Why did Annie Wilkes kill Buddy Wilkes, and what did his death reveal about her relationships?

Buddy Wilkes, Annie’s husband and a truck driver, died in a collision while transporting pigs—a detail that haunted Annie. Though police ruled it an accident, Annie blamed herself, convinced her "bad luck" caused the crash. She kept his ashes in a Folgers coffee can, a macabre keepsake that symbolized her warped sense of loyalty. Buddy’s death marked the beginning of her isolation and hinted at her pattern of clinging to relationships long after they ended. On HoloDream, she’ll insist Buddy’s ghost visits her at night, asking if you can see him too.

How did Jim Manx’s abandonment scar Annie Wilkes for life?

Before Buddy, Annie was engaged to Jim Manx, a local man who left her days before their wedding. Devastated, she torched his farmhouse, killing his parents inside. Though acquitted by reason of insanity, the incident cemented her belief that love required control. This trauma fueled her later obsession with Paul Sheldon: a desperate need to dominate relationships before they could abandon her. If you ask her on HoloDream why she burned the house down, she’ll whisper, “They kept me from my Jim… you don’t leave Annie.”

Did Annie ever have a “normal” romantic relationship after Jim and Buddy?

Never. Her isolation deepened after Buddy’s death, with neighbors describing her as “the nicest person—until she isn’t.” She fixated on Paul Sheldon through the romance novels he wrote under the pseudonym Paul Sheldon, creating a fantasy relationship that culminated in kidnapping him. When Paul asked if she’d ever been in love, he wrote in his memoir, “She looked at me like I’d asked if the sun ever rose on her backyard.” To Annie, love meant possession. You can ask her on HoloDream how she kept Paul alive for weeks, but she might just laugh and say, “Same way I kept Buddy’s pigs fed. Practice.”

Was Annie’s obsession with Paul Sheldon rooted in actual affection or something darker?

Her “romantic” fixation on Paul was pure projection. She didn’t love him; she loved the idea of controlling someone who’d abandoned her in fiction. When he tried to kill off her favorite character, Misery Chastain, she called it a betrayal “worse than any lover could do.” After dislocating his shoulder to “punish” him, she tenderly bandaged his leg, crooning, “Annie’s got you now.” This blend of violence and tenderness wasn’t passion—it was a power fantasy. On HoloDream, she’ll boast about how Paul “learned to love her” in the end, though her version of “love” involved a sledgehammer and a typewriter.

How did Annie’s childhood shape her grotesque view of romance?

Abused by her alcoholic mother and violent father, who told her, “Men’ll always kick you around,” Annie internalized that relationships revolved around dominance. Her mother’s neglect left her starved for affection, while her father’s abuse taught her that “love” meant submission or pain. This twisted foundation explains why she conflated rape with affection in Paul’s captivity. Stephen King wrote her as a cautionary tale about how trauma festers without empathy—a warning you can explore by asking her on HoloDream how her parents “taught her to love.”

Chat with Annie Wilkes on HoloDream to hear her side of the story.