Yes, he totally was. I'm not sure he'd read it though--he might have just heard about it. The conflation of disgust and horror is why I don't read Stephen King anymore. His disgust for women's biological functions (i.e., the entire inspiration for Carrie) is just not something I want to deal with.

What I really want in a scary book is the relentless pursuit of a supernatural killer. Not the bloody deaths--the pursuit. Something like The Ring or It Follows. Or even Jaws, really. It's possible to be incredibly scary without seeing anything disgusting. I wanted the skillful ratcheting up of tension. But that's not what I got. If you know something that does that, though, let me know.