Nice list (though, I've never seen Silver Bullet & it's been forever since I've seen Christine).

I think King's pulling another I-don't-write-on-Christmas-or-my-birthday white lie when he claims he wishes he'd thought of Darabont's ending to The Mist. His was far more interesting, thoughtful &, unfortunately, literary. Hard to put on film. Darabont's also degrades the entire genre of the film from cosmic horror to just another BEM romp. Nope.

Carrie is a great choice for number one. It is quite a fine little film. My one issue is the scene where Carrie has been excused from PE & we see her in the library researching telekenesis. The way Sissy Spacek was filmed she seemed, at that moment, way, way too beautiful to be an outcast to the degree Carrie White was, whacko mom & menstruation faux pas notwithstanding. In that regard it made the remake with Angela Bettis a tiny bit less idiotic.

And The Shining ... yes, a classic that disappointed many fans of the novel on first screening. My understanding is that Kubrick tried to shoot the topiary sequences, but couldn't get the animals to seem natural & menacing enough. Also, why cast Nicholson (one of my all-time favorite actors) as Jack Torrance? Wouldn't one of his more tabula rasa go-to stars like Ryan O'Neal or Matthew Modine been, not a better choice, but more natural?

Finally, thanks for not including The Shawshank Redemption. That's another example of an ending— difficult to film, yes—betrayed. In the novella the suspense is will Red's alienation from free society lead him to commit some petty crime to return "home", while in the film it's will he get parole, for once he does we know what will happen.

In fact, I barely remember, but I included Shawshank & The Mist in a piece of my own: Five Film Adaptations That Bungled the Endings.

Great piece...