Drive Through Our Favorite Novels

Stu Tinker's van, equipped with an image of 'It' on its side, that he drives around Bangor when giving one of his SK Tours.

I really enjoyed Emily Burnham's article in Bangor Daily News about former Betts Bookstore owner, Stu Tinker. The article is titled “A Stephen King tour of Bangor, led by an expert.” Cool! It's like driving through your favorite books.

Burnham says that Tinker leads the tours almost every day of the week . . . in warmer months!  She writes:

There are just that many King fans who want to come to Bangor to see for themselves the inspiration for so many iconic scenes in his books and movies — from Bangor International Airport, the setting for the TV movie of “The Langoliers,” to the Bangor Auditorium, known as the Derry Civic Center in the book “Insomnia.”

Tinker says that people come from all over the world to take the tour, naming in particular:South Africa, New Zealand, England, Australia.  He has been leading tours since the early 90's.  

Burnham notes that Bangor and Derry are virtually indistinguishable from one another.  

Several major landmarks are included in the tour, such as the Standpipe, the Barrens — also known as the Kenduskeag Stream Trail — and the Paul Bunyan statue that comes alive in “It.” But there are plenty of other lesser-known spots, such as the Rite Aid on Union Street that figures in “Bag of Bones,” the apartment King lived in when he sold “Carrie” to Doubleday Publishing, and the spot in Mt. Hope Cemetery that was the scene of King’s cameo appearance in the film “Pet Sematary.” There are also a lot of new Derry locations in “11/22/63,” King’s critically-acclaimed 2011 book.

BDN includes this info:

To book a tour with SK Tours, visit sk-tours.com or call 947-7193. A tour is $39.95 for two people; each additional person is $25. You can also like them on Facebook at SK Tours of Maine.

The full article is HERE

Check out the video!