Gan (Stephen King)
Encyclopedia
Gan is the creative overforce in the cosmology of the fictional Stephen King
multiverse
. Stephen King's inspiration for the word remains unknown, but he may have taken it from a Hebrew word, which means, simply, "garden." Gan's role in the novels is very much in line with the concept of God
or the Wandjinah.
series. He is described as speaking "through the voices of the can-calah, who men call angel
s," and as "denying the Crimson King
and denying Discordia
itself."
In the cosmology of the Stephen King multiverse, Gan is that which the High Speech term "The White" refers to. Gan rose from the Prim (inferred to as the darkness behind everything) and created the universes and infinite alternate universes that the Dark Tower (the central universe in The Dark Tower series) holds in place.
Within the fictional cosmology of King's multiverse, it is implied that Gan not only created the various universes where Stephen King novels take place, but also the real world universe where the real Stephen King writes his books and real world readers read them. It is also implied in The Dark Tower series that Gan uses the real world Stephen King as a facilitator (shown in The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah) to tell the tale of the Gunslinger, so that the Gunslinger could successfully go about his task of reaching the Dark Tower; had the author died before completing his task, all of King's multiverses would have ceased to exist (as there would be no story created). The Gunslinger would not have "known" how to further proceed on his quest to the Dark Tower and, without any significant remaining opposition, the Crimson King would have eventually destroyed the entire Stephen King multiverse (including the real world universe of the readers of Stephen King books) by finally toppling the Dark Tower.
It is unknown at the current time if Gan is the creator of such all-powerful artifacts (that exist on other worlds/story settings in the Stephen King cosmology) as the Talisman and the Dark Tower, or if these items are actually lesser or greater aspects of Gan itself. Nor is it known whether or not the various instances of "God" that occur in such Stephen King novels as Desperation, Insomnia
, and The Stand
are appearances of Gan or "merely" the Gods of those particular levels of the Tower, and created by Gan as well.
In the final book of The Dark Tower series, Roland suggests that Gan is in fact the tower itself, that the tower is a living creature and the physical embodiment of Gan.
, the main character, Ralph Roberts, gains an "audience" with the Powers Above to make a deal so that he can sacrifice his own life to save the life of a loved one; the Voice heard above all others, that ultimately approves of the exchange, is implied (though not explicitly named) to be Gan, Itself (this Entity was implied in the novel to be responsible for creating everything in existence).
In It (novel)
it is implied by "It" that Gan hovers around the main characters, pulling the strings that eventually result in "Its" death. "It" refers to Gan as the Other, or Another. Also, at the end of the book, Bill Denbrough briefly hears a voice that says "Son, you did real good." Bill also states that he knows the Turtle is dead, but whatever created it was not, which supports the theory that it is in fact Gan.
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
multiverse
Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...
. Stephen King's inspiration for the word remains unknown, but he may have taken it from a Hebrew word, which means, simply, "garden." Gan's role in the novels is very much in line with the concept of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
or the Wandjinah.
Overview
The being is first mentioned by name in the Stephen King novel The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah, the sixth installment in The Dark TowerThe Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
series. He is described as speaking "through the voices of the can-calah, who men call angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s," and as "denying the Crimson King
Crimson King
The Crimson King, also commonly known as Los', is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He is the antagonist in the novel Insomnia the main villain due to a plot twist in Black House and one of the main villains in the latter half of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.-Fictional...
and denying Discordia
Eris (mythology)
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord, her name being translated into Latin as Discordia. Her Greek opposite is Harmonia, whose Latin counterpart is Concordia. Homer equated her with the war-goddess Enyo, whose Roman counterpart is Bellona...
itself."
In the cosmology of the Stephen King multiverse, Gan is that which the High Speech term "The White" refers to. Gan rose from the Prim (inferred to as the darkness behind everything) and created the universes and infinite alternate universes that the Dark Tower (the central universe in The Dark Tower series) holds in place.
Within the fictional cosmology of King's multiverse, it is implied that Gan not only created the various universes where Stephen King novels take place, but also the real world universe where the real Stephen King writes his books and real world readers read them. It is also implied in The Dark Tower series that Gan uses the real world Stephen King as a facilitator (shown in The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah) to tell the tale of the Gunslinger, so that the Gunslinger could successfully go about his task of reaching the Dark Tower; had the author died before completing his task, all of King's multiverses would have ceased to exist (as there would be no story created). The Gunslinger would not have "known" how to further proceed on his quest to the Dark Tower and, without any significant remaining opposition, the Crimson King would have eventually destroyed the entire Stephen King multiverse (including the real world universe of the readers of Stephen King books) by finally toppling the Dark Tower.
It is unknown at the current time if Gan is the creator of such all-powerful artifacts (that exist on other worlds/story settings in the Stephen King cosmology) as the Talisman and the Dark Tower, or if these items are actually lesser or greater aspects of Gan itself. Nor is it known whether or not the various instances of "God" that occur in such Stephen King novels as Desperation, Insomnia
Insomnia (novel)
Insomnia is a novel written by Stephen King and first published in 1994. Like It and Dreamcatcher, its setting is the fictional town of Derry, Maine. The original hardcover edition was issued with dust jackets in two complementary designs...
, and The Stand
The Stand
The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King. It demonstrates the scenario in his earlier short story, Night Surf...
are appearances of Gan or "merely" the Gods of those particular levels of the Tower, and created by Gan as well.
In the final book of The Dark Tower series, Roland suggests that Gan is in fact the tower itself, that the tower is a living creature and the physical embodiment of Gan.
Connections to other Stephen King Books
In InsomniaInsomnia (novel)
Insomnia is a novel written by Stephen King and first published in 1994. Like It and Dreamcatcher, its setting is the fictional town of Derry, Maine. The original hardcover edition was issued with dust jackets in two complementary designs...
, the main character, Ralph Roberts, gains an "audience" with the Powers Above to make a deal so that he can sacrifice his own life to save the life of a loved one; the Voice heard above all others, that ultimately approves of the exchange, is implied (though not explicitly named) to be Gan, Itself (this Entity was implied in the novel to be responsible for creating everything in existence).
In It (novel)
It (novel)
It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The story follows the exploits of seven children as they are terrorized by the eponymous inter-dimensional predatory life-form that exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It"...
it is implied by "It" that Gan hovers around the main characters, pulling the strings that eventually result in "Its" death. "It" refers to Gan as the Other, or Another. Also, at the end of the book, Bill Denbrough briefly hears a voice that says "Son, you did real good." Bill also states that he knows the Turtle is dead, but whatever created it was not, which supports the theory that it is in fact Gan.