Pretentious film geek post incoming.
I would think you would be turned off by King's material for the same reasons that I am, given your interest in history. King's stories all seem centered around external forces: aliens, monsters, vampires, etc. I need a story grounded in humanity: human choices and human consequences. A good analogy, I think, is Game of Thrones. I loved the first four seasons of GOT because, although there were fantasy elements, it was a strong allegory for human history and exploration of the human condition. It had strong internal logic: decisions of morality and strategy between players, with character flaws dooming certain participants in the rat race. As the story progressed past the books, it basically became a fantasy action series, and the most recent season was, I thought, just fucking stupid.
The best films that involve the supernatural are, imo, those that draw upon religion (like The Exorcist), since the formation of religion was, in itself, kind of allegorical for human history, reflective of the human condition, and paramount to the development of human civilization.