Owensboro Reference in New Stephen King Book Isn’t Much of One

Legendary horror scribe Stephen King has been terrifying audiences for 50 years, beginning with his iconic 1974 publication Carrie, which was adapted into an equally iconic 1976 big-screen thriller.

King’s bibliography is LITTERED with iconic titles like The Shining, The Stand, and Misery, all of which have accompanying film or television adaptations. And there are many more where THEY came from, for better or worse. But screenwriters–including King himself–have also mined the depths of his many short story collections. Children of the Corn, Stand by Me, and The Mist are among the many examples.

King’s newest release is also a short story collection called You Like It Darker.

One of the short stories, entitled “The Dreamers,” has a description SO befitting of a Stephen King story…if you’re familiar with his work, that is.

Recently, I got wind of the fact that “The Dreamers” contains an Owensboro reference, and that was very cool news. Just like when I was a kid and got jazzed when even KENTUCKY was a setting on television or in a movie, I perked up at the thought of the master of horror including our humble town in one of his works. But then, I saw the reference and tapped the brakes ever so slightly on my enthusiasm.

Yes. As it turns out, the Owensboro ‘reference’ is surface, at best. The story and the context of the passage in which we find “Brescia University” has ZERO to do with the city OR the university. King was just citing difficult-to-pronounce words. (If you’re not from around here, I guess “Brescia” is difficult to pronounce.)

In a search to see if I could learn how King landed on “Brescia University” as a reference in his book, I could only find a piece from The Guardian about how he does his research before writing. I came up with nothing. I also searched “Stephen King Brescia University.” Still nothing.

I guess Owensboroans will have to settle for enjoying an “in name only” nod in Stephen King’s latest publication.