Dark Tower Theories
The theories below are submitted by our loyal readers: no attempt has been made to correct spelling, punctuation or grammar.
 
Burning Daylight writes:
All of the worlds that the Gunslinger and the Ka-tet travel through are undoubtedly the worlds, or universes created by Stephen King. At the end of DT4 he states that more of his universes will in fact come together in the DT series.
      For these reasons, it is my guess that the God of Roland's world, the God at the top of the Dark Tower is none other then Stephen King himself. I also think that he will only have the last book published after his own death. Roland, King's determination personified, will find that he can not stop the worlds from moving on because the worlds are moving on due to King's increasing age. Thus the story will end with the ka-tet reaching the top of the tower and meeting King. They will then either shoot him or watch him die. Provided that King lives long enough to complete the final book, this is my guess as to how it will all end. The deeper you go into analogies based on this theory, the more it seems likely.
      The epic of all time IMO.
Aron West writes:
I am a firm believer that we the constant reader shall eventually "see the turtle of enormous girth, for upon his shell he holds the earth". Furthering my belief in this is that in DT4, Roland sees the turtle in the Wizard's Glass, and says to him, "you will kill everything and everyone you know, yet still the tower will be pent against you". This leads me to believe that Roland will never enter the tower at all, maybe see it if he is lucky. One personal theory is that Roland will die facing Flagg, and just as Susannah says, they will continue the quest to the top. And we must not forget to protect the rose, correct? Atop the tower? It can only be the one beast that controls all the Guardians, possibly It. The turtle was in both, correct? And what about the boy in Insomnia? The one who broke his black crayon at the rally and who knew Roland's name? He must be protected as well, although I cannot see any connection just yet. The ka-tet seems complete, even if it is the second of Rolands. It does sadden me to think all that Roland has lost and yet he will not complete his journey, but it makes sense. Roland is just another victim of ka, there (I think) to get Jake to the tower and let him take over. Ka comes like the wind, and I think that the winds have changed for our gunslinger.
bill-z writes:
...if you look closely and study Stephen King's novels, you will find several links combining them, all seeming to relate or come back to the Dark Tower. I believe that the Beast mentioned by Walter in DT1 is most certianly It, since the Beast gaurds the Tower and is the center of all the Gaurdians. The Crimson King in Insomnia tells Ralph there has been a long history of shape-changing in Derry, meaning It. The Turtle is a highly mentioned component in It and DT3,4, being as one of the Gaurdians (maybe the most important), and a creature that holds whole universes inside it, or "upon his shell", if you wish. I think all the Gaurdians are acually universes themselves, surrounding the Dark Tower, and The Old Ones in Roland's world built the cyborgs as metaphors. Roland's world is most certainly one of Stephen King's worlds thousands of years into the future, and it could quite possibly be the world from The Stand, since Roland's Ka-tet is forced into that world in Wizard and Glass. Roland and Eddie will almost be killed when comfronting Randall Flagg in Thunderclap, only to be saved by Patrick Danville, the boy in Insomnia. I know this because Clotho tells Ralph in Insomnia that the boy will step onstage to play a quick but important part in saving two men's lives, one who must get to the Dark Tower. They will reach the Tower, and do battle with the one who is called The Crimson King, and from there on I cannot say, except that maybe the Dark Tower was once the White Tower.
Ozzie writes concerning the Higher Beings of the Tower:
   1.) The Guardians: I really don't think that the animals of the Beam (the 12 Guardians) are solely mechanical beasts/cyborgs that lurch around and protect their designated portals. In fact, I suspect that they are types of beings who share common purposes with the Beams. The turtle supports Roland's (and our) universe on its back; it is the creator, yet its involvement as testified in IT, is extremely limited. Note Roland's poem about the Turtle:       On his back all vows are made;
      *He sees the truth but mayn't aid.*
      He loves the land and loves the sea,
      and even loves a child like me."
   The turtle, being a fundamental building block of the universe, still lacks the free will or liberty to involve itself in the fates, or kas if you will, of mortal beings (ie- short-timers— see INSOMNIA). Yet we still gain the sense of great opposing forces behind the events seen in novels such as The Stand, IT, Insomnia, The Dark Tower Series, etc. Recall Insomnia's introduction to the four constants that exist on the lower levels of the Tower: Life, Death, the Purpose, and the Random. Yet do these constants exist on the higher levels? How do beings like the Turtle come into play with these constants. The LBD's of Insomnia (Little Bald Doctors) explain that concerning the Purpose, Roland is main pawn in their struggle against the Random. And since we see that Roland seems to have a "Crimson King" and "Ageless Stranger" seperating him and the Tower, it is fair to assume that these characters are agents of the Random.
   Yet what force or being is working behind Roland? We first identified this being as the "Other" in IT: Billy sensed that they were fighting IT, that the Turtle could not interfere, yet that there was Another who was on their side. Roland also seems to have ties with one called the Green Man who is introduced in INSOMNIA. Subsequently, we can identify this Green Man or "Other" as a figurehead agent in the Purpose, leading characters like Roland, Peter (from EOTD), Jack (The Talisman), and Ralph Roberts to acheive some purpose that can only be decided in the fundamental/foundation floors of the Tower- The Short Timer Levels, you could say.
   Therefore, we could also assume that It is also an agent of the Random: he opposes the Other vehemently (who we determined to be the driving force behind the Purpose) and resides in the macroverse's most damned place- the deadlights. Recall that the Crimson King flees into the deadlights after being defeated by Ralph Roberts in INSOMNIA, and that Walter referred to The Beast in DT I as "It." (oh, its also pretty reasonable to say that the Beast, "the keeper of the Tower and creator of all glammer," is the Crimson King- remember that kid's drawing in INSOMNIA? Who awaits Roland at the Dark Tower: The "Red King" himself! Also, Eddie dreams that the Beast had red eyes, eyes that are a signature feature of our Crimson King— and please don't ignore the "coincidence" of Stephen King and Crimson King--- who knows if that has any signifigance?) Apparently, It and the Crimson King share a great deal in common, though IT is far inferior than the Crimson King/Beast. Its also funny that Roland unknowingly (or maybe he did know—) described the deadlights when momentarily thinking about the chaotic nether-region that lies between existence: In DT II, after possessing Mort's body, Roland realizes that Mort's mind fainted, and thought about what horrors would see if he "expelled their kas together into the random, chaotic void that lies in between worlds." (not the exact words, but something to that extent) Hence, we now can safely say that one can identify the Random with the deadlights, an unimaginable that lurks in the macroverse of existence.
   Concerning the Turtle's role in King's writing:
   Why did the Turtle die in IT, yet still have some influence in DT IV? Easy: The events of DT IV when Roland fell in love with Susan precede the moving on of his world. Perhaps the childhood stage of IT was also during this time period (though time is still hard to define convincingly) Roland saw the Turtle in the Grapefruit a little while before it died. I think the death of the Turtle in It signals the "moving on" of Derry's world; I believe that in the same respect that the Turtle dies, the Bear also passed away, resulting in the moving on of Roland's world. In some way, one could say that the Turtle's call to Roland to go to the Tower is a dying request. We KNOW the Tower is crumbling; the rose's petals are withering in DT III and something's doing a lot of howling in the Tower in DT IV: (see "Closing the Year" in "Come Reap") "From its field of roses, the Dark Tower roared in its beast's (hey!) voice— time is a face on the water—" Worlds are overlapping, the Guardians are dying— something's definitely wrong with existence.
   Concerning the Location of Thunderclap and the arrival of Roland's ka-tet to our world:
   Now to figure out where's End-World's Thunderclap. Note that the rose exists in NYC, right? Also note that somewhere in End-World lies the Dark Tower. Further note that Salem's Lot is not too far from NYC. The cross that Aunt Tabitha (or Talitha) gave to Roland serves a pretty big purpose: recall that its SILVER and that its a CROSS. What kind of "pale faced— walking dead" creatures do we know of in King's writing that don't dig crosses and silver? That's right: vampires. So Roland's gonna face vampires? And? Well, considering that King mentions that "Father Callahan" of SALEM'S LOT "bordered on the edge of a Mid-World place called Thunderclap," its also funny to notice that:
   1.) Callahan spots a boy of about 13 years old at a station— an age similiar to that of Jake Chambers
   2.) Callahan is headed to— well, you guessed it: NYC.
   3.) Callahan is also a vampire--- I wonder if spreads this little trend around over in the Bigh Apple, eh?
   Suppose— maybe— the events of Salem's Lot precede those of Roland's arrival to our world--- or at least his arrival to Thunderclap (which I think IS the Mid-World equivalent of NYC). I wonder who'll be with Roland when they do arrive at Thunderclap (an I think its ridiculous that anyone would think Roland will die before getting to the Tower; as far as I'm concerned, Roland is the only one who can solve the problem at the Tower. If anything, it'll be Jake and Eddie who will die before our gunslinger— maybe in Roland's final test to achieve his Tower— remember when King writes that "Roland made the second most agonizing decision of his life" in deciding to let Jake die over losing Walter in DT I? What's Roland's MOST agonizing decision? Its probably waiting at the end of the gunslinger's quest.) Most likely, the ill-fated members of Roland's ka-tet will be Susannah and Oy:
   - Oy is a major part of the group of traveler's yet he doesn't hold a place in Roland's destiny— did Walter pull out a Tarot Card with a billybumbler on it? NOPE.
   - Susannah's going to die at childbirth--- that demon child just ain't gonna let her live. Besides, Susannah's being pregnant has no place in Roland's plans— and remember who died with an unborn child, also? None other than the woman who shares Susannah's very name: Susan.
   Concerning the fate of the Tower and all existence:
   As for what happens at the Tower— who can tell? I hardly think that the Tower will remain standing: Infinity demands that there exist an opposite to it: nothing. Consider a number line: what lies at the center of this line that stretches out to oblivion? What is the value of this origin of numbers, the thing that defines negatives and positives, left and right in the first dimension: the number zero. There's no other number quite like it (Robert Browning, "Childe Roland": "without a counterpart in the world.")-- suppose that this Tower is what defines things in ALL dimensions, not just positve and negatives but good and bad, fate and chance, etc. Yet it is nothing. It is zero. It will soon cease to exist. That's the solution to King's series.
   And the agent of the destruction of the Tower? Who drove the bulldozer at the end of Eddie's dream in DT IV that was about to destroy the Rose? None other than our hero, Roland? Will that be his most agonzing decision? To decide whether or not to destroy the Tower in hopes of healing or restoring the misery wrought upon all existence? Yet, regardless of infinity and the relativity of time, always remember King's biggest theme in all his writing: the wheel.
      And it always, at the end, came round to the same place again."
   This wheel— it controls the Tower, the All-Timers, the Purpose, the Random— everything. I think its more intriguing and relentless than anything else in King's definition of existence.
Jordan writes:
I have read the theories you have posted at they have given me alot to think about. However I can't help but wonder who exactly is Marten aka Randall Flagg? It seems to me that The Crimson King cannot interfere in the destinies of short timers anymore than the Turtle or the Green man can. It leads me to belive that Marten is therefore a mortal, given powers by someone higher up on the tower (obviously the Crimson King) just like Ralph and Lois were to save the boys life in Insomnia. This convinces me that Roland will not die fighting Marten. The forces behind each of them are evenly matched, the boy from Insomnia is therefore going to aid Roland and his followers in their battle tipping the odds in their favor. What will happen when they reach the Tower however is anyones guess.
Mark writes:
I have an interesting theory regarding the path of the beam in which Roland and his companions follow. It was hinted throughout the visit to Lud in DT3 and DT4 that Lud was New York. Eddie at one point dubbed one street in Lud after one in New York because it was so familiar. Also, they travel the path of the beam from Lud to Topeka, Kansas. Now, let us assume that Lud is New York, so we can whip out a trusty map of the United States and draw a beam connecting to a place in the state of New York to Topeka.... If we extend the beam paths beyond New York and Topeka, we get two other cities... To the Northeast of New York, the last city to fall on the path of the beam is... Bangor, Maine.... Hmmmmm..... :) Now, in the other direction--Southwest of Topeka--the other city to fall on the path of the beam is Tucson, Arizona. Roland made comments about the Tower being in the west... So is Tucson Arizona the original site of the Dark Tower? Let's assume that it is... Let's say that upon the building of the Tower, all eyes of the world turn to this area.... and people become interested in this area's past... say the Old West... This could have brought about a revival in old western culture... saloons...Old west lingo (my little trailhand!), and of course, Gunslingers!
April writes:
There are pages of analysis of possible connections to the DT series. One character or book is accepted, another denied. We scrutinize every detail and rule things out because one peice is missing. I wonder if we aren't guilty of appraoching this as Roland somtimes approached a riddle. The right answer is usually the simplest. My gut tells me that all these tales are part of the tower's story. Choose any of King's books and you'll find that things are going wrong, falling apart. Agents of Chaos lurk or rage everywhere. Ageless strangers, little bald man, beasts of all shapes, they are all companions in the same misson. They spark the fire, fan the flames, even become the blaze of death. In the end it doesn't matter which, the out come is the same. The story of the tower enchants me because it offers an explanation for all these specific events. I don't expect to finish the last tower book with a complete list of characters and places that relate. I won't need one. They are all part of the story. I think that is what King is trying to show us, and if we don't look so hard, maybe we will see it.
   Remember Flagg lies with every word, don't expect the truth about his idenity to come from him, and I don't think he is bound to the initials R.F. If it ages like Flagg, lies like Flagg and dissappears like Flagg then I think it is safe to assume it is Flagg.
Kirk writes:
My personal theory is that Stephen King has written a great deal more of the Dark Tower than he is letting his constant readers know. I judge this by the fact that you can usually tell what the next book will be about by what has been said before. Since he said in the afterword to The Gunslinger "outlines are the last resourse of bad fiction writers who wish to God they were writing masters' theses" he won't use an outline, even a mental one. He would instead write as the insparation hits. Also from the afterword to The Gunslinger, he mentioned that the next book in the series was already finished. It is my opinion that Thunderclap is already written (if not finished editing).
Darkmar writes:
I recently read the Dark Tower series, and I have not read any of King's other works (besides Eye of the Dragon) and I have a theory of my own. King said that perhaps all worlds are contained in Roland's world. Think of Roland's world as a Really BIG bubble. This is the main world. Think of all the other worlds in King's universe (including ours) as bubbles of varying degrees of size inside Roland's bubble. Perhaps the thinnies are the eroding parts of the barriers of time/space that seperate the contained worlds. Perhaps the forces of the Purpose and Ka add the doors (DT III and IV) so that is possible to pass through the "thin" parts without being destroyed. Oh well. I'm only 14 and this is just a theory, so don't take it too seriously.
IIExOdUsII writes:
I believe that Roland's current Ka-tet will die, except for Roland. In the original poem by Browning which the books have been most influenced by it states that he lost all of his companions. I believe that he will eventually reach the tower but will be once more alone.
Either DM or JGW writes:
King writes in passion anyone who reads anything by him knows this. His passion will be the death of him, his books are written in sucession. The Dark Tower series started when King was in college, yet the first book was not released for many years. Why? it was not finished. He wrote many books in between each story, almost all of them having a reference to said Tower. To understand this is to understand the Tower. The Tower is King's future it is more than a mere book, to him at least. All great authors have hidden meaning in their novels, Dickens, Poe , etc. . . The Gunslinger's world is our own many years past the portals time travel not planetary. The Tower King's idea of the core of our exsitence call it God cycle of life what have you the bottom line is we are heading for this Wasteland we have had the ideas of gunslingers. The Tower will be reached at all costs
Dennis writes:
i think that the Flagg in the book "''the eyes of the dragon" beat their King Roland, i think that might be stephen kings way of for shadowing , because theese two worlds are the same because Roland does mention the two main charaters from the book entering the barony of gilead at its very end, i think that this is Kings way of telling us that roland my die and that Flagg might actually kill him
Jarrod writes:
Here are my thoughts on The Dark Tower:
   Eddie will die just as Cuthbert. They are too much alike to escape the same fate. Susannah will die as Susan did, the demon child killing her, but going on to play a major roll in the tale, as what I don't know. The Dark Tower is Stephen King's "canterbury tales" each traveler telling their own story as they tread torwards their single goal. It is the inn at the end of worlds, and when there are no more stories to tell, no more worlds to discover, then the Ka-tet will reach its destination The Dark Tower. I think of this because of things King wrote in his introdcution to Neil Gaimen's Sandman, The World's End. A story, within a story, within a story.
C. writes:
The one theory I have which I hold too is that we have seen Roland go from world to world and from "when" to "when".
   With this in mind...dont be surprised if Cuthbert, Alain and may be even Jamie deCurry show up again even if only for a brief moment.
   Also, I agree with the reader who suggested the King will instruct his publisher not to release the last book of the Dark Tower series until after his death. I have been saying this for years. It would be so "Stephen King" for him to do something like that...the last chapter of his greatest work to be released after his own death! Its really only appropriate!! (That and the fact that if the last book really sucks or the ending is lame..he wont be alive to receive the criticism!)
Pyrite writes:
I don't know if you're the right person to direct this to, but I would like to share my opinions on the nature of Randall Flagg. Feel free to dismiss them as the mindless ravings of an overenthusiastic fan if you're so inclined.
   I feel the the "Flagg" of EotD is the same entity as Randall Flagg. The kicker for me is the trademark grin. Add in all the references to "Flagg" having a cloaked face in EotD and it seems pretty convincing. Of course the tiny bit of doubt is what makes it fun for the reader. Nothing like a slice of mystery to keep us coming back for more eh? ;>
   I am also willing to speculate that Flagg is the being known as the "Crimson King" in both "Insomnia" and the most recent "Dark Tower" novel. There is an undeniable tie in between the two most recent works. The child at the end of "Insomnia" describes his characters in his drawing at the stadium as "the Red King" and the man with the guns as " Hims name is Roland mama. I dream about him sometimes. Hims a king too." I believe that our old friend RF is this Crimson King. Probably some sort of right hand man to a greater evil that has yet to be introduced. After all...the Tower has many levels.
   I leave you with a paragraph from the afterword of Wizard and Glass.
   "I have written enough novels to and short stories to fill a solar system of the imagination, but Roland's story is my Jupiter-a planet that dwarfs all the others (at least from my own perspective), a place of strange atmosphere, crazy landscape, and savage gravitational pull. Dwarfs the others did I say? I think there's more to it than that, actually. I am coming to understand that Roland's world (or worlds) actually contains all the others of my making; there is a place in Mid-World for Randall Flagg, Ralph Roberts, the wandering boys from EotD, even Father Callahan, the damned priest from 'Salem's Lot, who rode out of New England on a Greyhound bus and wound up dwelling on the border of a terrible Mid-World land called Thunderclap. This seems to be where they all finish up, and why not? Mid-World was here first, before all of them, dreaming under the blue gaze of Roland's bombardier eyes."
   ...the tower is closer...
Nelson writes:
someone said they think Rolands world is a giant bubble and all other worlds are smaller bubbles inside it, that would explain why after Jake died (Dark Tower 1) he went to Rolands world. I also believe that anyone who has ever died in a King novel will be at the dark tower.
Shannon writes:
In Response to OZzie's theory on Roland's toughest decision: Roland's toughest decision was to start his quest for the Dark Tower instead of staying with Susan and becoming a husband and a father.
David writes:
i have a possible explanation as to the nature of Roland's world: Considering physics, any universe having X spatial dimensions must percieve time as a single dimension higher than x. also remember that time can be a spatial dimension, defined as motion of the universe itself along a non-spatial dimension. With a two dimensional universe, time would exist as a continuum along the third dimension, imagine stacking these universes one atop another, only not in increments but in a continuum (because time isn't divided into increments) along the third spatial dimension and you have the nature of time.
   Now in our three spatially dimensioned world time can be said to occupy a fourth spatial dimension we cannot access. If we could, time would no longer be a continuum but appear to be randomized, as it would then occupy a fifth dimension.
   I think Roland's world is a three dimensional plane "pressed" so to speak in a universe of four spatial dimensions, forcing time which by the nature of this universe, to flow along the fourth dimension as it does in our universe. I also thing Roland's world is unfolding, not only are distances growing and directions shifting, but time, ever linked to space, is becoming randomized(AND in the books it seems to be a localized phenomena, supporting the idea that time and space are in fact shifting places, that in some places time is becoming space (and therefore directions and distances change) while time itself begins to take on it's fifth dimensional form in these places.
   And the tower? This is the construct which forces Rolands world to conform to conventional three dimensional physics(and therefore must span the entirety of his universe). and i believe it's hold is weakening after time, allowing the world to "move on" in more directions than he can comprehend.
   Why is his universe unfolding? it is possible that the ancients decided to "mine"(to use the visual images i got of the description of the Portal of the Bear) the fourth spatial dimension, as this would allow the establishment of other parallel worlds linked along this dimension(the portals) I think in an almost Victorian age of expansion and ignorance, they blindly dug into time itself, set up colonies on the blank pages of their past and the future, and their universe began to collapse under all the holes.
   Something else to think about: a being causes a shadow of lesser dimension than itself. It is possible that there are forces, intelligent forces of a four-spatial dimensional nature working to eliminate Mid World and the like,and others to save it, unfathomable creatures whose mere shadows alone Roland and his universe can percieve, however their shadows(like that of the dark Man?) would appear to be three dimensional, and changing shape would be no more difficult for such a being than shifting one's hands making shadow puppets.
   And as to thought: many of the places in Rolands world appear to be the archetype of creative works by contemporaries of other worlds. Consider the OZlike-ness of Topeka in Wizard and Glass, Charlie the ChooChoo. It is possible that thought exists along the time-dimension, that it is quite possible to dream one's way into other worlds (and so attribute it to imagination)
   So does this mean that to actually reach the Tower Roland must somehow access the fourth spatial dimension, and is this possible for a being like him apart from sleep?
   Perhaps, eternal sleep.
Tess writes:
It is my opinion that readers of this series must be prepared to face the very real fact that the story may have no ending but that King will leave the worlds of his books in the very capable imaginations of his readers. In my opinion this is very brilliant, what better way to never be forgotten than to leave the worlds greatest yet simplest messages in the form of a story that may not even be rememberd for its literary merit. I think that the message that is being said is that through our hopes and dreams mixed with a little imagination and determination anything is possible.
Jennifer writes:
I think that Roland is really Stephen King and I think that the Dark Tower is nothing more than a bank and I think that Stephen King/Roland is laughing all the way to it. : )
KC's theory:
I believe that Roland's world is actually the realm of Stephen Kings mind. Roland is a part of Kings mind, but Roland is not King. Roland is a separate person in King; sort of like George Stark in "The Dark Half." I believe these things because of what King said in the Author's Note at the back of "The Waste Lands." He said " finding the doors to Roland's world has never been easy for me... it still holds me in thrall... I was as surprised by the conclusion to the third volume as some of my readers may be."
   We all have a kind of world in our minds, these worlds are filled with riddles and explanations. The worlds of writers are of corse filled with characters as well. The Dark Tower series is made up of the dream word in Kings head. Like in all of are dreams things are comparable to reality but not the same. People speak different languages that we wouldn't understand in the real world, but we some how can dreams. Therefore Kings Dream world can not be explained in real world logic.
   In our dreams bits and pieces of events drop in from the real world, for example, Jake is like the little boy in "The Shinning", Susannah has a spit personality like Thad in "The Dark Half", The people in the towns and cities have all gone a little..mad this happens in many of Kings short stories, only it happens with individuals not entire town.
   As Roland journey's closer to the Tower, King goes deeper within himself. And we all journey with them, only guessing what the Tower can be..
Rosie writes:
flagg is tak is not dead
Mike writes::
I personally predict that Susan Delgado is not dead. I believe she DID die, but, didn't Jake plummet to his death in DT1? I believe later in the series they will come to Susan's equivelant of the way station. Also, I believe Roland himself will be killed before he reaches the Tower, and the rest of his Ka-Tet will have to carry on his burden. This is foreshadowed in DT3 : Remember how he says they would have to to carry on for him if he dies, in a way? And they all agree? Also, we cannot be sure if Susannah Dean's child is the demon's child or not, because in DT1 Eddie and Susannah made love, also. So it could be Eddie's child, as well. Who knows? I'm not sure even King himself is sure. I can't make any predictions involving Insomnia or It, because i read It when i was 11, and that was almost 4 years ago (i'm 14, almost 15), although I'm planning to read Insomnia ASAP. But, untill the Tower is reached and the series has ended (if it ever does, which I hope to God it does), I don't think we'll ever know..
Rav writes:
We all know that Flagg is "the ultimate bad guy", versions of him exist in so many of King's novels I don't even want to go into them. Flagg in The Stand, Flagg In Eyes of the Dragon, Flagg in this, Flagg in that. Bah. When you've got a good bad guy, stick with him. Now, the question is, are all the Flagg universes the same universe, or did he jump from dimension to dimension because he's, well, *Flagg*?" I think it's the latter explanation, because, though we've determined an ultimate bad guy, no ultimate good guy has been found. I'm glad of that, it makes things less boring. Plus, if Flagg is messing around at the Dark Tower, he'd certainly want to screw *everything* up, which would include making a mess of all the world's he can. Now, in all the "Flagg-y" books, he hasn't been defeated. Could it be that King has had a plan all along to build up our hatred of this man, then kill him off (much to our delight) in his series of books that he has called his favorites? That is what I believe. Will Roland be the one to make the kill? As much as I love dear Roland, I doubt he'll make it. King has never made a "supercharacter" that did absolutely *everything*. Although, whoever kills Flagg (I'd like it to be Eddie, that would certainly illustrate his change from zero to hero, wouldn't it?) might get a nice happy little vision of Roland's ghost after the deed is done.
   Regarding Susannah's baby: I don't think she's been impregnated by the demon. However, a newborn baby would hinder the quest. It's not really a sidetrack worth taking. I believe the baby will die, to symbolize how Roland's world has been "poisoned" by the wrongs at the Tower. Of course, all of these are just theories, but... I'm nearly drooling for the next book, to see if I'm right.
   –Rav..
Mike writes:
And about that Dark Tower theory that King himself is at the top of the Tower, this seems unlikely to me because, at one point in The Tommyknockers, there is mention made of "that writer from Bangor who fills his novels with dirty words" or something close to that. This is obviously a reference to King.
   If King lives as a common Short-Timer in his books (and the Tommyknockers' mention of Derry and It essentially links the book to most of King's other works), then it seems to me that he could not be the entity at the top of the Tower, in much the same way that Jake Chambers' reference to "Childe Roland" author Robert Browning in "My Understanding of Truth" pretty much rules Browning out too.
   Just my two cents.....
Nelson writes:
Before i start i want to let u know that u are all addicts.You may have started reading the first book because u wanted to but when a new king book comes out everyone reads it just to see if it has anything to do with the dark tower.When he first started writing this he had no idea it would become so popular.
   First of all here are some intresting things u might want to know:
  1. Jake`s dad calls him the kid,the kid was a psycho who found trashcan man in The Stand.He also said he was going to over throw Flagg.
  2. in the dream that Eddie has about the tower in DT3 he sees smoke come out of the tower(or something like that).I think that is the Red King.
  3. There is a mention in one of the books about The Inn at The end of all Worlds.The boy in The Talisman had to go to a Black Hotel(or something like that).
  4. Lud is not New York because i think Thunderclap is.They see the George Washington bridge but it could have easily been one of the many bridges in the bay area(San Fransico).Besides they were coming from the Western Sea.
   Now here is my theory.They will all reach ThunderClap.Thomas and Dennis(from EotD)will join them.So will Jack(from the Talisman).After The Kid dies in The Stand i think he goes to mid-world.Thunderclap will be infested with vampires.There will be some sort of shoot-out as between Roland and Flagg as in the old west.Roland will not be fast enough but the boy from Insomnia will take the bullet for him.From there i think The Kid will fight with Flagg but not in a shoot-out.He will not kill Flagg but die trying.Thomas will finsh him.Susannah will be killed by vampires before the baby is ever born.The priest from Salems Lot will help them defeate the vampires.Ralph Roberts(from Insomnia)will join them and they will make there way to the tower.They will all be killed and in the end only Roland,Oy,and Jake will be left.What happens next i cant even theorize.any ending i think of doesnt sound right to me because i made it not King......
William writes:
I agree with those of you who believe that the Dark Tower series is the center of all of Kings work. I also agree that we will see more characters from other King novels in the future of this series. However, I now stand before you and say to you only this. "It is not for us to read the ending before it is written, if King has his ending in his mind it will be revealed to us when he is ready for it to be revealed and not before then." Keeping this in mind should allow us to enjoy his writings. Those of you who obsess over this series will be satisfied with an ending. Stephen King has no fear of an unsatisfactory ending as one person suggested. As for those of you who state that Roland cannot die without reaching the upper level of the tower should go back and find where King tells us that the tower will be reached. He states that it may not be Roland who gets there, that in fact it may not be any characters we have been introduced to as yet. Also, the unborn child, who among us knows for sure that it is the child of the demon. Remember that Susannah and Eddie made love on the beach for the first time. Therefore by conclusion it stands to reason that the child could be Eddies. Perhaps it will be named after the death of our hero Roland. Perhaps even to be named Rolande. Maybe even it will be the child alone who reaches the upper level of our bewildering tower. I agree with April we are all out here putting together theories and none of us has Kings mind. We think we know how he works, but we must keep in mind that he is the master of suspense. Stephen King will always leave his fans wanting more, and will always keep things twisting just enough to keep us from getting ahead of him.......
Lee writes:
I belive, that the final book of the dark tower series will link every book he has ever written. They all have noticable links, but i belive the really big one will be in the final volume. I belive that Flagg is the second hand man of the crimson king. I think that the Crimson king is no more than a manefestation of IT. It was a spider, right, making him a beast. In Crouch End, there was a proposed theroy that worlds are big balls with places running thin. Crouch End had several other-worldly creatures, and notice the use of the word thin. Perhaps its the thinnies, or maybe the crossovers where Jake passed through. I also belive whole-heartedly that the boy in INSOMNIA will play a big role.
   I belive that Roland will eventually come to the Dark Tower and fight Flagg, and the Hook-Scar boy will save eddie and Roland, but Flagg will not be dead and he will return just as the Tick-Tock man did. Prehaps Flagg will kill Roland then when he returns. If that happens, I belive that they will encounter IT as the Crimson King, and Jake will kill him because IT always did seem vunerable to kids. Jake is Bill's age, too. The Dark Tower will not stand and it will fall, and it will not heal the injuries of the world.
   I realize this because King has a surprising similarity to Tolkien. Hence the Towers. After the Lord of the Rings died, the Elves did not return but partially died off or went overseas. It is a sad tale but namely a true one.......
Richard writes:
I have read each of the theories posted here many times, and while all have the elements of truth, I think that one essential truth is missing:
   Roland will make it to the tower alone. The Dark Tower series is based, at least in part, upon Robert Browning's "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came". Roland makes it to the tower in this poem, alone, calls all the names of his past, and announces his presence to all beings within the tower. The theories that say Roland will die before seeing the Tower or will be the undoing of the Tower's existence are too farfetched.........
Bryan Murphy writes:
My ideas on whether the Flagg(s) in EOTD and the other King novels is (are) one and the same are not exactly original, I'm sure, but they make sense to me. We hear first from Roland that he saw Flagg (which we know is the Flagg from EOTD) and the little story there. Roland does NOT recognize this Flagg as Marten, and the reasons for this are not known to us. We later find out that in a time that would seem to match the timeframe of this story that Roland saw Flagg and that Flagg also saw Roland. My inference of this was more along the lines that Flagg was aware of Roland's presence even though Roland thought he was unseen. This awareness could easily have given Flagg the moments he would need to change his appearance (for real or just to Roland's eye). Given that he could change a person into a dog, the idea of changing his own appearance would be a simple one to pull off. And that is operating under the assumption that he doesn't change appearance with each and every persona he takes on. I think that there is one appearance that Randall Flagg takes on that is his 'standard' appearance. I also think that Stephen King is going to tie some more characters into the role of Flagg, and that these will be characters we wouldn't normally associate with him. I think the use of a 'standard' appearance by Flagg is more a matter of RF's perverse sense of humor in allowing people to associate atrocious acts with him rather than any sense of necessity. At any rate, I definitely think the two Flagg's are one and the same..........
Brandy writes:
I think that Roland will make it to the tower,but he'll be there alone.Susanah,I suspect,will die from giving birth to the demon child.Eddie will fall during the battle with either Flagg or the Crimson King(who is Flagg's master in my opinion)during a battle that I think will not be resolved with gunpowder.That would leave only Jake and a deminished Roland(wounded both physically and spiratualy in the battle).If anyone should make it to the tower besides Roland,it would be Jake,but that will not happen.Jake will fall in either the end of the second to last or the end of the last.He will once again act as the sacrafice(but not to Roland's consent this time).I think he will die at the end of the 6th(should there be 7).He will die defeating the Beast(whome I believe to be IT).I believe the Beast to be higher than either The Crimson King or Flagg.The Beast is the right hand of who I believe to be the master of the Tower(which I think is evil beyond comprehension)who may be none other than Satan himself.Jake will die in Roland's arms.Jake's last words,being spoken to a weeping Roland,will be "Weep not,Gunslinger, for there are other worlds than these ."And here the 6th book ends.The last begins with Roland as he was in the beginning;alone.In tis,he will find the tower,and battle his way to the uppermost level of the Tower.There,he will do battle against the master of the tower,and God-willing he will win.This,also,is a battle that will be resolved without a shot being fired.I believe that The Dark Tower series wil show to have a large spiritual meaning,such as the the Stand(which I believe to be linked in a very large part to the series).This is my theory on the Dark Tower.You may agree or you may not,but I believe this to be so at least partly.I'm sure we all have one thing in common,though.I can't wait to get to the Tower...........

SaraH responds:
to brandy, who says that the conflict at the dark tower will be settled without a bullet being fired, that's rediculous. Roland is a Gunslinger - why would it go any other way? Roland will fight and triumph with what he knows best - his guns.
   i think that the Tower itself is good, and whatever evil is there that Roland must kill, it is not the Tower in and of itself.
   All the books by Stephen King are like a world - just one world. In case you hadn't noticed, in all the books he set in Derry, there are references to other books that happened there. For example, in Bag of Bones, Norris R. from Needful Things shows up and talks to him, and mentions Allan and Polly. This is the world of stephen King's mind, and it ALL takes place in there.
   no matter where it is, the Dark TOwer is REAL.
Jeanie writes:
After reading the DT series for the third time, in my mind I have realized the whole intent of the series as a whole. Maybe you can clarify my thought for me. I have come to believe the the perpose of the series is to show the effect of technology in reverse. Am I mistaken or is it all summed up in the line in the 3rd book something to the effect of "if only we were to see the technology of our ancestors in reverse."  I may be mistaken of the actual line but my thought are in the right place. If my theory is anywhere near true please let me know.
Mark writes:
After reading the above theories, I have come to the conclusion that anything can happen from now up until the point in which we come face-to-face with the Tower ( I really dig the theory about a showdown with a bunch of vampires.) However, I believe that the real mystery begins once we reach the Tower. Roland, alone, will reach the Tower because that is where Browning left him. Browning never told us what it was Roland did after he put his horn to his lips and blew "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came."
   I look at the DT series as a paint by number portrait which was outlined by Browning without any little numbers to tell you what color to fill in. In my opinion, what King has done and is still doing (I hope!!) is filling in that color. With each color representing a different tale or event that occurred along the journey that Browning created. Once Roland enters the Tower to do whatever it is that he needs to do is the point where King takes over where Browning left off. I'm sure that whatever happens we will not be disappointed. ...........
Jess writes::
Here's one I don't personally believe, but a friend shared it with me and it is interesting so I thought I'd share.
   Roland will never reach the Dark Tower because he's already there. The world, all the worlds, are held inside the Dark Tower. If he even reaches what he thinks is the tower, he will find it merely an illusion, a sham he has wasted his whole life on. He'll realise how much of his life he wasted chasing the impossible dream and may either go mad (forcing Eddie, Susan, and Jake to kill him) or be killed in a showdown at the tower, either way leaving the rest of the ka-tet in this strange world to fend for themselves.
   As for myself, I have but one question. Susannah is obviously Susan, Eddie is Cuthbert, and I might go so far as to name Oy as the new counterpart to the boy who worked at the Inn. But what of Jake and Alain, since they don't seem to match up. Will we meet a new character from the past, perhaps Jamie or Thomas(EotD?)? And then a new character in the "present" of the book will have to emerge............
Aaron writes:
Ok...running theme in a few of these theories is that all of Roland's companions will die along the quest of the beam. I would begin this "theory" of mine by saying all of his companions have died. Alain, Cuthbert and "even Jamie".
   Roland's new set of companions are different. They each have their own personal quest, and their Ka is separate from Roland's. They each have a destiny that Roland has only glimpsed at.
   The theory on Susannah dying is a sound one and I have a strong feeling Roland himself will die before actually reaching the top of his "Dark Tower", but there is a good amount of story left before then and I look forward to every page of it.............
Len writes:
The very thought of any (or more rightly, all) of the current Ka-tet dying, seems quite unlikely. Possibly Oy.. he doesn't contribute much, and we know what happens to most dogs in King boks? (Ok, Cujo got his bites in, but he's dead in the end.)
   Also, I think you're taking the poem tos literally. Maybe it is the outline for certain parts of the story but who said the ROland is the one who comes alone, is the Roland in the book? Perhaps the Roland that ends up at the tower, could be the wandering Prince Thomas. If you remember, In the EotD, they said he looked exactly like his father ROLAND that his brother could barley recognise him, and Flagg did not at all.
   Perhaps he ends up there alone trying to exorcise the demons of his past, and is, in a sense, killed there. At this time, Roland, and his enterouge arrive to fulfill their true destiny.
   Also, about the "demon child", I think when the group gets to 90's New York, Suzanna will obtain an abortion, against her better judgement, but for the good of the group and possibly the world. Well, Just thoughts from lil' ole me..............
Aaron M. writes:
The Dark Tower is a series of books that in fact include all of Stephen King's other books in an odd round about sort of way.We find similar characters throughout his novels and ideas that match up in the same way. The theories I have come up with, with a little help from other Dark Tower hunters like my self are this:
  1. All of the Dimensions in Stephen King's books are connected by the fog that is introduced in the fourth instalment in the Dark Tower series. The center of all of these dimensions is the tower it self. In this tower all the evil (It, tak, Trash Can Man, The Crimson King, Flagg, etc.) rests waiting for Roland and any who would aid him on his quest.
  2. We will see Alain and Cuthbert again before the the series concludes be it in another book or in the series it self. We will find out how they die and why Roland betrayed them in their deaths. Perhaps they may even appear in another dimension, who knows when Stephen King is at the helm.
  3. Only Roland will ever see the Dark Tower. All of his companions will die along the way, or the path of the beam as some may have it. Susan will not die while giving birth to the demon child, but will go crazy after giving birth which then eventually leads to her return to the world of split personalities. Eddie will be forced to chose between her and following the path of the beam, in the end he will chose the path and be forced to finish off the only woman that he has ever loved. Jake will once again die at the hands of Roland but this time it will be of his own will. Many people believe that he will die fighting It in a final showdown but I do not hold this to be true. Roland will most likely run in to many other characters from other books but they too will fall on the path of the beam. Giving their lives so that Roland may achieve his final goal.
  4. Even though Stephen King's last book was a haunted romance story, it is still connected to the dark tower by way of Insomnia. In Bag of Bones the main character runs in to Ralph Roberts the same man from Insomnia, yet another connection?
  5. Derry will play an important part in the Dark Tower series, how it will is yet to be seen.
  6. Will the Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, and Apt Pupil play any role in the whole scheme of things?
  7. Perhaps their mission will end when the find the same things that are in the wizard of oz: a Brain, a Heart, and Courage. The path to the tower could just be the path that leads them to these elements.
These are some of my theories so until next time, Stay faithful to the Beam...............
Wayne writes:
Many will balk at my ideas for the Dark Tower, but these came to me in the form of a dream I had almost a year ago. It tied everything very nicely, but I have since forgotten most of it, so bear with me. It doesn't bear much resemblance to other theories posted.
   BTW, the dream was in the form of a full length movie which starred the following actors: Susanna=Angela Basset; Jake=Elijah Wood; Roland= (oddly enough) Liam Neilsen (I always thought it wood be someone more like Mel Gibson or Harrison Ford); Eddie= I forget, but I guess any good smart-ass actor would do=maybe David Ducovney or Adam Sandler. David would play a good junkie; Roland's father=Sam Elliot; Walter=Gary Oldman; Randall Flagg=Richard Marcinko (how's that for a villan?); and Cort=Stephen King.
   Anyway, back to the "Plot": Essentially all make it to the Tower, though they encounter much trials. Roland does indeed reach the tower, but somehow dies before whatever needs to be set right is done. The remaining ka-tet sets things right, which releases Roland's soul hanging in Limbo (or maybe Hell, ala Flagg) and he is resurrected or freed and blissfully is reunited with Susan who had been waiting for him. They are somehow reunited (either in life or death) when the Tower is fixed.
   Everyone's deepest wish becomes a reality at the foot of the Tower. This was Roland's (and Susan's). Susanna gets her legs back. Eddie finds a rehabilitated Henry who now respec's his badass little brother. I forget what Jake gets (probably a girlfriend or a heart, a brain, and courage, plus and all-expense paid trip home, NYC). Oy runs off into the field of roses where an army of billy cumblers are welcoming him home, but making a choice, he returns to Jake's side out of love, only to find that he can now fully speak. As Roland is not a full member of their ka-tet, he forever leaves them and goes off with Susan. I believe that they must be dead because I seem to remember they ka-tet watching the spirits of Roland and Susan dancing off into the sunset sky and fading out.
   I know, a cheezy happy ending. Oh well. No one dies, except Roland who in the end gets everything he wants. I don't remember the details of getting to the Tower of how anything is fixed.
   However, I like the idea of Stephen King being the God at the top level of the Tower. Anyone notice that Crimson KING might be Stephen KING? A god who creates the universes in his writings. Maybe the crumbling of these Univerese is a result of them not being maintained due to a severe case of writer's block. Maybe all the bad guys on the lower levels of the tower are his obnoxious kids who have run wild while "dad" is busy in his office, not supervising them.
   Where is the purple blade of grass Roland saw in Walter's vision? Was it replaced by the rose? And if Marten is more powerful than Walter, why does Walter say that he could never have shown the vision to Marten, for he would come back a blubbering fool? Obviously, Roland defeats Marten 3 years after his trial of manhood, through Walter's guideance, as stated in DTI. Therefore, Flagg and Marten canot be the same person. Flagg may not be It. But Flagg was the bad guy in The Stand. It is probably the Beast. Or the Beast may be the Tower itself. I agree that Roland may be the personification of Stephen King's ambition and endurance.
   I think Oy will be really important in the future, and he already has helped save Jake's life once. He was important enough to have red booties in DT4, showing he is a full member of the ka-tet. I think we will meet some vampires in the future, as have been foreshadowed by the silver cross Roland received, and by the reference of 'Salem Lot's preacher ending up in Thunderclap, however, I feel that the Thunderclap story being totally centered around vampires would be cheezy, and King has already addressed this element in Roland's world in The Little Sisters of Eluria. Besides, Thunderclap is mainly supposed to be centered in Eddie and Susanna's world.
   I thought that Charlie the ChooChoo winking at Jake was a great idea. But I don;t even want to open up the can of beans about Susanna being pregnant. I know it won;t happen, but I'd like to know about Cort's travels to other worlds. At least I hope we find out about how Cort died.
   Anyhow, those are a few of my ideas. I know that they do not follow the general consensus, but hey, it was a dream...............
Brandy writes:
Roland will definately make it to the Tower,but his ka-tet will not.The figures that stand between Roland and the Tower are Randall Flagg(The Wizard,Maerlyn,The Walking Dude,The Ageless Stranger),The Crimson King,and The Beast.Most of us know that Randall Flagg was the villain in The Stand,The Eyes of The Dragon,and a few more.The Crimson King,who is higher in rank than Flagg, was mentioned in Insomnia.Not much in known about the beast,but take notice thatin DK1,the Man in Black calls him It alathe book IT.I believe that the two are the same.Now let's talk about Roland's ka-tet.There is Roland,Eddie,Susannah,Jake,and Oy,the billy bumbler.Each individual person in this group has a certain use.Roland is to find the Tower,and the others are to be sacrifices along the way.Jake was saccrificed in order to get Roland to Walter.He now has a new purpose,and that is to defeat the Beast/IT who can only be defeated by children.He will die in this battle,but will destroy the Beast in doing so.Oy's purpose is to "Take a bullet" for Jake somewhere along the line,and also help save Jake in Lud.Eddie's job is to draw Jake back from his world.He will also be the one to defeat Flagg,but he will also be killed.Susannah's job was to keep the demon off Eddie so the he could draw Jake.She will die giving birth to the demon's child.In the end,Roland will destroy The Crimson King and take the Tower alone.
Christopher writes:
I just randomly found the site, so I figured after all the time I spent analyzing the Dark Tower Books, I should share some of my theories.
   I'm sad to say, I have not seen any of the parallels between the other books that many have. I have viewed a glimpse of the Stand in these writing, dealing with DT IV (Capt. Tripps) and also Randall Flagg. I do not dispute what most have read, but I view this series as a stand alone set, that pertains little to the rest of Mr. King's work, save for a fantastic re-occurring villain. But it could be the case that the Dark Tower Series encompasses all the books as the Tower itself encompasses all worlds.
   Will Roland make it to the Tower. Will he blow his horn and shout the names of all that have fallen with him, I don't know. We can only wait for the ending as it will be told.
   As for what is the beast, what is in the tower, what is at the top; I will surmise this:
    1) The top is empty, devoid of all things, when Roland steps in there then he will be all things.
or 2) The being that waits on top, can not be truly evil, for evil wishes to conquer & control, not destroy what it has. Therefore the creature (if it is even that) may too old or too insane to see what is happening with the worlds just outside the Tower's doors.
or 3) The one who waits on the top is Roland himself. Tired, alone, old, he watches himself come to the Tower, his own journey happening again and again in a cycle. He is the god at the top, as he is the one searching for god. So it was always, so it will always be.
    4) As shown in the Talisman, when Roland's band reaches the field of roses at the base of the Tower, they will be met by the infinite army of the people who Roland sacrificed to get there. Cuthberts, Alains, Susans, etc..., from all the different worlds shall stand before him. Will they let him pass? Will he be able to bring himself to face them after what has already happened?
    5) The Tower itself is alive, just as the house that Jake entered to be reborn was. But its dying. The darkness/cloud that Eddie saw in his dream (DTIII), was really the dust coming from the Tower as it crumbles. It needs some one new for itself, either for food or companionship?
    6) Something wants Roland to get to the Tower (or at least as close as possible). Roland has been led from the beginning by something that was not of himself. First the Man in Black, he led Roland to the Sea, the Sea lead Roland to the Doors and to the Beams, the Beams will lead to the Tower. All for what fulfill the one quest Roland has: To restore his world, which he believes can only happen at the Tower. Who or what is leading him on and for what purpose is beyond me at this time.
   Just remember:
      "There are other worlds then these."
And other Towers.
Nathan writes:
First off I have read all four, plus numerous other novels. I have come to this conclusion. Each novel people view as linked are part of good versus evil (also called Purpose v. Random, etc.). Each hero (in the Stand, TEotD, Talisman, and others) is a soldier in that ultimate battle (that for the tower that Roland leads). I therefore believe that each of these soldiiers will show up (this could be foreshadowed in IV "will we meet the dark man and good woman" well they have already met the dark man). After these soldiers have gathered I believe there will be the final battle. Who will live after this battle I do not know, but some will. I would like to see the whole ka-tet live but that wouldn't happen. Whether Susanannah dies or not depends on Eddie, there fates are linked and as one goes so goes the other
And other Towers.
Keepow writes:
I have read all the theories presented, and most are better than anything I could come up with, but I do have some thoughts on whether Roland will reach the Tower. Though i would have it otherwise I think Roland will either die before reaching the Tower,or be somehow absorebed by the Tower. In part One of the Dark Tower series, Walter, while telling Rolands fortune, pulls the 6th card, which is the Dark Tower and covers Rolands card completley with it. this is never explained. combine this with th 7th card which is "Life, but not for you."  Most probably Roland and at least a portion of his current Ka-tet, will reach the Tower and there will be a confontation with one of the guardians of the Tower. Roland and the gaurdian will battle and somehow Roland will be lost and become a part of the Tower, this will fix the error in the Tower and the others will have the Life predicted in the 7th card.
Ryan says:
For all you people who have ideas about Roland dying before he reaches the Tower, remember what Walter said when reading the tarots: Death, but not for you, Gunslinger.

CReDI responds:
In reply to Ryan : who says "For all you people who have ideas about Roland dying before he reaches the Tower, remember what Walter said when reading the tarots: Death, but not for you, Gunslinger. ", I just want reply that when Walter read the tarots, he got twice Death. The first wasn't for gunslinger, but the second was.
Kelly writes:
I have been reading the theories presented here, and I find parts of them interesting. For example, I liked the idea of Jake fighting It and most likely dying in the battle. But I'd like to put in my two sense.
    I'm not sure which group of the ka-tet will make it all the way, but I do believe that at least Roland and Eddie will make it to the Tower, or at least will lay eyes on it. Eddie may die soon after laying eyes on the Tower, but I believe that he will at least live long enough to see it. And I do believe that those two will make it that far due to the valiant efforts and sacrifice of Patrick from Insomnia.
    Slightly off-track here: Susan Delgado's father's name was also Pat. What significance this fact has, if any, I don't know. Just thought it was interesting.
    I have no idea if Susannah's child is Eddie's or the demon's. I was thinking that it was the demon's, and that she would die either in childbirth or in another way that was connected to her demonspawn. But now I have another theory.
    Remember, Roland's group is now in what appears to be the same world of The Stand. Either the same exact world, or one very similar to it. Captain Trips may still be floating around in the air. If you recall from The Stand, just because the mother was immune to the superflu didn't mean the baby was immune. One of Roland's party may succumb to the superflu, or maybe the baby will be Eddie's and contract the superflu. Or maybe Susannah will die of it before the baby is even before.
    I do also like the idea about Roland's group confronting vampires somewhere in their travels. King did mention something about Father Callohan. I don't recall if he was truly turned into a vampire at the end of 'Salem's Lot or if he was just damned by drinking their blood, but, either way, he may play a pivotal role. If he is just damned but is not a vampire, he may try to redeem himself by fighting the vampires this way around. If he is a full-fledged vampire, he may still try to redeem himself by helping Roland's group, like Jenna in Little Sisters of Eluria.
    I am really looking forward to the confrontation with Flagg, and also wonder if Dennis and Thomas will come to have some sort of a role in the upcoming battles. And what's this about the Crimson King? Everytime I hear or read that name, I think of King Crimson's recording, In the Court of the Crimson King. The force behind the group King Crimson is Robert Fripp. Maybe, at the top of the Tower, Roland will confront none other than Robert Fripp.
    All joking aside, there's one thing that has bugged me since reading The Little Sisters of Eluria. Roland promised John(?) to see his family if he ever stops by Delain. But yet, in an earlier book, Roland remembers a time in his home realm of Gilead where a man named Flagg visited, and not too much later, Dennis and Thomas came after him. From Delain, presumably. I would surmise that Flagg was heading towards the Dark Tower, since Flagg meets up with Roland when Roland is well on his way to the Tower. I know that Roland is still supposed to be trying to find the trail of the man in black in Little Sisters, but wouldn't going to Delain be backtracking, taking him back through Gilead?
Scratch Speegle writes:
Hate to break it to ya, friends and neighbors, but Oy is toast. Nothing is more dooming than a grapefruit-pink precognition of a Bumbler-ka-bob. I also hold with the theory that every single novel king has written can at the very least be inadvertently be tracked back to the dark tower series in one way or another. Have you ever wondered how it is that such supernatural evils such as Leland Gaunt and The Recent Sara Tidwell (Bag of Bones) were released upon the world? I have read every single Stephen King novel to date (which speaks either insanity on my part or intense loyalty, you be the judge) and in my humble half crazed opinion, I think all of these bad ol' beasties were loosed upon the world by such evil minions of the tower as your friend and mine, Randall Flagg. True, all of these have been very different from one another but I do believe that they all come from the same level of the Tower.
    Also, in my humble opinion, as opposed to the individual who says that there is no real omniscient super good guy in all of King's books, I must tender to disagree. i seem to think there is "another" out there who gives Bill Denborough and Peter and Alan and Roland and Thad and Danny and even little David Carver the Power to Combat evil. God? Who knows? But there seems to be someone who lives Outside and every once in a while says "Hey, whoa, time to give the good guys a chance for a while." And then forks out some really neat goodies like Precognative flashes or Richie Tozier's voices or whatever. And I think that He or She or...It (heh) Lives at the top of the Tower. But something ain't quite right. Too much Yin and not enough Yang. Whatever. Maybe roland can right it. I hope so...but kind of not.
Clay writes:
I have read the other theories posted on this sight and i must say that i think we are getting a little ahead of ourselves. Despite how things look in the first four installments in the series it is a veritable impossibility to guess what is to come. however, here is what i think is going to happen. how am i qualified to venture a idea on possible outcomes? how indeed!!! First of all, susannah is doomed, not because of the possibility of having rosemary's baby but because of all the members of rolands group she is the only one so far who has not been sent a vision of the tower: Jake's rose, eddie's dreams, and roland's palaver with walter. Whatever higher power that is urging roland on does not deem her necessary to complete the quest. About vampires, not going to happen in this series. Stephen king obviously liked the idea from reading the theories in this site and used that as inspiration for the sisters of whatever story, but come on, don't you people think that would be a trite and contrived enemy for roland. why not send lex luther and the Joker against him too. I agree that roland is the only one capable of righting whatever ails the dark tower. here is the lineup of good versus evil in order of rank.Crimson King, Beast, flagg, any pick of human enemies manipulated by the first three versus The green man, mother abigail, roland, rolands ka-tet,and then some other people possibly from other novels. Oy will die. whoever wrote about there being more than one tower is confused. that statements defeats the entire point of these books. if the tower is one of many what's the point. is it just me or in the first book doesn't walter refer to marten as an inferior i.e. "this vision would have driven him mad or something like that", but in the forewards, afterwards, and sidewards of the other books even king himself makes it clear that marten was more powerful than walter. in the start of book 4 they go through a thinny into another world, why weren't they eaten by it like the one in eyebolt canyon, did all those men go to another world or were they killed, it sure seems like they were killed so this whole series i believe is just a dream from one of the characters on Dallas. what part will i play in this series? none. in the first book rolands father is named roland and dies from a knife wound the day he gets back to find out about rolands defeat of cort, but in book 4 he doesn't die that day obviously, so i am convinced that stephen king wrote none of these books. it was in fact Ben Jonson.
OdysseyPF writes:
Everybody loves Roland, but the painful truth is that he will certainly die before completing his quest. In some ways he is the archetypal hero, but remember that he has also commited countless atrocities along the way. These are his own words. Because of this, he will not be allowed to reach his goal. Jake will also die, and it is very likely that Roland's final act, the one that shuts the Tower against him, will be his second sacrifice of Jake Chambers. Roland has killed his friends in the past, and he will do it again. This is the only way he can draw closer to the Tower, yet the weight of his crimes will eventually be balanced by the price of Roland's life. His mission is one of destruction in the name of a greater good, and can only end with his death.
Anthony writes:
I believe Roland will die but he will do a Jake, meaning the rest of the ka-tet will move on to another world and meet up with him again or if he does did for good the child of Susannah and Eddie will be named Roland and in the end only the new Roland will reach the Dark Tower. He will still be a boy therefore he could defeat It/Beast and fix whatever is wrong with the Dark Tower......but who knows, only time will tell.
J.T. writes:
Hi. I'm J.T., and I love your page, particuarly the Dark Tower theories. I have a few ideas of my own, which kind of fit in with some of the others already posted. Eddie has never seen a vision in which he enters the tower, only standing in front of the tower in the field of roses. I believe Eddie dies attempting to enter the Tower. Susanna and Oy will have died long before this, from this, that, or the other thing. Eddie will kill the "child" that Susan died giving birth to. Roland and Jake enter the Tower alone, and Roland dies setting things right. I love the idea of the spirits of those Roland has betrayed showing up, and I believe they will. Can Roland shun the spirit of Susan? Shoot down Alain and Cuthbert again? His mother? Hmm. I look forward to the showdown with Flagg, and by the vision sent to Roland by the man in black, it should happen very soon. I don't think "It" will be the creator of all glamor, the Beast, but we shall see. I don't know how it will turn out, I just hope King has the balls to kill a popular character (like Susan or Eddie) if the story demands it. Good day!
Becky writes:
Hi...I haven't gotten nearly as in depth as some of those who have posted theories here, and that's not really what I choose to discuss. If and when he finishes this story, (more than likely when, but I've tossed around the idea that King won't finish it) I think we can expect that it will be the last we will ever hear from Stephen King. If the DT encompasses all of his novels, when it is finished, he will have outdone himself, and it will be a fitting end, leeting all of his readers know what has to become to all of the worlds that we know of.
    I don't think King knows when he is going to finish the DT series. Several theories said that he was going to wait until after his death to publish the final installment. That may or may not be true, but I don't think even King himself knows yet. However it goes out, it's going to go out with a bang; King's last bang.!
Noogieaa1 writes:
first i would like to thank all of the people who wrote theories they have made me think hard about all of kings work. it is obvious that all kings books are connected he said it himself if not from random proof in his other books than from the proof that is all over the dark tower series. for instance rolands katet comes across the superflu from the stand in DT4. king is a great writer and the dark tower is his world. he may never finish it (knock on wood) but it is obvious that well come across heros from other king books will they join roland on his quest? who knows. but roland will live to reach the tower, no doubt this is his quest and may all the heros who join him at the dark tower stand and be true..!
Slaycroft writes:
I believe that adventures will go on...we'll see a battle with It...maybe a couple of aliens from the tommyknockers...Who knows...Leland Gaunt...Gatlin from Children of the Corn...possbilities are endless...but I wager a book where they just jump from book to book ala Quantum Leap But I think the Beast will be waiting for the Ka-tet at the tower...and Roland will run from it...sacrificing the rest of them to it.. While the Beast is killing them...he will gain entrance to the Dark Tower.....!
LucasBuckX writes:
Ok...I think that the funniest thing of all time...Nobody but Oy reaches the tower! But Oy makes it to the tower and stands true! Just a funny thought...More Douglas Adams then King...but Come on I also expect for Roland to use a gun to Kill Randal Flagg...a showdown in the wild west...and Roland Wins... I think Susannah's baby will be Eddie's...I don't know if demons and humans genetic codes could even match... We will see Pennywise! And I feel that the rose on the street wasn't the Dark Tower...but where all the nexus' do meet...and the portal to take them there... Oh I also believe that the short story the mist...the mist was a thinny... food for thought eh ?.....!.....!
Amnon writes:
According to Roland's vision in DT4, while looking in the piece of Maerlyn's Rainbow, which is Rhea's crystal ball, The turtle shows him the Dark Tower. Roland sees that the tower is surrounded by a "Field of blood", but later he tells Susannah, Eddie and Jake that "It wasn't blood but roses".
    Shortly before Jake was killed by walter he saw the rose in a vacant lot, And king says that the rose "is in terrible danger",(After word,dt4); I think that the roses that surround the dark tower represent the dead people from kings' worlds.
    That means that, every time that people die in kings worlds, "their" rose is added to Roland's "field of blood" which surround the dark tower.
    If my hypothesis is true, then in the next book someone from Roland's group will surely die, Sooner than I and maybe others think.
racapri writes:
Sure do enjoy reading the different theories posed by all my fellow Dark Tower fans. I have to say, though, that I would feel a bit let down if Roland's ka-tet makes it to the to the top of the tower only to find Stephen himself cranking out the last few pages of book 7. I'm sure whatever it is they find there, it will be a surprise and far from satisfying as it will mark the close to the best epic since the LOTR. My own thoughts: I agree that Susannah will be written out of the story. Either she will die giving birth to a demon (which seems likely; this event would surely harden Eddie and complete his transition to that of a grim gunslinger) or she could quite possibly have Eddie's child and stay behind at some point to raise their baby. Possibly the Earth of our time when the group next comes across the rose in the vacant lot. I think Eddie will be lost at some point too, but closer to the end of the story. Remember, Patrick Danville saves the lives of only two men, and I'm putting my money on Roland and an older Jake. I think the series will end as it began with the two that set off in the first book, finally reaching the tower in the last. As a matter of fact I think it will be Jake who stands triumphant in the end. The green man in Insomnia is surely some newer incarnation of the Turtle (he died at the end of It, right?). Turtles=green. I'm not so sure I believe that the gunslinger's world is the post-apocolyptic version of our own anymore. Not just for the fact that the events in Insomnia happen after the events of the Stand, but also because in the third book Shardik was said to have been created before the events of the plague. If they are speeking of the plague in the Stand, this cannot be. I'm sure this could be expalined of course. It would indeed be interesting, for instance, if Arthur of Eld, Roland's great ancestor, was in fact, a decendant of Frannie Goldsmith's baby. I also think that we will see more of Andrew Quick (and probably more back-story on David Quick) seeing as how Stephen said at the end of book 3 we would be reacquainted with him later on, and in book 4 he appeared for only a few pages. He's an interesting character I'd like to see more of. Well, I can't wait to see them get to Thunderclap so they can meet up with Father Callahan. Thanks for your great page....
JReyn writes:
I think that the minions of the Dark Tower will have their own hetchmen to assist, such as Trashcan Man and Henry Bowers. Not to mention other devious villians such as Jack Torance and Ed Deepnue? In my opinion I think the "Terrortories"  are in fact Rolands world before the fall of Gilead and the darkening of the tower. This little bit of simularities convinced me even further, there is a Morgan of Orris, and then there is Roland of Gilead. And if Rolands world and Morgans worlds are different, it must be just one "flip" over. Now that I think about it, I do think they are different worlds but very very close in simularities. Also in the Talisman Jack crosses the Badlands, a.k.a. Mid-Worlds Wastelands
    If you read the Talisman you will remember Jacks final trip into the Black Hotel where he finally got in touch with the Talisman. Black Hotel may be the Dark Tower of that dimension and inside the tower in Rolands world there must be some sort of Talisman device that can set Rolands world right again. Or jake will in some way set the world right and erase everything that ever happened in every world, even our own. To virus, to vampires, werewolves, killer clowns, tommyknockers, you name it.
    I have to proof to what I will say but I know that some charactor will die, I cant justify who they will meet there fate because there is to many ways for them to die. Such as Sushannas possible demon child, another weak theory I hold is that Sushanna will in fact give birth to a child, half demon and half human. All the powers of a demon, no weakness's of a human, kind like the movie charactor "Blade."  He will age faster I believe but he will somehow greatly assist Roland when he faces a super natural villian of the tower, hence Tak or the Crimson King if they do infact turn up in the series.
    My theory is that if The Crimson King or Tak do show up, people like Ralph Roberts and Johny Marinville will show up and face there foes once again. Someone broght up the short story "The Mist" up and I came up with yet another theory. In the Wastelands when they are riding Blain they pass over the vast desert where deep in its trenches lie various beasts that represent a few monsters mentioned in the Mist. David and Ollie were talkin about the Arrowhead project and talked about the place ripping holes in other dimensions. Maybe the unfortunate people at the Super Market ripped a hole into the Wastelands.
    I think if IT is the beast than eating the children in Derry was to give itself it energy for the final confrontation at the Dark Tower with Roland and the Gunslingers. And/or to pre-occupy Itself until they finally arrive toward the Tower. I think that each charactor will have to confront a villain physically and mentally. Such as maybe dead spirits of each charactors past. Like Rolands own mother that he killed and Eddie's dead brother. They will each have to kill them and go through extreme emotional struggles as well as physical ones...maybe Oy will end up fighting Cujo!
    And now another interesting point. In the Gunslinger while Roland began to cross the desert and he slept the night at the dwellers house who had the bird Zoltan, the bird kepting on making the noise "Tak" which refers to the evil force in Desperation. I have strong suspicians that the crow that was near Roland that day was infact Randal Flagg observing him. He was a raven in the Stand so what would stop him from being one in this world.
    And Pennywise indeed did not die after his defeat in his chambers after the encounter with Bill Denbrough and his friends. I say this because in the following book Tommyknockers Jim Gardner thinks he see's a clown in the sewer pipes. It might be me but I only know one clown that lives in Maine. And at the end of "IT," Pennywise makes a statement I cant quite remember but IT claims something like he cannot die because he is the eternal evil and was there around almost since the beginning of time.
    I still don't understand why King is deciding to put Father Callahan in Thunderclap, he was in his second book ever made yet he returns all these years later to help Roland in his struggle. And if he does join Roland will he turn into a vampire just like he was thrown back from the door of the the church when he grasped the door knob. I can understand how Ralph Roberts fits in though, with his expiriences the Crimson King and the little bald doctors.
    I have heard a few suggestions stating that only Jake will ever be able to kill the Beast/IT because IT has particular weak points only children can affect. Please correct me if im wrong, but doesn't IT control who he should appear to and not? Hence why Jim Gardner saw him in Tommyknockers, or did he see him because he himself is an author with a good imagination?
    I have pumbled my mine constantly thinking about this one subject. If the Beast is in fact IT and the Crimson King who is Tak? And if the The Beast is all these devious forces why didnt IT display such power as the Crimson King and Tak while facing off with the Losers Club? I believe that IT and the Crimson King are infact the same entity, but the creature Tak is another. If there is a evil force in Derry Maine, what stops other evil forces from being in India, Belgium, Madagascar, etc.
    This hypothesised occurance of my ideas proves why there might be a seperate different force called Tak living in Desperation, Nevada (my state). And if they are different beings from unbound evil are they aware of each other? And if they are, are they rivals or ally's? One evil force might have the intention of wiping out the other force in order to gain success and become the ultimate evil. And if this is true, would Tak assist Roland in his fight with The Beast and then try to destroy him? To many possible ways in a Stephen King Novel. If this theory is pure insanity to other people reading this scripute i cant apologize no matter how much i rival your own theory, its my opinion that i chose to state.
    Father Callahan is now in Thunderclap and i have an interesting theory why he is there. Ben Mears and Mike Petrie did you know what at the end of 'Salems Lot ( I dont want to ruin the book for those who have not read it ) diminishing the remaining vampires that were there. Im saying that Randal Flagg or some other minion of the Dark Tower caused Father Callanhan to be there to put a stop to Roland. Why in the world would there be vampires in a place like Thunderclap? And if they are there, how did they get there? The way i see it is that Father Callahan will soon be damned by the vampire curse and start to re-populate the vampire population in Thunderclap. So in otherwords he will be the head hancho of vampires....welcome to 'Clap Lot
    If Mr. Ralph Roberts does indeed make a appearance in The Dark Tower will he have his same abilities he had in Insomnia? The power to see energy. If he does would he dare tell Roland what is auora looks like, would it be one black and gritty while cloaked with death? Or will that aoura belong to one of his crew members? It's very well possible that he will see Athropos ( i cant precisely remember his name) stalking roland with a rusty razor.
    There are to many possibilities of what the story may bring us, will it be a happy ending or a sad one? Will Roland be the only left at the Tower or will he not even reach it at all? But one of the biggest questions I would like to knows is, if Roland survives and reaches the tower, what will he do afterward. He has spent his entire life insearch of this Tower, what will he do when his lifes work is finished but he is not dead?
qtr-nevermore writes:
These are my thoughts on what will happen in the last 2-3 DT novels.
    Jake most likely will be the only member of the Ka-tet to enter the Tower.
  1. Eddie, Susanah, and Oy will die before reaching the Tower.
  2. Roland will face all the ghosts of his past when he reaches the Tower.
  3. The boy from Insomnia will play a major role in the quest for the Tower.
  4. Roland will defeat Flagg.
    One notion I like, but don't personally believe, is that Stephan King is at the top of the Tower. If this is the case then the crumbling of the Tower could be caused by the aging of King. Furthermore if the Tower incompasses all of King's worlds then when King eventually dies wouldn't all those worlds cease to exist? So it is at least feasible that the Tower will not be fixed because King's death is unavoidable.
Chris writes (This is a spoiler read at your own risk!):
The Dark Tower is obviously the centerpoint of the whole 'Stephen King' universe. With every new book that King writes, the similarities and the links to the Dark Tower become stronger. Kings newest tale "The Storm of the Century" is no different. If you have not yet seen the T.V. movie you may want to stop reading at this point.
    The similarities begin with Michaels son Ralphie. Ralphie has an identifying mark on his nose that his father calls a 'Fairy Saddle'. In 'Insomnia' the child that Ralph rescues has a similar mark on his nose. The child in 'Insomnia' plays a key role in the 'Dark Tower', in the future he is suppose to rescue two important people that have links to the 'DT series'. It is also ironic that the childs name in 'The Storm of the Century' is the same as the hero of Insomnia, 'Ralph'! Coincedences? This is not the first time that King has played the name game he also does it in 'The Regulators' and 'Desolation', which work together to show the parallells in the Stephen King universe.
    How do these similarities play into the action of the 'DT Series'? King has created a universe with many different dimensions or locations. It is obvious that all of the stories, while taking place in the same universe occur perhaps in different dimensions that are tied together through the Tower. As the Tower crumbles so do the worlds of Kings universe, this is why the quest to preserve the Tower is so important to Roland and his Ka-tet. If they are unsuccessful the world that King has created is doomed. In 'Insomnia' and the 'Dark Tower' books it is explained that the Tower is inhabited by the forces of chaos and order and that there are the different levels in the tower, the higher the level the more powerful, influental and manipulative the forces are. Humans are referred to as being short timers and are on the first level of the tower. There also beings like the 'short bald men in smocks' in Insomnia that are on a level above that of humans, these are the long timers. The highest level that we know of are the eternals or all timers that are beings such as Randal Flagg, a powerful entity on the side of chaos. (Andrea Leinog, of 'The Storm of the Century' is probably also on that level. Because of the lack of information about him that cannot be determined as of yet.)
    King is gathering the different forces together, chaos against order. In 'The Storm of the Century' the child Ralph is abducted by Andrea Leinog, another pawn in the game of chaos against order. What the ties between the stories mean I don't yet know, but something big is definitely brewing! King has definitely created a world of stories that are of epic proportions! In my opinion King will be celebrated in the future for his genius! For those of you who have stumbled onto this website and would like to know more about the world of King specifically relating to the Dark Tower series the important books to read are the Dark Tower series of course, Insomnia, The Stand, Eye of the Dragon and It. Desolation and The regulators are also good books to read to show the parallells between the different locations. Please note that all of Kings books tie into the Dark Tower series and they are all excellent, the books that are recommended above in my personal opinion are just more focused into the series and the links between them and the series are clearer than in the other books.
Jamez writes:
Hello, my name is Jamez Burling and boy!... Do I have things to say... How come NOBODY has seemed to mention Rose Madder???... I mean, let's see... "I've seen bodies on fire and heads by the hundreds poked onto poles along the streets of the City of Lud...." the brown skinned woman in the red robe remarked in the world of Rose Madder... (the picture that Rosie bought) I mean, if that doesn't scream DARK TOWER I don't know what does... So, whatz the deal with the baby that Rosie rescues from the Temple of the Bull???... Well, I honestly think I'm way off on this (I ALWAYS try to guess what'll happen in an SK novel and ALWAYZ am I wrong!) but I think that the baby will replace the demon child that Susannah is supposed to have....... They'll have to do something with that baby and replace it with the other....... And that bringz me to another thing... Do we know if the child that Susannah will have is even going to be a "demon"... Yes she was raped by that invisible demon in DT3 but maybe the child is Eddie's..... Well... Who knows.... Now, I think that maybe I'M the only one in the world who got the OTHER connection between Rose Madder and the Dark Tower... In Daughters and Sisters (the battered women's shelter that Rosie goes to) there are two women there who are ummmm... Well... I don't know.... One is Cynthia Smith, who, after battling Norman in RM, does battle with the odd Tak in Desperation... And the other..... Consuelo Delgado!!!!!... Delgado!!!!!!!!!!!!... Now, if THAT doesn't scream DARK TOWER well.... Then I don't know what does..... Now.... I don't know... Flagg is weak... Oh yes, weak!!... The Stand... I mean..... At first he was strong, but near the end you could just see his powers rapidly decrease... Flagg WON'T kill Roland... The cute boy at the end of Insomnia is needed to save two men... One who needs to get to the Tower... Eddie is the one who needs to get there... I mean, if Roland dies, it would suck, but if Eddie dies, do you think that Susannah could go on???... Of course Roland would make her go on but she just wouldn't be able to put the effort into it... She would die quickly after that..... And then everything would be ruined... Roland's a king (as the boy stated) and somehow I belive that maybe once all this Tower business is over and done with who knows??? Maybe Roland will become the ruler of the world (that world anywayz)..... I'm only 15, I read the first 3 books when I was 13, I read the 4th a month or so after it came out..... Becuz of these books I am setting my goals on become a successful writer... But anywayz, my point is, I'm only 15, so maybe I don't know everything... I know a hell of a lot so listen up: Don't worry about it... The story will get written, just sit back and enjoy..... I mean, if you think too hard about these "theories" then you'll probably spoil the surprise for yourself... So, don't get too caught up in it.... Thank you, Jamezzzzz... PS: The person who said that never finishing the story may be the best thing.... What an idiot!... I've written too much already... I don't want to write and more so there......
Jamie writes:
I know how to explain all of the guardians, cross-overs, and "others" in the dark tower series. The theories expressed on this page are all mostly wrong. The guardians are not tied in with the IT, no one knows whether or not susannah will die, and who knows who will stand at the tower. No one knows. Not even Stephen King, because the information doesn't exist yet. How can anyone know what will happen at the end of the series. King himself said that he uses no outline for his stories, he just writes what comes to him as it comes. The only thing that is certain is that whatever resides at the highest level of the dark tower will be something that no one on this page predicted. That is just not King's style. He'll make the ending just what we think it won't be. Who knows, no one may make it to the dark tower. Have any of you thought of that yet? The tower may stand forever as one of one of the greatest literary mysteries of all time!......
Twisted Ivory writes:
After reading a solid 25 pages of theories, I have developed one of my own not yet mentioned. It's not nearly as in depth as some, but here it is. . . Stephen King is the head of a large conspiracy. The Dark Tower represents technology; the error that must be fixed was recognized long ago by King. Roland is an unwitting solution to the impending Y2K bug!!......
Dave writes:
Here are some of my Theories:
  1. I think that all four of the ka-tet (Jake Eddie Susannah Oy) will survive and reach the tower because in book to it was said that if one should die, then the doors should close. This should include any "doors" to the tower. I also think Roland will reach the tower because he is the centre piece to this puzzle.
  2. I don't think Susannah will have a demon child because it was not said whether she missed a period after she made love to Eddie. Time is also wierd in Roland's when, so it actually could have affected her periods.
  3. I think that the impurity which Jake said was affecting the rose (in bok three) is Stephen King's blindness affecting his writing ability. This blindness could symbolize the "DARK" Tower.
  4. I think that only Stephen King will have all the answers, even if he claims otherwise in the arguements and afterwords in his books. I thinks Mr. King has done better than he realizes, and he could never do better :)
!......
Samuel writes:
A few stray thoughts:
  1. I disagree with those who think the Ka-tett will meet dead characters around or inside the tower. I haven't read all of Stephen King's books yet, but it seems like the two that give the clearest glimpse of the experience of death in his universe are "Insomnia" and "Bag Of Bones". In BOB it seems like the spirits of the dead are pulled somewhere else after death, unless they have major unfinished business in the material world, and even then it takes a great act of will (or outside assistance) to remain on earth. The corredors that Noonan used to return from the turn of the century are perhaps the same passage ways that the ghosts of the crying child and pain racked wife traveled down when he heard their vanishing cries. Jo's spirit seemed to know how to help her husband navigate through them. There were many branches that he wisely did not explore. In "Insomnia" the long timers don't know what happains to short timers after they die. Wouldn't you think they would know if dead short timers were hanging around outside the tower or in its lower levels? "Insomnia" may give us our clearest understanding of the Dark Tower to date, and there is no mention of it being populated by human spirits. On the contrary, the two "order" long timers did not seem to know of even a single dead person remaining in their universe.
  2. Has anyone else remarked on the similarity between the creature in the thinney at eyebolt canyon and the one in the short story "The Raft"? Both are liquid beings that appear beautiful and multi colored. Both are capable of hypnotizing their victim, and both strip flesh from their victim's bones. My thought after reading the story of Eyebolt Canyon was that the puddles were something that came through the thinney, and not part of the thinney itself. If so, other thinneys might be safer to pass through, if they don't lead to quite so robust an ecosystem.
  3. The theory that "The Fog" was an opening into the wasteland outside of Lud is interesting. My question, though, is where did the fog itself come from? I don't think it was especially foggy in the wastelands.
  4. All of Stephen King's books seems tied to the Dark Tower. After the great battle between random and order is over, who do you suppose is going to come forward and claim that they were responsible for the "Chattering Teeth". Maybe there is a third power exists, that of sillyness? Maybe in the end, as someone else suggested, only 'oy will live to enter the Dark Tower. Then Sillyness will have the final laugh.
BigDum0xx writes:
Just a few thoughts from a long time King fan. On the issue of Susannah's pregnancy, I think there might not be a child inside her, but a demon growing that will change her into something else, perhaps possesing her. This would cause either Roland or Eddie to have to kill her, and be a more fitting end for one of their ka-tet.
    On the subject of King publishing the grand finale' after his own death, I seriously doubt it. While this would be a great statement, it would make it AWFULLY hard to cash the checks. I also doubt very much that he will stop writing after this, what good is a writer that doesn't write?
    He may change things a bit, like after Needful Things he stopped writing about Derry, mainly because it's gone, hehehe. I hope to see more books from Roland's world, maybe dealing with his childhood, earlier problems with the tower, or stories of his father and Cort's adventures.
    How about Cujo as the Beast? And shouldn't Christine show up somewhere chauferring Carrie and the little girl from Firestarter around? I don't think ALL books can be linked here, but certainly a lot of them. I also don't think you have to read all of the books to get the point of this series.
peter writes:
The Dark Tower will never be relieved to us the readers because it is the one great fear. If not fear than the mixture of love, hate, fear, awe and wonder. The tower is the essences of Roland and all of mid-world. How could we ever come close to knowing, It's like questioning God.
zazoj writes:
I love the Dark Tower Series and I have some of my own theories about how it will end. After reading "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," by Robert Browning, which this series is somewhat based on, I decided that if King ends the DT series the same as the poem--then Roland will reach the Tower alone. I think this poem is what will happen right before the end. I think everyone should die somehow or another and Roland continue his quest--and right after his ka-tet is said and done with, then he will meet that hoary cripple with malicious eye, and the story will be the poem from there on out. Therefore if I read the poem correctly in less than 2 days he will come to the Dark Tower after turning off the safe road, which I presume to be the beam, and when he gets to the Dark Tower, he will see all of his lost adventurers and companions--Susan, Cuthbert, Cort, his mother, etc. and he will have found the slug-horn (which I do not think will even have to be a horn as we think of horns) along the way and he will blow it. In the poem it says that he sees all his friends for the last time--therefore I think he will save the Dark Tower by his life force alone somehow. Like when he uses the horn his own energy will fix the problems within the Tower and when the Tower is fixed--he will be dead. I think that is a possible ending at least. It is not too happy or too sad so I think the ending will be something like this. It seems so Stephen King-ish to me. I think Roland will certainly reach the Tower however it ends. I also think that the possible demon child will be the end of Susannah and therefore Eddie (because he would die without her I think--which is part of the reason why I think Roland's life energy or whatever you want to call it will end the Tower's corruption--any man who can suffer all the things Roland has and still keep getting up everyday and still remembers their goals will have a major life force or whatever just from their determination if nothing else) I think Jake will be lost shortly thereafter as well and we already have a prediction as to what will happen to Oy. I would also like to say I hope it is a long time before the end of this series--and when it is done I hope there will be a movie-or not-because if there is a movie it must follow the book almost exactly or it will be no good. Also sometimes a movie can totally ruin a story..
Reslayn writes:
I've read all of the Dark Tower books and am very anxiously awaiting the fifth installment. However, now that I've read all the theories on this page and know about the thousands of connections there are between this and King's other books, I now see that I have a lot of reading ahead of me. Maybe when I've finished all those books I might have a more informed theory but based on what I already know, this is my current idea as to what is happening and what will unfold.
    I liked the idea that Stephen King himself awaits at the top of the tower but I think that is unlikely. First of all, the last I heard, King isn't dying from old age and he seems healthy enough to write the last two books. Second of all, how would a character in a book fight the writer when the writer could simply write him out of existence? But who knows? The ideas presented in DT seem a lot like those in the game Mist or Riven, which suggests that whenever a person creates a world in his/her imagination, i.e., a writer, that world becomes real in the multiverse. This is also a popular idea in modern physics. What makes this book so great is the fact that it delves into all the known possibilities of existence. Roland isn't trying to save the world but all the worlds. If you'll recall, the man in black told Roland about this after showing him that the entire universe he lived in was contained in a single blade of grass. And when Jake looked into the rose he saw thousands of suns- a microcosm. I think the field of roses around the tower is in fact all the universes and the Tower is the metaphorical center of the multiverse where all the words meet. It makes sense that it would be located in Mid-World. I think the Tower is what holds the universes together and the fact that it's falling apart is causing the other worlds to tear apart as well although it isn't as apparent in Jake, Eddie or Susan's world as in Roland's. This is probably due to the fact that Roland's world is closer to the Tower.
    As for how it will turn out, I think Roland and company will reach the tower. But I agree with most of the theories on this page that Oy will probably not make it. I doubt seriously that IT ranks higher than Randal Flagg. C'mon! He's and idiot and he was killed by kids! IT will probably occupy Roland's Ka-tet for about a minute. Jake will kick his ass and they'll move on. Flagg will be a little tougher, possibly the main villain. I think that Mearlin will team up with them along the way and together they may have the power to defeat them. They may not have an A-bomb but who knows
    This, in my opinion, is the greatest fantasy/sci-fi novel ever written and I can't wait to see how it ends...
Betelou writes:
I think maybe we are over analyzing things a bit. Every novel Stephen King ever wrote is tied in to another one, but it is not because of any minute planning but simply because Stephen King has his own world spinning inside his head just like the rest of us, true his is more defined and vivid than yours or mine may be, but the important thing is that what goes on inside us is more real to us than any outside perceived reality ,and if you think about it those things are always connected in some way. We leave bits and pieces of our hearts like forensic evidence every time we express ourselves. Stephen King is not a best selling writer because of his genre, but because to each of his characters he gives real life, each person in his stories starts out just being normal and getting through life the best they can. He uses the horrific elements in his novels to strip away that normalcy and bring the valiant essence, which lies dormant in all of us until we are called on by crisis to achieve. Which brings us to my prediction about the final chapter of the dark tower saga, the quest in one way or the other will succeed, but the victory will be bittersweet for it will not be without sacrifice and evil will not be permanently vanquished only a battle won, for evil is necessary. Without it there would be no measure for goodness and we would never know the best of ourselves. That is what he has always been trying to say....
Patrick writes:
My theory is that Roland, the last gunslinger will obvoiusly die. All through the novels hes facing odds which turn against him then favor him on his quest for the Dark Tower. Then the odds miraculously turn to his mercy. This is the writer that brought us the desrtuction of half of the United States (The Stand) and a that seems welcoming on the inside but is truly devoted to destroiying a town slowly (Needful Things) surely Stephen King is not afraid to kill of one of his main charachters. In the Drawing of the Three, Dark Tower 2, he (Stephen King ) states that Roland is clearly dying and might not make it to the Tower. My opinion is not against the series of The Dark Tower but predicting what the future coyuld bring. Who knows, maybe The Gunslinger will make it to his destination with one or two casualties and many injuries, but he could die and , with the great powers of Stephen King, might be brought to life by , who knows maybe Randall Flagg? Its true that anything could happen like The Dark Tower one to three it could be action all the way to the last book and the last book, which I predict will have up to one- thousand pages, might be a complete romance like Wizard and Glass. After all, weren't Susannah and Eddie pretty close at the end of Wizard and Glass?
    As a completely different approach to the last Dark Tower novel, which will not be soon I hope, Roland might live to the very end and Roland Flagg might have been completely destroyed in the , say, sixth or fifth novel. If anyone important dies in the adventure to the Dark Tower, Like Oy or Jake or Susannah, ( cannot be Eddie who dies because he was pulled into the world strangely depicting ours after his formal body was destroyed in our world , and my idea won't work) and Roland could do what happened with Jake in The Wastelands, though it will be much harder with no help as it was with Jake. In other words, their life would completely be confusing, I could take it being pulled into a world with Slow Mutants (Dark Tower One) and the Lobsrosities,(The Drawing of the Three) once, but the creature that tried to block Jakes way when he was pulled through with an amazing reunion with Roland, would surely be tough to handle. So, back to my idea on Roland making it to his destination of The Dark Tower. Roland of Gilead will become king of the Dark Tower and the last book could be what happened after, like a sequel to a sequel. Who knows, maybe a new seiries will erupt and Stephen King will start another Dark Tower series. Roland will rule with the newly inducted Susannah, Jake, Oy, and Jake. If Roland can be tough enough Randall Flagg may have to quit as a world dominating magician and become a kitchen dominating slave. But there comes a new story of rebellion in Rolands domain. Sounds like the Eyes of the Dragon, Randall Flagg kills the king, who happens to be named Roland, and frames Rolans oldest son. Maybe The Eyes of the Dragon took place after The Dark Tower was completed. I can see Roland, the last gunslinger married with children.
    As you can see there are many different conclusions you can draw from this miraculous and compellingly written series. Nobody can tell the future exept for Stephen King, The king of all writers.....
Guillaume writes:
All these theories seem very interesting...
    i think King will finally not conclude this DT story. Even if he'll have enough time to do it, i think he'll prefer to let all the readers imagine a possible end of it. The dreams we have all our life long will purpose a different end for everyone
    But Roland will certainly approach the tower very closely, maybe die or just stop his quest in front of it... I also imagine lots of new connections with other books. Indeed, we can find lots of similarities, with, in example,the talisman : different worlds, linked to each others...
    Let's have pleasure in dreaming while reading such a novel
        Diem......
Ben writes:
A lot of these theories I found interesting, a lot of you sure saw things I never did, but some of you I think miss-interpreted a lot. I have not read everyone of King's books, but I don't think everyone of them is centered around The Dark Tower. King's books are based upon Browning's poem and he couldn't have had the idea for these books before he started writing to somewhat base every single one on them. I think that there are quite a few of his books not having anything to do with the Tower, just great stories King wrote. It now seems that his recent books are pulling things from the Tower but I wouldn't go as far as reading every King book to look for links. King is human and I know he makes mistakes, some things said in earlier books may have been changed because King forgot he displayed them that way. We can't assume anything other than King made a mistake. With the idea of Susannah bearing a human child and naming it Roland, I would have to add that Browning's poem title is Childe Roland, saying maybe that Roland is a child when he reaches the Tower. Or maybe he was just speaking metaphoricaly meaning Childe in another way, not age. Also for any of you who have stopped to read the poem might notice in the second-to-last stanza it talks about all of Rolands friends gathered around the Tower crying his name after he has stabbed a beast (correct me if I'm wrong on any of this but Browning's writing is somewhat strange because of the speech of his particular time). So if King chooses to follow the poem we may see all the people Roland sacrificed. Whether or not all of the ka-tet reaches the Tower (I'm not sure Oy will reach the Tower, I think he play's some big roles but a tarot card wasn't drawn with a small billy-bumbler exclaiming "Oy!" on it) is questionable, I just hope none of you hard-core theory writers become somewhat dissapointed by the ending because you've come to believe in your own theory being correct. King is the writer of these books, no one else. I also hope he doesn't check this page out and become somewhat influenced by others ideas. I'm hoping the ending is as unique and as incredible as his previous books.......
Chuck writes:
A little personal theory of mine goes something like this... Stephen King was an avid reader of the fine author H. P. Lovecraft as a childe so perhapse it goes in this way. Flagg/Randall Flagg/Richard Farrin is described as "The Dark Man" this goes along with a character in Lovecrafts work named Nyarlathotep or "The Dark Man or The Black Man". Nyarlathotep has many a being that works for him, one of them named, The Tick-Tock Man, strangely enough one of Flagg's workers was named The Tick-Tock Man. Also Nyarlathotep is a servent on the Azathoth, the "Blind Idoit King" or a "Seething Nuclear Chaos" and is pictured as red or Crimson and is located at the canter of reality. Could this be relating to the "Crimson King"? I can't tell you.
Xupa writes:
I, as I am sure a lot of people have done, have read all of the four DTs at least twice. You always catch stuff that you missed the first two times. For one thing, when King refers to the 'second most agonizing decision in Roland's life as being when he has to kill Jake under the mountains, a lot of people wonder about the first most agonizing decision. Well, it's not a shrouded mystery anymore. It's when Roland chooses the tower over the life of Susan. He states that he could have had a life, a family, had he decided to save Susan's life, but instead he chose the tower. That seems like a pretty tough one there. Also, Roland has a good chance of dying with the Tower just over the horizon: "life, but not for you..." as read by Walter. The boy fom Insomnia very well might save Jake and Eddie's life from Flagg, victorious in battle with Roland. I doubt it, but there is a chance. There is a good chance that Suzannah will die in labor with the child of either Eddie or the demon (we still don't know who's it is). All in all, it may be Eddie and Jake (let's not forget Oy) who reach the tower and breach it's walls. Still, Roland is a king too, he just doesn't know it; and I personally think that there is no chance that King will kill this epic character unless he is really going by the book. I'm just stating a few different facets that I have pondered over the years.
    I'm almost sure that Cuthbert will be strangled to death, Alain will be shot down by both Roland and Cuthbert, and this Jamie de Curry character... who knows? Who knows what is gonna happen with Sheemie either? Shadowy places along the plot line. But the first two assumtions I am almost positive about. Roland himself stated that Alain fell under the smoking guns of him and 'Bert while the poem written by Browning states that cuthbert is strangled or choked to death. There are hundreds of different possibilities for this, but the new ka-tet meeting up with dead characters is, strictly speaking, ridiculous.
Goldfish writes:
First off, congrats to Jamez who seemed to have the only theory which included Rose Madder. The world inside Rose Madder's is Roland's world, of that I'm sure. And let's not forget the most obvious connection which is in the title itself. Rose Madder is the name on the back of the painting. We all know what Roses represent to Roland.
    I've read all the theories on this page as well as all of King's books. I don't have any theories on how the Dark Tower will end, if it ever does, but I do want to mention a few things.
  1. The brown skinned woman in Rose Madder, is it possible that this is Susannah, sick and dying from what the Demon has done to her or from Captain Tripps, unable to continue on the quest? Maybe the baby is Eddie's, but the Ka-Tet had to abandon her and the child when she became too sick to go on.
  2. In all the books that are related to the Dark Tower, there is a feeling of unfinished business at the end. Such is thre case in Salem's Lot, where we never find out what becomes of Father Calahan. In It, who knows if the beast has been defeated for good, remember, it was the second time they defeated It. In Insomnia, we know that the child will save two men's lives, but whose? And how will he cross over into Roland's world? By death? I don't think so because the whole point was to save his life. In The Stand, there is the last page where Flagg is talking to what apear to be Cave-men of sorts. In EOTD, Flagg vanishes, only to be pursued by Thomas and Dennis. And so on and so forth. I'm sure that all these loose ends will be tied up as the story of the Tower unravels.
    As I said before, I have no real theories as to how the story will end, if it does. I think King will surprise us all as he often does.
JReyn writes:
I will not really state a fully organized theory for I think that there one to many ambiguous endings. Ill will just state what I think must be told as of now. I have heard varioius doubts about the setting in "The Eyes of the Dragon" not being the same as the one in the Dark Tower Series. I myself, beleive they are the same. The most obvious reasons are because of the character Flagg. Though this evidence is not substantiate because they do not mention his first name, I still think it is the very same villian. Second of all, Rhea of the Coo's is mentions early in the book as being an old wifes tale. And just incase your memory doesnt serve you right, Rhea is the witch in the DT4. These are my postulations about these common lands. Also, near the end when Flagg is defeated (I dare not give details for I might spoil the tale for others) Peter or Thomas refer to the magician as IT. I dont think Flagg is IT, just a loyal servant to it.
    Now, I have brought the topic upon IT, who many have said are The Crimson King and the Beast. I myself beleive this. For those of you who own Insomnia can turn to page 600 and read the last paragraph. For those of you who don't own it I will copy it now:
"Yes, of course he did...but the real Kingfish had never been on Amos 'n' Anday, and it hadn't really been a kingfish at all. The real Kingfish had been a queenfish, and it had lived in the Barrens."
Most of this paragraph is meaningless besides the sentence where it states the Crimson King had lived in the Barrens. Im presuming that after the deafeat of IT, it fled the Barrens. Even though the losers club defeated IT, it is still alive. I dont recall that clearly for I read the book years ago but I vaguely remember IT stating that it can not die because it is the eternal evil. If this is so how will Roland or whoever faces the Beast defeat it?
Mr. Awkward writes:
Ok when I was reading Wizards and Glass I was wondering if they came down with a bad case of the captain trips
    I mean look at it like this...They were sneezing (First sign) Rolands forehead steamed when water was poured on it (Fever) And didnt Jake have a sore throat...I may have forgotten but I believe that's what happened A