Publishers Weekly listed The Dark Half as the second-best-selling book of 1989 behind Tom Clancy's Clear and Present Danger.

Most of the Bachman novels were darker and more cynical in nature, featuring a far more visceral sense of horror than the psychological, gothic style common in many of King's most famous works.

Stark emerges from the mock grave as a physical entity, complete with the personality traits that Thad exhibited while writing as him, such as alcohol abuse and Pall Mall cigarette smoking.

He then goes on a killing spree, gruesomely murdering everyone he perceives as responsible for his "death" – Thad's editor, agent, and the People interviewer, among others.

Stark's murders are investigated by Alan Pangborn, the sheriff of the neighboring town of Castle Rock, who finds Thad's voice and fingerprints at the crime scenes.

He also realizes that the sounds of a flock of sparrows inside Thad's head that he hears during headaches take on a new meaning in the form of "psychopomps".

It starred Timothy Hutton as Thad/Stark, Michael Rooker as Alan Pangborn, and featured Julie Harris as an eccentric colleague of Thad's who provides some vital information about the supernatural.

[4] In December 2019, it was announced that MGM would develop a film adaptation of the novel, with Alex Ross Perry set to write and direct.