Carrie White
Encyclopedia
Carietta "Carrie" N. White is a fictional character
created by Stephen King
who has the power of telekinesis.
In every adaptation and portrayal of Carrie, she is shown as an outcast, loathed and taunted by her fellow students and constantly scolded by her mother, Margaret White
, an abusive, mentally unstable religious fanatic. At the late age of 16, she has her first menstrual period in the showers at school, and is harassed by the other girls. Carrie triggers her telekinetic powers and ruthlessly kills the promgoers, and sets in motion the disaster that takes place at the high school prom.
Carrie's telekinetic powers were present throughout her life, usually evident in childhood incidents. She had closed a window and had dangled her own bottle above her crib when she was a baby. When she was three years old, she witnessed her teenage next-door neighbor sunbathing and asked her mother about the girl's breasts. Her mother scolded and physically abused Carrie for asking about such a matter. While she was inside her house, Carrie brought forth a hail of ice that smashed the bungalow. The chunks of ice were followed by a shower of rocks that plummeted onto the property, damaging it heavily while a table was almost sent toppling through the window.
In 1979, at the age of 17, after many years of the telekinesis remaining dormant, Carrie was in the shower after a physical education class when she has her first menstrual period. Already an outcast, Carrie was tormented by her peers, and taps into her telekinesis again. Now aware of her power, Carrie begins to practice and harness the power.
When she was asked to the prom by Tommy Ross, Carrie attempts to say no, even though she has a crush on him. Eventually, she says yes, and was nervous but happy. Her mother attempts to stop Carrie from going, but Carrie insists on trying to fit in, not wanting to be weird anymore. She makes her own dress, and was described as being beautiful as Tommy Ross escorts her to the prom.
At the dance, she gradually comes out of her shell, and even makes jokes while she converses with other promgoers. As she was accepted by the crowd, she begins to enjoy herself for once. Carrie and Tommy get elected the prom's king and queen, but while on stage, a bucket of pig's blood gets poured on Carrie by Christine "Chris" Hargensen. Humiliated, Carrie runs out of the gym, and she soon thinks of a way to exact her revenge. Walking back to the gym, Carrie suddenly slams all the gym doors shut. She uses her telekinesis to turn on the sprinklers, and the water sets off an electrical fire. Many of the promgoers die, but some escape through the emergency exit.
, Carrie was portrayed by Sissy Spacek
. Carrie was seen as shy but attractive. She had an a freckled face and body, and strawberry blonde
hair that was long and straight, as well as being small and slender.
There was no evidence to show that her telekinetic powers were present in her life before, instead only being triggered by her first period. Her first shown telekinetic occurrences included breaking a lamp in the shower room, toppling her principal's ashtray in his office, and sending a taunting child swerving off his bike and injuring him. Later, while in her room, she accidentally shatters a mirror that she was looking at, unlocks her door from a distance, and pieces the mirror back together.
When Tommy Ross asks Carrie to the prom, Carrie runs away and hides, but was found by Miss Collins. She comforts Carrie and convinces her that she is pretty, brushing her hair out of her face to reveal her smile. Carrie accepts the invitation, and rebels against her mother's wishes when she throws her mother down against the bed to prevent interference.
At the prom, Carrie was dazzled, and begins having the most wonderful time of her life, climaxing to the point that she was crowned as the Prom Queen, basking in the applause of the crowd of peers.
While on stage, a bucket of blood gets poured on Carrie by Chris Hargensen. The bucket falls on Tommy's head and knocks him out. Humiliated, and believing everyone is laughing at her, she decides to extract revenge: she uses her telekinetic powers to shut the doors, and controls the fire hose with which she douses and kills many promgoers. Controlling the hose, she electrocutes two teachers trying to calm students speaking with a microphone. Starting an electrical fire, it quickly spreads all over the gym and she moves from the stage. Carrie walks out of the gym as it erupts into a ball of fire.
. Sue Snell
is now a high school counselor who was deeply scarred by the events of the prom, being one of the few survivors. Her attentions are drawn to a student named Rachel Lang
, who is exhibiting telekinetic abilities similar to Carrie's. She explains to Rachel that telekinesis is a genetic disorder
, passed down from father to child. After researching Rachel's past, Sue discovers that Rachel is in fact Carrie's half-sister: her father, Ralph White, having left Margaret White
for Rachel's mother, Barbara Lang, thus giving Carrie and Rachel their telekinetic abilities from their father.
co-produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company
. Carrie was portrayed by Linzi Hateley
in both the London production and the Broadway transfer. Her songs include "And Eve Was Weak," "Evening Prayers" and "I Remember How Those Boys Could Dance" (duets with Betty Buckley
as her mother) and the solos "I'm Not Alone" and "Carrie."
Linzi Hateley won a Theatre World Award
for Best Newcomer for this, her first starring role. She recorded the song "Carrie" for her album Sooner or Later.
of Carrie was similar to the original novel, with the exception of her appearance. She was shown as having brown hair, a pale but clear complexion (although she says that certain foods, such as cake, give her pimples), and a small, slim frame. In this version Angela Bettis
plays Carrie. It is implied that she is some shade of Pentecostal; her classmates once heard her speaking in tongues
, and thought she was having a seizure.
In this version, Carrie shows some signs of rebelling against her mother's fanatical religious beliefs. She has a cross necklace, but only wears it at home. She also hides teen magazines in her "prayer closet," and secretly reads them when her mom locks her there.
Like the novel, her telekinetic abilities were present when she was a child, giving only one example: the shower of flaming rocks. Her only other telekinetic occurrences happened after the shower incident. However, more examples occur in this film that never took place in either the original novel or film; in one scene, she falls into a bizarre trance, during which she bends her metal ruler and cracks her desk in half with her mind, but is unaware of what she's done until she comes back to consciousness.
After researching "miracles" and finding out about telekinesis, she begins practicing with it, attempting to control and intensify it.
When Tommy Ross asks her to go to the prom with him, she shies away, but he insists and she accepts. Her mother, on the other hand, is completely against the idea. At dinner, Carrie insists, and uses her power against her mother, blocking the doorways and preventing Margaret from storming out. Carrie begins taking control of the situation, standing up for herself for once.
Come prom night, Carrie dons her self-made dress, and sends her mother sliding out of the room when she comes in to interfere. Carrie's stress and paranoia grow to the point that she believes Tommy will not come, lifting things with her mind by way of fidgeting. When Tommy knocks on the door, she drops everything, crashing it all down to the floor.
As the two of them arrive at the prom, Carrie is greeted with open arms, complimented and accepted by the crowd of students and teachers. She actually begins to enjoy herself, and is even more excited when she is elected Prom Queen. While on stage with Tommy, she drifts off into a daydream in which she and Tommy share the dance, leading to them kissing.
One of the difficulties in staging the musical was that when Carrie was drenched by the blood, it would clog Linzi Hateley's body microphone
. Since her song "The Destruction" began almost immediately, there was no time to clear the microphone before it was needed. To solve this problem, an actor was dispatched to daub Hateley's face with stage blood and then invert an empty bucket on her head.
Carrie is left dying on the ground near the destroyed car, bleeding from the knife wound. She is found, two hours later, by Sue Snell
, Tommy's girlfriend, who invites her into her mind to prove that she was innocent, and did not wish Carrie any harm. Carrie does not forgive her. She cries out for her mother and dies in Sue's arms.
The incident hits the nation as hard as the John F. Kennedy assassination
, to which it is explicitly compared. A blue-ribbon commission investigates, several survivors author their own accounts, and science begins to take telekinesis seriously. The town of Chamberlain is virtually deserted. The overall theme is that to forget what happened, or to think of it as a one-time occurrence, would be a huge mistake.
As the students begin to panic, Carrie uses her powers to pull out the emergency fire hose. Turning it on, Carrie then uses it to spray down students attempting to escape, even going so far as to spray Norma into submission and possibly fatally as the high-pressurized water is blasted into her face. Carrie then kills Miss Collins after pushing her against a wall and sending a basketball rafter toppling down on her, crushing her torso against the wall.
Mr. Fromm and Principal Morton take to the mic, but Carrie turns the hose on them, instead hitting the wires and electrocuting Principal Morton. Mr. Fromm is set on fire and stumbles backwards, and his flaming sleeve ignites the mural behind him. The flames spread quickly, and Carrie finally steps down from the stage, walking out of the school as the flames rise behind her, locking the students in to burn. As Sue revealed in the sequel, some survived the havoc, although names were not given. As Carrie begins walking home, Chris Hargensen and Billy Nolan attempt to run her over from behind, but one glance from her sends the car toppling and rolling before exploding, killing both Chris and Billy.
When Carrie makes it home, she first washes the blood off of herself in the tub before putting on a nightgown. She is greeted by her mother, who literally stabs her in the back and stalks her through the house, almost stabbing her again before Carrie sends a barrage of kitchen utensils flying at her one by one, eventually crucifying her against a doorway, pinning her hands to the beams and sending one last knife spinning into her heart, killing her. Carrie then pulls her mother's body off of the wall, as her own stress pulls down chunks of the roof, bringing down the house. She then drags her mother's body into the prayer closet as the house begins to catch fire. Carrie finally dies from her wound as the house begins to sink into the ground.
might have come up with had a lunatic asked him to stage a Grand Guignol
version of his Follies
." Carrie uses her powers to stop Margaret's heart before dying herself, comforted by Sue.
Carrie remains inside the gym after the blood lands on her. A few students in on the prank laugh at her, while the others stare in horror. Going into a trance, she uses her mind to slam the doors shut after she sends a wave of energy through the crowd. Tina Blake's date, Kenny, tries to stick his hand through the doors in an attempt to stop them, but Carrie crushes and twists his arm between the doors. Huge sets of lights begin to shake above the crowds, letting off showers of sparks and falling down to the floor. One set swings and smashes against the mural, igniting it in flames.
The students begin to panic, and Carrie viciously crushes Tina Blake to death with the basketball backboard, after striking her to the floor with it. As the gym erupts in panic, Miss Desjarden, along with Norma, find an exit route through a vent as the sprinklers above turn on, showering the gym with water. Carrie breaks the pipes lining the walls, leading up to the sprinklers, sending the water gushing out of the broken end, flooding down onto the floor.
Carrie then pushes the water aside and begins walking out as another set of lights swings and smashes into the electric basketball scoreboard. Miss Desjarden hurries a few students into the vents before attempting to crawl in herself, only to be left dangling, just as the scoreboard hits the water-soaked floor. Everyone else is electrocuted as they run along the gym floor, and Carrie walks through the doors, and collapses the entire flaming school as she leaves. She then makes her way through the town, destroying it in a similar fashion to the novel, exploding gas stations and destroying cars. Chris and Billy attempt to run her over, but she instead sends the car flying at a tree, crushing them to death.
Carrie finally makes it home; still wearing her blood-covered prom dress, she steps into a bath and washes herself. She then snaps back to herself; she doesn't remember a thing about what happened. Her mother calls her a witch and attempts to drown her in the tub while reciting the "Now I lay me" prayer. With her last ounce of strength, Carrie (telekinetically) stops her mother's heart, killing her - before ceasing to breathe herself.
Anyone who has seen any previous adaptation of the story may automatically assume that she has died. However, in a surprising twist, Sue
finds Carrie later, and manages to revive her. Sue then hides Carrie in the ruins of the school, while Sue is questioned by the police. Afterwards, Carrie visits her own grave (she is thought to be dead), as well as her mother's. There, Sue insists that Carrie must not be seen by anyone, and that she must leave town. Sue then offers to drive her as far as Florida, and the film concludes with Carrie startled awake in the passenger seat of Sue's car by visions of her mother and Chris. When Sue questions her, she dismisses the dream as "nothing," implying that she may be able to put her past behind her and move on. The film was a pilot for a proposed series about Carrie, which never materialized.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
who has the power of telekinesis.
In every adaptation and portrayal of Carrie, she is shown as an outcast, loathed and taunted by her fellow students and constantly scolded by her mother, Margaret White
Margaret White
Margaret White is a fictional character created by Stephen King in his first published novel, Carrie. She was the abusive, mentally ill, fanatically religious mother of Carrie White, who has the power of telekinesis...
, an abusive, mentally unstable religious fanatic. At the late age of 16, she has her first menstrual period in the showers at school, and is harassed by the other girls. Carrie triggers her telekinetic powers and ruthlessly kills the promgoers, and sets in motion the disaster that takes place at the high school prom.
Novel
Carrie White was born on September 21, 1963 and died in June 1979 . She was slightly chunky around the middle, with dark-blond hair that was long and flat. With pimples on her neck, back, and buttocks, she was considered unattractive and repulsive. However, she used to be a very pretty girl when she was younger. Her dress is old and puritanical, because her mother will not allow her to buy normal clothes like other girls her age, believing them to be too provocative and outrageous. In the character of Carrie, she was lonely and shy. However, later in the novel, she undergoes a profound transformation, both physically and psychologically.Carrie's telekinetic powers were present throughout her life, usually evident in childhood incidents. She had closed a window and had dangled her own bottle above her crib when she was a baby. When she was three years old, she witnessed her teenage next-door neighbor sunbathing and asked her mother about the girl's breasts. Her mother scolded and physically abused Carrie for asking about such a matter. While she was inside her house, Carrie brought forth a hail of ice that smashed the bungalow. The chunks of ice were followed by a shower of rocks that plummeted onto the property, damaging it heavily while a table was almost sent toppling through the window.
In 1979, at the age of 17, after many years of the telekinesis remaining dormant, Carrie was in the shower after a physical education class when she has her first menstrual period. Already an outcast, Carrie was tormented by her peers, and taps into her telekinesis again. Now aware of her power, Carrie begins to practice and harness the power.
When she was asked to the prom by Tommy Ross, Carrie attempts to say no, even though she has a crush on him. Eventually, she says yes, and was nervous but happy. Her mother attempts to stop Carrie from going, but Carrie insists on trying to fit in, not wanting to be weird anymore. She makes her own dress, and was described as being beautiful as Tommy Ross escorts her to the prom.
At the dance, she gradually comes out of her shell, and even makes jokes while she converses with other promgoers. As she was accepted by the crowd, she begins to enjoy herself for once. Carrie and Tommy get elected the prom's king and queen, but while on stage, a bucket of pig's blood gets poured on Carrie by Christine "Chris" Hargensen. Humiliated, Carrie runs out of the gym, and she soon thinks of a way to exact her revenge. Walking back to the gym, Carrie suddenly slams all the gym doors shut. She uses her telekinesis to turn on the sprinklers, and the water sets off an electrical fire. Many of the promgoers die, but some escape through the emergency exit.
1976 film
In the original movie adaptation by Brian De PalmaBrian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
, Carrie was portrayed by Sissy Spacek
Sissy Spacek
Sissy Spacek is an American actress and singer. She came to international prominence for her for role as Carrie White in Brian De Palma's 1976 horror film Carrie for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination...
. Carrie was seen as shy but attractive. She had an a freckled face and body, and strawberry blonde
Strawberry blonde
Strawberry blonde or blond may refer to:* Venetian blonde, a light reddish-blond* The Strawberry Blonde, a 1941 film based on a play of the same name by James Hagan.* "Strawberry Blonde", a 2008 track on All or Nothing...
hair that was long and straight, as well as being small and slender.
There was no evidence to show that her telekinetic powers were present in her life before, instead only being triggered by her first period. Her first shown telekinetic occurrences included breaking a lamp in the shower room, toppling her principal's ashtray in his office, and sending a taunting child swerving off his bike and injuring him. Later, while in her room, she accidentally shatters a mirror that she was looking at, unlocks her door from a distance, and pieces the mirror back together.
When Tommy Ross asks Carrie to the prom, Carrie runs away and hides, but was found by Miss Collins. She comforts Carrie and convinces her that she is pretty, brushing her hair out of her face to reveal her smile. Carrie accepts the invitation, and rebels against her mother's wishes when she throws her mother down against the bed to prevent interference.
At the prom, Carrie was dazzled, and begins having the most wonderful time of her life, climaxing to the point that she was crowned as the Prom Queen, basking in the applause of the crowd of peers.
While on stage, a bucket of blood gets poured on Carrie by Chris Hargensen. The bucket falls on Tommy's head and knocks him out. Humiliated, and believing everyone is laughing at her, she decides to extract revenge: she uses her telekinetic powers to shut the doors, and controls the fire hose with which she douses and kills many promgoers. Controlling the hose, she electrocutes two teachers trying to calm students speaking with a microphone. Starting an electrical fire, it quickly spreads all over the gym and she moves from the stage. Carrie walks out of the gym as it erupts into a ball of fire.
Sequel
Carrie was also featured in flashbacks in the sequel The Rage: Carrie 2The Rage: Carrie 2
The Rage: Carrie 2 is the 1999 sequel to the 1976 horror film classic Carrie. Directed by Katt Shea, the film starred Emily Bergl, Mena Suvari, Jason London and Amy Irving.-Plot:...
. Sue Snell
Sue Snell
Susan "Sue" D. Snell is a fictional character created by Stephen King. She was one of the main characters in his first published novel entitled Carrie....
is now a high school counselor who was deeply scarred by the events of the prom, being one of the few survivors. Her attentions are drawn to a student named Rachel Lang
Rachel Lang
Rachel Lang is a fictional character who appeared in The Rage: Carrie 2, and well as being the protagonist of the film. She was portrayed by Emily Bergl, and is the half-sister of Carrie White, the protagonist of the original film.-Biography:...
, who is exhibiting telekinetic abilities similar to Carrie's. She explains to Rachel that telekinesis is a genetic disorder
Genetic disorder
A genetic disorder is an illness caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes, especially a condition that is present from before birth. Most genetic disorders are quite rare and affect one person in every several thousands or millions....
, passed down from father to child. After researching Rachel's past, Sue discovers that Rachel is in fact Carrie's half-sister: her father, Ralph White, having left Margaret White
Margaret White
Margaret White is a fictional character created by Stephen King in his first published novel, Carrie. She was the abusive, mentally ill, fanatically religious mother of Carrie White, who has the power of telekinesis...
for Rachel's mother, Barbara Lang, thus giving Carrie and Rachel their telekinetic abilities from their father.
1988 musical
In 1988, the property was adapted into a musicalCarrie (musical)
Carrie: The Musical is a musical with a book by Lawrence D. Cohen, lyrics by Dean Pitchford, and music by Michael Gore. Adapted from Stephen King's novel Carrie, it focuses on an awkward teenage girl with telekinetic powers whose lonely life is dominated by an oppressive religious fanatic mother...
co-produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
. Carrie was portrayed by Linzi Hateley
Linzi Hateley
Linzi Hateley is an English stage actress who is currently starring as one of the leads in the West End production of the musical Mamma Mia!. Her performance as Donna started on 5 March 2007....
in both the London production and the Broadway transfer. Her songs include "And Eve Was Weak," "Evening Prayers" and "I Remember How Those Boys Could Dance" (duets with Betty Buckley
Betty Buckley
Betty Lynn Buckley is an American theater, film and television actress and singer. She is a Tony Award winner and Grammy Award nominee.-Early life:...
as her mother) and the solos "I'm Not Alone" and "Carrie."
Linzi Hateley won a Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
for Best Newcomer for this, her first starring role. She recorded the song "Carrie" for her album Sooner or Later.
2002 television film
The television portrayalCarrie (2002 film)
Carrie is a 2002 horror television film based on the novel Carrie by Stephen King, originally intended as a pilot for a TV series in which Carrie moves to Florida to help others with telekinetic problems, which never materialized...
of Carrie was similar to the original novel, with the exception of her appearance. She was shown as having brown hair, a pale but clear complexion (although she says that certain foods, such as cake, give her pimples), and a small, slim frame. In this version Angela Bettis
Angela Bettis
Angela Marie Bettis is an American actress, film producer and director best known for her lead roles in the 2002 TV remake of the Stephen King film Carrie, the title character in May , and in Girl, Interrupted as the anorexic girl Janet Webber.-Early life:Bettis was born in Austin, Texas to Mary...
plays Carrie. It is implied that she is some shade of Pentecostal; her classmates once heard her speaking in tongues
Glossolalia
Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. The significance of glossolalia has varied with time and place, with some considering it a part of a sacred language...
, and thought she was having a seizure.
In this version, Carrie shows some signs of rebelling against her mother's fanatical religious beliefs. She has a cross necklace, but only wears it at home. She also hides teen magazines in her "prayer closet," and secretly reads them when her mom locks her there.
Like the novel, her telekinetic abilities were present when she was a child, giving only one example: the shower of flaming rocks. Her only other telekinetic occurrences happened after the shower incident. However, more examples occur in this film that never took place in either the original novel or film; in one scene, she falls into a bizarre trance, during which she bends her metal ruler and cracks her desk in half with her mind, but is unaware of what she's done until she comes back to consciousness.
After researching "miracles" and finding out about telekinesis, she begins practicing with it, attempting to control and intensify it.
When Tommy Ross asks her to go to the prom with him, she shies away, but he insists and she accepts. Her mother, on the other hand, is completely against the idea. At dinner, Carrie insists, and uses her power against her mother, blocking the doorways and preventing Margaret from storming out. Carrie begins taking control of the situation, standing up for herself for once.
Come prom night, Carrie dons her self-made dress, and sends her mother sliding out of the room when she comes in to interfere. Carrie's stress and paranoia grow to the point that she believes Tommy will not come, lifting things with her mind by way of fidgeting. When Tommy knocks on the door, she drops everything, crashing it all down to the floor.
As the two of them arrive at the prom, Carrie is greeted with open arms, complimented and accepted by the crowd of students and teachers. She actually begins to enjoy herself, and is even more excited when she is elected Prom Queen. While on stage with Tommy, she drifts off into a daydream in which she and Tommy share the dance, leading to them kissing.
Buckets of blood
Each portrayal of Carrie leads to her climax in enjoyment as she steps up onto the stage and is crowned Queen of the Prom, with Tommy Ross as her King. As the crowd of prom-goers and teachers applaud them, it is then that Chris Hargensen pulls the cord connected to two buckets (only one bucket in the movies) of pig blood. It turns out that Chris and her henchwoman Tina Blake replaced the real ballots with fake ones as part of a larger plan to humiliate Carrie. In both the novel and the 1976 film versions, Carrie remains unaware of the buckets until the blood actually splatters down on her, while in the 2002 film version, she happens to look up in time to see the bucket fall, sending the wave of blood down on her and Tommy. In the novel and both films, Tommy is visibly outraged, but before he can react, the bucket falls from the rafters and lands on his head, fracturing his skull and eventually killing him.One of the difficulties in staging the musical was that when Carrie was drenched by the blood, it would clog Linzi Hateley's body microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
. Since her song "The Destruction" began almost immediately, there was no time to clear the microphone before it was needed. To solve this problem, an actor was dispatched to daub Hateley's face with stage blood and then invert an empty bucket on her head.
Carrie's fate
Each version of what happens to Carrie and Chamberlain is different, though sharing some similarities.Novel
Perhaps the most destructive of the four variants. In this version, Carrie runs out of the gym as everyone begins laughing at her. After falling onto the wet lawn outside, Carrie remembers the power and plans to drench the others. Turning on the sprinkler system, she remembers the electricity is on, but proceeds. Witnessing the grotesque electrocution deaths of two students, Carrie's mind snaps, and she ultimately destroys the school, with most of the prom-goers in it. Walking home, she cuts a huge swath of destruction and death. When she enters the house her mother is waiting with a butcher knife to kill her, and stabs her severely; Carrie slows her mother's heart to a stop using her telekinesis. She leaves again, heading for the roadhouse where her mother says her father used to drink and watch strippers; Chris Hargensen and Billy Nolan attempt to run her over with their car before Carrie takes control of their car and slams it into the side of the roadhouse.Carrie is left dying on the ground near the destroyed car, bleeding from the knife wound. She is found, two hours later, by Sue Snell
Sue Snell
Susan "Sue" D. Snell is a fictional character created by Stephen King. She was one of the main characters in his first published novel entitled Carrie....
, Tommy's girlfriend, who invites her into her mind to prove that she was innocent, and did not wish Carrie any harm. Carrie does not forgive her. She cries out for her mother and dies in Sue's arms.
The incident hits the nation as hard as the John F. Kennedy assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
, to which it is explicitly compared. A blue-ribbon commission investigates, several survivors author their own accounts, and science begins to take telekinesis seriously. The town of Chamberlain is virtually deserted. The overall theme is that to forget what happened, or to think of it as a one-time occurrence, would be a huge mistake.
1976 movie
The first film version remains inside the gym after the blood lands on her. She snaps, and begins hearing her mother's voice saying what she had told her before she left for the prom, "They're all going to laugh at you." Carrie believes everyone is laughing at her, but really only a few of Chris Hargensen's cohorts are. Most of the promgoers are shocked, and if anything, horrified. Tommy Ross is clearly outraged at the prank, but within moments, is rendered unconscious by the bucket hitting him in the head. Completely disillusioned, Carrie uses her mind to slam the doors shut. The laughs die down as the lights above Carrie change, giving off a spooky red tint.As the students begin to panic, Carrie uses her powers to pull out the emergency fire hose. Turning it on, Carrie then uses it to spray down students attempting to escape, even going so far as to spray Norma into submission and possibly fatally as the high-pressurized water is blasted into her face. Carrie then kills Miss Collins after pushing her against a wall and sending a basketball rafter toppling down on her, crushing her torso against the wall.
Mr. Fromm and Principal Morton take to the mic, but Carrie turns the hose on them, instead hitting the wires and electrocuting Principal Morton. Mr. Fromm is set on fire and stumbles backwards, and his flaming sleeve ignites the mural behind him. The flames spread quickly, and Carrie finally steps down from the stage, walking out of the school as the flames rise behind her, locking the students in to burn. As Sue revealed in the sequel, some survived the havoc, although names were not given. As Carrie begins walking home, Chris Hargensen and Billy Nolan attempt to run her over from behind, but one glance from her sends the car toppling and rolling before exploding, killing both Chris and Billy.
When Carrie makes it home, she first washes the blood off of herself in the tub before putting on a nightgown. She is greeted by her mother, who literally stabs her in the back and stalks her through the house, almost stabbing her again before Carrie sends a barrage of kitchen utensils flying at her one by one, eventually crucifying her against a doorway, pinning her hands to the beams and sending one last knife spinning into her heart, killing her. Carrie then pulls her mother's body off of the wall, as her own stress pulls down chunks of the roof, bringing down the house. She then drags her mother's body into the prayer closet as the house begins to catch fire. Carrie finally dies from her wound as the house begins to sink into the ground.
1988 musical
Carrie again remains inside the gym after the blood is dumped on her in the song "The Destruction". She seals off the exits, kills everyone present (accomplished through pyrotechnics and lasers), and brings down the ceiling, burying the promgoers. Carrie sinks to the floor and begins to cry. Margaret arrives in an evening dress, and comforts her. She then stabs Carrie on the school stairs (a "white-on-white staircase to heaven") during the song "Carrie (reprise)" in a moment described by one scholar as "the sort of moment Florenz ZiegfeldFlorenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. , , was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies , inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat...
might have come up with had a lunatic asked him to stage a Grand Guignol
Grand Guignol
Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol — known as the Grand Guignol — was a theatre in the Pigalle area of Paris . From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962 it specialized in naturalistic horror shows...
version of his Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
." Carrie uses her powers to stop Margaret's heart before dying herself, comforted by Sue.
2002 film
The made-for-television version is overall more faithful to the book, although the special effects are ramped up to 21st century standards. The story is told as a flashback. The police question several surviving students and faculty about the incident at the school and the death of White.Carrie remains inside the gym after the blood lands on her. A few students in on the prank laugh at her, while the others stare in horror. Going into a trance, she uses her mind to slam the doors shut after she sends a wave of energy through the crowd. Tina Blake's date, Kenny, tries to stick his hand through the doors in an attempt to stop them, but Carrie crushes and twists his arm between the doors. Huge sets of lights begin to shake above the crowds, letting off showers of sparks and falling down to the floor. One set swings and smashes against the mural, igniting it in flames.
The students begin to panic, and Carrie viciously crushes Tina Blake to death with the basketball backboard, after striking her to the floor with it. As the gym erupts in panic, Miss Desjarden, along with Norma, find an exit route through a vent as the sprinklers above turn on, showering the gym with water. Carrie breaks the pipes lining the walls, leading up to the sprinklers, sending the water gushing out of the broken end, flooding down onto the floor.
Carrie then pushes the water aside and begins walking out as another set of lights swings and smashes into the electric basketball scoreboard. Miss Desjarden hurries a few students into the vents before attempting to crawl in herself, only to be left dangling, just as the scoreboard hits the water-soaked floor. Everyone else is electrocuted as they run along the gym floor, and Carrie walks through the doors, and collapses the entire flaming school as she leaves. She then makes her way through the town, destroying it in a similar fashion to the novel, exploding gas stations and destroying cars. Chris and Billy attempt to run her over, but she instead sends the car flying at a tree, crushing them to death.
Carrie finally makes it home; still wearing her blood-covered prom dress, she steps into a bath and washes herself. She then snaps back to herself; she doesn't remember a thing about what happened. Her mother calls her a witch and attempts to drown her in the tub while reciting the "Now I lay me" prayer. With her last ounce of strength, Carrie (telekinetically) stops her mother's heart, killing her - before ceasing to breathe herself.
Anyone who has seen any previous adaptation of the story may automatically assume that she has died. However, in a surprising twist, Sue
Sue Snell
Susan "Sue" D. Snell is a fictional character created by Stephen King. She was one of the main characters in his first published novel entitled Carrie....
finds Carrie later, and manages to revive her. Sue then hides Carrie in the ruins of the school, while Sue is questioned by the police. Afterwards, Carrie visits her own grave (she is thought to be dead), as well as her mother's. There, Sue insists that Carrie must not be seen by anyone, and that she must leave town. Sue then offers to drive her as far as Florida, and the film concludes with Carrie startled awake in the passenger seat of Sue's car by visions of her mother and Chris. When Sue questions her, she dismisses the dream as "nothing," implying that she may be able to put her past behind her and move on. The film was a pilot for a proposed series about Carrie, which never materialized.