Stephen King Mentioned PHANTASM In The Dark Tower?!
When it comes to horror’s cross-pollination with other genres and media, few authors have paid tribute to the cult classics with the same depth and reverence as Stephen King. Known for his encyclopedic pop culture knowledge, King has long embedded homages into his sprawling literary multiverse and Phantasm, Don Coscarelli’s 1979 fever dream of a film, is no exception.
What may surprise even devoted Phantasm Phans is that King didn't just draw inspiration from the film’s iconic flying spheres he outright name-dropped Phantasm in one of the core books of his most ambitious work: The Dark Tower series.
The Spheres Fly Again — In Wolves of the Calla
The direct reference appears in Wolves of the Calla (2003), the fifth book in King’s epic Dark Tower saga. In this volume, Roland Deschain and his ka-tet face off against the “Wolves” futuristic raiders armed with an arsenal that seems ripped straight from the pages of a comic book and the reels of late-night cinema.
Among their weapons are golden orbs called “sneetches” flying spheres that home in on targets and slice them to pieces with concealed blades. While their name slyly nods to Harry Potter's Golden Snitch (with serial numbers that literally end in “HPJKR”), their function is anything but magical whimsy. These killer balls zip through the air and eviscerate victims in a disturbingly familiar way and King wastes no time clarifying the source.
“Eddie kept recalling a bloody little film Henry had dragged him to. Phantasm, it had been called…”
That’s right. Not a wink, not a nudge a straight-up callout. King mentions Phantasm by name, linking the memory to protagonist Eddie Dean’s youth in a grungy Brooklyn theater that reeked of “piss and popcorn.” For readers who grew up watching horror in just such places, the reference is evocative. And for Phantasm fans, it’s a moment of vindication an acknowledgment that Phantasm isn’t just cult fodder, it’s canon in the Kingverse.
The Spheres and the Sneetches: Function Over Form
King’s killer orbs may look like golden Quidditch balls, but their operation is pure PHANTASM. In the classic film, the Tall Man’s chrome spheres pursue victims relentlessly, deploying bone drills, spikes, and even lasers in the sequels. The sneetches in Wolves of the Calla are similarly equipped lethal, autonomous, and terrifyingly efficient.
This dual homage mixing the Harry Potter aesthetic with Phantasm’s savagery is typical King: a playful blend of genre references that deepen rather than dilute the horror. The Wolves’ arsenal also includes light-sabers and Dr. Doom masks, but it’s the spheres that readers remember most vividly a testament to the original’s lasting nightmare logic.
More Than Just a Reference: Phantasm’s Influence
While Wolves of the Calla offers the clearest textual nod to Phantasm, this isn’t the only time Stephen King has paid tribute to Don Coscarelli’s surreal masterpiece. King has mentioned the film positively in interviews and essays over the years, including in his non-fiction book Danse Macabre (1981), where he highlights Phantasm among the standout horror films of the late ’70s.
What’s more, Coscarelli was once hired to to direct an adaptation of his werewolf novella Cycle of the Werewolf (which eventually became the film Silver Bullet).
Don Coscarelli appeared on the KingCast podcast and discussed the entire saga of his interrupted involvement in that film with hosts Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler.
And perhaps most telling: King’s fictional multiverse with its shifting dimensions, sinister figures (like Randall Flagg and the Crimson King), and recurring symbols shares more than a little DNA with the dreamlike logic of Phantasm. While the Tall Man doesn’t make a literal appearance in The Dark Tower, one could make the case his spirit and his spheres are very much felt.
So PHANTASM phans what do you think?! Is this the Dark Tower X Phantasm Crossover nobody asked for but actually sounds pretty cool?? Let us know on our official social media!
