The animated video adaptation of the horror master's short story N. has been viewed more than a 1 million times on the Internet and on mobile phones since its release in July, according to publisher Simon & Schuster.

King has well demonstrated his digital appeal before; his e-novella Riding the Bullet was a sensation in the early years of the Internet.

'Stephen King has once again lured his readers to try a new way to enjoy a story,' Ms Susan Moldow, executive vice president and publisher of Scribner, a division of Simon & Schuster, said on Thursday in a statement.

The print version of King's short story, in which a psychiatrist fatally absorbs the madness of one of his patients, is included in the collection Just After Sunset, released this week. -- AP