Stephen King is turning his family home into a museum and writers’ retreat

A sound lad all round.

Stephen King is turning his family home in Maine into a museum. The horror author and his wife Tabitha have decided to vacate their home - which also happens to be a mansion that's blood-red in colour - to give back to the community. According to Rolling Stone, Bangor City Council approved King's request to have his house re-zoned as a non-profit. The house will now become a museum archiving the author's work - as well as a writers' retreat that can accommodate up to five writers at any given time. “The King Family has been wonderful to the City of Bangor over time and have donated literally millions of dollars to various causes in the community,” councillor Ben Sprague told Rolling Stone.  “Preserving his legacy here in Bangor is important for this community.” King's house has become a bit of a cultural monument for fans and locals alike, with many travelling from far and wide for a mere glimpse of the terrifying-enough dwelling. “They did not want the house to become a Dollywood or some kind of tourist attraction,” Bangor planning officer David Gould told New England Cable News. “That would bring all sorts of people to the neighbourhood, and they have other neighbours that live there.” The writer, who is responsible for horror classics such as Carrie, The Shining, and Pet Semetary, said that the mansion even served as the inspiration for It.  The entire 1,300 pages of the book are set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine - a location that is based on Bangor. “I had a very long book in mind, a book which I hoped would deal with the way myths and dreams and stories — stories, most of all — become a part of the everyday life of a small American city,” he said after moving into the house in 1983. King and his wife will soon vacate the house and move permanently to their second home in Florida.