh! Guess that broad has many hidden layers. After all, she has a charming curry-sma!”

The manager was later arrested and jailed for embezzlement charges dating back to 1983.