Annie Wilkes

Annie Wilkes is a fictional nurse and serial killer featured in the so-called "Kingdom Universe", based on the works of noted horror writer Stephen King. She was the main antagonist of King's 1987 novel Misery, which was adapted into a feature film in 1990 directed by Rob Reiner. In the film, Annie Wilkes was played by actress Kathy Bates. The character was re-imagined for season two of the Hulu television series Castle Rock, and was played by actress Lizzy Caplan.

Biography
Anne Marie Wilkes was born in Bakersfield, California on April 1st, 1943. As an adult, she found work as a nurse and developed bipolar disorder.

While working at a maternity ward in a hospital in Boulder, Colorado, several infants died under her care. She was brought up on charges, but was acquitted of any wrongdoing or negligence due to lack of evidence.

Annie Wilkes had a deep fascination with romance novels, in particular a series of books centering around the character of Misery Chastain by author Paul Sheldon. In 1987, Annie Wilkes actually met her hero, when she saved Paul Sheldon's life after he had overturned his car during a snowstorm. She brought Paul back to her home, and kept him there while he was recuperating from two fractured legs. While recovering, Paul attempted to finish his latest Misery Chastain novel. He allowed Annie to read the finished work, but she flew into a rage after discovering that Paul had killed off the main character.

Paul began to see the darker side of Annie Wilkes taking shape, and as the winter days grew long, he came to realize that he was less a patient, and more a prisoner. Annie grew increasingly more violent and abusive towards Paul whenever he behaved conversely to her expectations of him.

Paul tried to escape from Annie's house multiple times, but she always found a way to keep him bedridden. One day, after Paul had failed to escape from her, Annie chopped off Paul's foot with an axe, then cauterized the stump with a torch. Paul finally put an end to Annie by bludgeoning her with his typewriter, though it took her several moments before succumbing to her injuries.

Notes & Trivia



 * In the novel, Annie Wilkes cut off Paul Sheldon's foot with an axe. In the film, she used a sledgehammer to hobble him.


 * In the novel, Annie initially survives being bludgeoned with the typewriter and goes out into a barn to get a chainsaw. However, she succumbs to her injuries before being able to take any further action.


 * Annie hid her psychotic demeanor behind a childlike facade; as such, she was averse to using profane language, preferring instead to use words like "Oogie", "Dirty-bird", and "Cockadoodle".


 * Annie Wilkes owned a pet pig, which she named Misery.


 * Misery was adapted into a Broadway theatrical production in 2015. It was directed by Will Fears and written by William Goldman, who wrote the screenplay for the film. It starred Laurie Metcalf as Annie Wilkes with Bruce Willis as Paul Sheldon.


 * The hobbling scene from the Misery feature film was ranked #12 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

Tools of the Trade

 * Axe
 * Butcher knife
 * Chainsaw
 * Sledgehammer

Castle Rock

 * John Merrill - Stabs him repeatedly in the mouth with an ice cream scoop.

Appearances

 * Castle Rock: Let the River Run
 * Misery (novel)
 * Misery