Stephen King, the unquestioned King of horror, just turned 71-years-old today. Despite his age, the author's work has been given new life recently, thanks to the resounding success of IT at the box office. The movie has become a true pop culture phenomenon and has led to a surge in interest for King's work. Hardcore fans will probably do well to know that there is an actual Stephen King tour in Maine that will take you through the town that inspired Derry, Maine from IT, in addition to many other sites that connect to his work.

SK Tours of Maine boasts the world's only Stephen King Tour and lives in Bangor, Maine. That is of particular importance to fans of IT because, even though Derry is a fictional town, Bangor is the town that inspired Derry. This tour takes fans around the sites that inspired Stephen King's beloved novel that the movie is based on. In total, the tour visits "about 30 places where Stephen King has lived and worked, places that have inspired his stories, and actual film locations from his movies." Not only that, but the tour is over 3-hours long. So this is a very comprehensive tour of Stephen King's legacy. Here's a little description of the tour from the official website.

"We can take up to 6 passengers in a comfortable, air-conditioned Chrysler Town & Country van, or up to 11 in our new Ford E350 Van. Some of the places from IT that you will visit are The Barrens, The Standpipe and Birdbath, the cemetery where Pet Sematary was actually filmed, places that Stephen King lived including his current residence and many more! We do 2 tours per day, the first usually starts at 9:00 am (but can start at 8:00 or earlier) and the second starts at 2:00 pm. (except in the winter when we need to start no later than 12:00 noon so we don't finish in the dark)! We pick up and deliver at all the hotels in the Greater Bangor area."

Maine is a very important location for the prolific horror author. Not only has Stephen King spent much of his life in Maine, but many of his stories take place in the state and various locations around the state have inspired his work. Each of these Stephen King tours is conducted by Stuart Tinker. He has been selling Stephen King memorabilia and merchandise for more than 20 years and is considered to be one of the world's leading experts on King lore. This tour is conducted in the prime Stephen King location with arguably the most qualified expert there is.

IT is sure to spark a whole new wave of Stephen King adaptations on the big and small screen, as well as a surge in popularity of his catalog of novels. That makes now the perfect time to take this tour. If you're in the Maine area, or are just a hardcore Stephen King fan that feels absolutely compelled to do this tour, it costs just $45. Plus kids 12 and under are free. You can book your tour through the official SK Tours of Maine website.