Content Warning: This section of the guide includes references to graphic violence, death, horror themes, and religious fanaticism.

From Vicky’s childhood religious trauma to the desecrated church in Gatlin to the murderous cult of children, the theme of religious fanaticism takes center stage, driving the narrative’s unsettling atmosphere. King’s emphasis on the dangers of exposing children to religious fanaticism begins with the following observation by Vicky:

That’s what’s so monstrous about that whole trip. They like to get hold of them when their minds are still rubber. They know how to put all the emotional checks and balances in. You should have been at some of the tent meetings my mother and father dragged me to…some of the ones I was ‘saved’ at. […] There was Baby Hortense, the Singing Marvel. She was eight. She’d come on and sing ‘Leaning on the Everlasting Arms’ while her daddy passed the plate, telling everybody to ‘dig deep, now, let’s not let this little child of God down.’ Then there was Norman Staunton. He used to preach hellfire and brimstone in this Little Lord Fauntleroy suit with short pants. He was only seven (264).

Vicky’s reminiscence implies that it is impossible for any form of Christianity to be healthy or safe for children and that all children who encounter religion are ultimately pawns under coercive control.