Many of the characters within Stephen King's literary universe make appearances in multiple books. The legendary author of horror, supernatural, sci-fi, suspense, fantasy, and crime stories has reportedly sold more than 350 million copies of his books over the years. King has published a total of 61 novels so far throughout his career — seven of them under the pen name Richard Bachman — in addition to five non-fiction books and 200 shorts stories published in collections. And, of course, many of his works have been adapted into feature films, television shows, limited series, and comic books.

King has written some famous and infamous characters into existence over the years. Among his most beloved characters are Jack Torrance, simultaneously the protagonist and antagonist of the 1977 novel The Shining; Annie Wilkes, the antagonist of the 1987 novel Misery; Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the shapeshifting villain from the 1986 novel IT; Carrie White, the titular protagonist of King's first-ever novel in 1974; and Stu Redman, one of the plague-surviving protagonists of the 1978 novel The Stand.

Related: How Thelma Reinvents Stephen King's Carrie Story (For The Better)

Many of King's characters exist within a shared reality or universe. There's a mainstream universe in which most of King's stories take place, and it includes fictional locations like Jerusalem's Lot, Castle Rock, Derry, and Haven — all in Maine. But this universe exists within a larger multiverse that King has developed over the years; the dimensions within it include the All-World, Keystone Earth, The Territories, Boo'ya Moon, Rose Madder, and The Null, among others. The books The Stand, Cell, and The Regulators appear to each have their own planes of existence. Often times, King has his characters show up across his multiverse in myriad different books.

Some Losers Club Members

Sophia Lillis as Beverly Marsh in IT

Several characters of the 1986 novel IT show up in other King books. The Losers Club's Beverly Marsh - played by Sophia Lillis in 2017's IT and Jessica Chastain in the 2019 sequel — is briefly glimpsed in the 2011 novel 11/22/63, when the story's protagonist Jake Epping travels to the fictional town of Derry. He sees her as a kid living in Derry and trying to move on after the events of IT. Richie Tozier — another member of the Losers Club who is played by Finn Wolfhard in IT and Bill Hader in the sequel — is also seen in 11/22/63; he and Beverly are together when Jake approaches them asking for information. Beverly and Richie sense that Jake is similar to them, probably because they've all encountered supernatural activity. Losers club member Ben Hanscom is also briefly mentioned in 11/22/63 and Insomnia, but doesn't actually make an appearance.

Mike Hanlon, the only member of the Losers Club who remains in Derry as an adult, also appears in the 1994 novel Insomnia. Insomnia is set in Derry, and the protagonist Ralph Roberts encounters Mike, the head of the town's public library, and asks him how to find a book about sleep disorders. Mike is played by Chosen Jacob in IT and Isaiah Mustafa in the sequel.

Ralph Roberts

Insomnia's protagonist, Ralph Roberts, also appears in the 1988 horror novel Bag of Bones. Mike Noonan, the protagonist of Bag of Bones, is played by Pierce Brosnan in the 1998 television miniseries adaptation. In the book, Mike meets Ralph, who speaks to him about his problems and says, "If it's insomnia, I can sympathize, believe me."

Related: Why Insomnia Deserves To Be The Next Stephen King Movie Adaptation

Pennywise The Dancing Clown

Pennywise the Dancing Clown, who is technically not even his own character, but merely a form of "IT," a terrifying force of evil, is the iconic villain from the novel IT. King also wrote the infamous clown into the 1987 sci-fi novel The Tommyknockers, briefly. When a character named Tommy Jacklin goes to Derry, he thinks he sees a clown with silver eyes holding balloons and staring at him from within a sewer drain. In the novel 11/22/63, Pennywise doesn't technically appear, but the time-traveling character Jake Epping feels the evil presence of "IT" when he's in Derry, and even hears its voice inside his head.

On a similar note, many Stephen King fans theorize that Pennywise is actually the same creature as the Crimson King, a villain in The Dark Tower series and the novel Insomnia. The theory is that the two characters are the same being — an evil force trying to destroy reality — that just shapeshifts into different forms.

Randall Flagg

The Stand Randall Flagg Beckons

Randall Flagg is one of the most widely known antagonists of Stephen King's multiverse. He originally appears, famously, in the novel The Stand. He's a mysterious man who goes by a variety of different names and has myriad appearances. He has magical powers and is, at his core, evil. In the 1994 miniseries adaptation of the book, Flagg was portrayed by Jamey Sheridan, and in the ongoing miniseries adaptation, Alexander Skarsgård is playing the role of the villain. The 2017 movie adaptation has Matthew McConaughey in the role.

Flagg shows up in the 1986 novel The Eyes of the Dragon as the main antagonist, as well as throughout The Dark Tower books. Flagg and makes numerous cameos in other King stories. Sometimes, in these cameos, he has different names, but they usually have "R.F." initials. For instance, Flagg takes on the persona Richard Farris in the 2017 novella Gwendy's Button Box, which King co-wrote with Richard Chizmar.

Related: How The Stand 2020 Drastically Reinvents Randall Flagg's Las Vegas

Dick Hallorann

Dick Hallorann in The Shining

Dick Hallorann, the head chef at the Overlook Hotel, the setting of The Shining, has become a beloved character over the years. He has "the shine," a psychic ability, and teaches Danny Torrance how to use the ability, which he also possesses. Notably, Hallorann survives King's story — but was killed in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 movie adaptation. In the movie, actor Scatman Crothers played Dick.

Hallorann appears in the sequel to The Shining, the 2013 novel Doctor Sleep. But before that, he had an appearance ITwhich takes place before the events of The Shining. He was an army cook and a regular at a nightclub in Derry; in the story, he uses his "shine" to save peoples' lives inside when racists try to burn the club down. Among the lives he saves is Mike Hanlon's father, Will.

Father Callahan

Father Callahan in Salem's Lot

King's character Father Callahan originally appears in the 1975 horror novel Salem's Lot. He's a priest who struggles with alcoholism — and also fights vampires. In the movie adaptation of the book, Callahan is played by James Cromwell. Callahan also appears in King's The Dark Tower series. He shows up in the fifth volume to join the main group of protagonists. When he shows up, readers are given a full description of what he's been through since they first got to know him in Salem's Lot.

Cynthia Smith

The character Cynthia Smith originally shows up in King's 1995 novel Rose Madder. Cynthia is a side character in this book: a friend of the main character, Rose. Nevertheless, Cynthia appears in the 1996 novel Desperation with a bigger role. And in The Regulators, the 1996 novel that is the companion or "mirror" novel to Desperation, she shows up again. In the 2006 television adaptation of Rose Madder, Cynthia is played by actress Kelly Overton.

Related: Every Upcoming Stephen King Movie In Development

Ted Brautigan

Ted Brautigan originally appears in Low Men in Yellow Coats, a novella in the 1999 collection Hearts in Atlantis. Ted is a psychic being pursued by creatures called the "Low Men." Eventually, he also shows up in the final installment of The Dark Tower. And it turns out that his reappearance clears up some confusion about what happened to him in Hearts in Atlantis. In the movie version of the story, Ted is played by legendary actor Anthony Hopkins.

Clearly, Stephen King has woven his masterful multiverse into an intricate web, with multiple characters appearing outside of their original stories in other ones — in roles both small and large. Fans can certainly expect the legendary horror and sci-fi author to continue his process of paying homage to his own past works, as well as hiding smart cameos in his upcoming books.

Next: How The Stand Miniseries Compares To 2020's Real Life Pandemic