An author of highbrow literary novels, Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton), is better known for the bestselling murder mystery suspense-thrillers he writes under the pen name "George Stark".

Stark has mysteriously become a physical entity (also portrayed by Hutton) and begins terrorizing Beaumont's family and friends after he emerges from the grave.

When the police suspect Thad of murdering Gamache, he tries to convince Sheriff Alan Pangborn of Castle Rock, Maine that he had nothing to do with it.

After putting an all-points bulletin on Clawson, who was accused of the death of Gamache, the New York police find him castrated and his throat slit.

A huge flock of sparrows arrive via a bird call Thad's friend and colleague Rawlie gave to him and tears Stark apart, taking him to the land of the dead.

[5] In its opening week The Dark Half ranked in the box office charts at number 6, gathering a total of $3,250,883 from 1,563 theatres.

The critics consensus reads: ”The Dark Half is a highly serious psychological study that can be faulted for being more curious than actually scary.” [7] Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars, praising Hutton's against type performance as Stark that "definitively shed his nice-guy image".

[8] The character of Alan Pangborn (Michael Rooker) also appears in Needful Things, based on the 1991 novel of the same name, portrayed by Ed Harris.