Stephen King's Utica jokes aren't new. He's been name-dropping the city for 30 years

The city of Utica does not ever seem to be far from Stephen King's mind.

The author, whose work has spanned the horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy genres, has frequently alluded to or named the city in his books. But earlier this month, Utica made an appearance in King's tweets, drawing the ire of many and prompting a somewhat tongue-in-cheek apology a few days later.

King used the city as part of his Twitter commentary during the lengthy election for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. On Friday, Jan. 6, King tweeted, “the Speakership is like that old joke: First prize is a week in Utica. Second prize is TWO weeks in Utica.”

The post immediately upset many in the Utica area, including elected leaders and Utica residents. It drew over 700,000 views and 431 replies.

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. referenced one of King's novels and extended an offer for the author to visit the region.

"Utica is far from 'The Dead Zone' these days Mr. King. Come and see how #OneidaCounty has grown," Picente tweeted.

The city of Utica's official Twitter account took the King reference in stride and responded with a one-word answer: "Mid."

King tweeted a response on Tuesday, Jan. 10: “I sincerely apologize to all the people from Utica I offended. I guess I should have said Cleveland? or Salt Lake City?"

Recent remarks aside, King has often chosen to bring up Utica when the opportunity has presented itself.

Stephen King has made a habit out of mentioning Utica

Stephen King has referenced Utica several times in his long and illustrious career, often as the hometown of several of his characters.

Though King lives in Maine, his daughter, Naomi King, previously served as minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Utica from 2005-2007.

When asked where he gets his ideas for stories, King often jokes his come from the Central New York city. In a sit-down conversation with author John Grisham in 2016, King posed the same question to him, adding how infuriating it is to hear so often. “I used to tell people I get them in Utica,” King prefaced. “There’s a little used idea shop.”

The author’s apparent fascination with the city stretches back decades.

In his 1987 science fiction novel “The Tommyknockers,” he positions the Central New York city as the punchline of a joke main character Jim “Gard” Gardener makes, about a place that isn’t anywhere anyone would want to go: “Like winning an all-expenses-paid trip to Utica, huh?”

Protagonist Bobbi Anderson is also a Utica native, and King makes several references to the city throughout her storyline.

In Utica, Bobbi grew up on the fictional Leighton Street, a place “she’d needed to escape.” Utica is the city she later thanks for its fluoridated water, ensuring none of her teeth have fallen out and it’s also the place, given a few more years living there, where Bobbi says she “would have been as mad as a hatter.”

King did not respond to requests for comment on his interest in Utica, but name-dropping the city seems to have become a time-honored tradition. After 30 years, perhaps it's one Uticans have gotten used to.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Stephen King's Utica jokes aren't new: Other times he's mentioned city