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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 62 (from laksa178)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa062.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Shining-novel-by-King\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Shining-novel-by-King\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King","crawl_time":1775587207,"first_indexed_time":1493979908,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,britannica!www,\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King s443","src_root_hash":"5455945239613777662","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"The Shining | Book, Summary, Facts, Adaptations, & Sequel | Britannica","meta_descriptions":["The Shining is a gothic horror novel by Stephen King, first published in 1977. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation, the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Top Questions\nWho wrote the novel 'The Shining'?\nWhat is the basic plot of 'The Shining'?\nWho are the main characters in 'The Shining'?\nWhere does most of the story take place in 'The Shining'?\nWhat supernatural element plays a key role in 'The Shining'?\nHow does 'The Shining' explore the theme of isolation and its effects on the characters?\nThe Shining\n,  gothic\nhorror\nnovel\nby\nStephen King\n, first published in 1977. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film\nadaptation\n, the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. A sequel, titled\nDoctor Sleep\n, was published in 2013 and adapted into a film in 2019.\nSummary and characters\nThe Shining\nis set in\nColorado\nin the 1970s. It centers on the Torrance family: husband Jack, wife Wendy, and their five-year-old son, Danny. At the beginning of the novel, Jack is hired as the caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel for the winter offseason. He is informed by the hotel manager that the previous caretaker, Delbert Grady, killed his entire family inside the hotel. Specifically, Grady “murdered the little girls with a hatchet, his wife with a shotgun, and himself the same way.” As Jack later learns, the Overlook has a long and ghastly history. Over the years, it has housed illicit affairs, horrible murders, and mob-style executions; perhaps by consequence, its ownership has changed hands several times.\nJack is nonetheless determined to be the caretaker. In the past, Jack—an aspiring writer and former\nprep-school\nteacher—struggled with\nalcoholism\nand anger issues; once, he accidentally broke his son’s arm while trying to\ndiscipline\nhim. More recently, Jack assaulted a teenage student who let the air out of his tires. The incident cost Jack his teaching job and compelled his wife, Wendy, to strongly consider a divorce. Now Jack is a recovering alcoholic. His ties to his family are weak, and his play—a long-stalled work in progress—remains largely unfinished. Jack hopes that the seclusion of the Overlook will help him finish the play and reconnect with his wife and son.\nBritannica Quiz\nFamous Novels, First Lines Quiz\nOn the day of their arrival, the Torrances are given a tour of the Overlook by the hotel manager. They are introduced to Dick Hallorann, the hotel cook, who takes a special interest in Danny. Unlike his parents, Danny is remarkably perceptive and supernaturally gifted; he has\nextrasensory\nabilities that allow him to read minds, communicate\ntelepathically\n, and see past and possible future events. As he tells Hallorann, he is sometimes visited by a shadowy,\nethereal\nfigure whom he calls “Tony.” Hallorann explains that he has powers similar to Danny’s; he calls them “the shining.” Hallorann not only helps Danny understand his powers but also tells him, “If there is trouble…you give a call.” Hallorann then leaves for\nSt. Petersburg\n,\nFlorida\n, where he spends his winters. Shortly thereafter, the remaining staff and guests depart, leaving the Torrance family alone in the Overlook.\nThe longer the Torrances stay at the Overlook, the more haunting and powerful it becomes. While inside the hotel, Danny is plagued by disturbing visions and apparitions: “REDRUM” (“MURDER” spelled backward) appears in several\ncontexts\n, gruesome figures materialize in strange places, a fire hose chases him down a hallway, and so on. For a long time, Danny refuses to tell either parent about what he has seen. Still, Wendy perceives that something is wrong with Danny. She thinks about removing herself and her son from the hotel, leaving Jack to finish the job alone, but ultimately decides against it. Not long after, a heavy snowfall all but cuts the Torrances off from the outside world.\nDuring this time, the Overlook begins trying to possess Jack. It\nentices\nhim with historical records and a mysterious scrapbook documenting the exploits of its guests. Eventually, it convinces Jack to destroy his two-way\nCB radio\nand disable the hotel\nsnowmobile\n. The Overlook thereby eliminates the family’s only remaining links to the outside world. Although unaware of the hotel’s power over her husband, Wendy grows increasingly distrustful of Jack. After a corpse tries to strangle Danny in the infamous room 217 and Wendy and Jack see the resulting bruise on their son’s neck, Wendy accuses Jack of abusing Danny.\nOn the morning of December 2, Jack wanders into the hotel ballroom. To his surprise, he finds the bar stocked with liquor and tended by a bartender named Lloyd. While Lloyd pours Jack\nmartini\nafter martini, a ghostly party—a 1945\nmasquerade\nball—rages on in the ballroom. After several drinks, Jack is confronted by the\nghost\nof Delbert Grady, the caretaker who murdered his family. Grady urges Jack to “correct” his wife and son. In his drunken, enraged state, Jack agrees. That afternoon he attempts to strangle Wendy in the barroom. Wendy’s fingertips graze a glass bottle, which she uses to hit Jack over the head and escape his grip. Together, she and Danny drag Jack’s unconscious body to a walk-in pantry and lock him inside.\nGo beyond the basics with trusted, in-depth knowledge for professionals, students, and lifelong learners.\nSUBSCRIBE\nA few hours later, Grady confronts Jack in the pantry. After making him promise to kill Wendy and bring his son to “us,” presumably the evil spirits of the Overlook, Grady unlocks the pantry, releasing Jack. Again, Jack attacks Wendy, this time with one of the hotel’s roque mallets, savagely injuring her. Although she stabs him in the lower back with a kitchen knife, Jack’s attacks do not\ncease\n. Unable to walk, Wendy drags herself up the grand stairs and locks herself in her bathroom. Jack follows closely behind and, upon finding the bathroom door locked, attempts to break the door down with the mallet. When he thrusts his hand through the resulting hole in the door, Wendy slashes it with a razor blade.\nMeanwhile, Hallorann receives a psychic call for help from Danny. He rushes back to the Overlook, where he is attacked by its hedge animals, which, like the rest of the hotel, have come to life. Hallorann manages to make it inside the Overlook only to be gravely injured by Jack, who apparently overheard the approach of his snowmobile. With both Wendy and her would-be rescuer out of the way, Jack pursues Danny. Unbeknownst to Jack, Danny is wandering the hallways of the hotel, following Tony’s voice. Tony appears to Danny and tells him, “Danny…you’re in a place deep down in your own mind. The place where I am. I’m a part of you, Danny.” As it turns out, Tony is an older version of Danny; he comes to warn his younger self about forthcoming events. At last, Danny understands:\nA long and nightmarish masquerade party went on here, and had gone on for years. Little by little a force had\naccrued\n, as secret and silent as interest in a bank account. Force, presence, shape, they were all only words and none of them mattered. It wore many masks, but it was all one. Now, somewhere, it was coming for him. It was hiding behind Daddy’s face, it was imitating Daddy’s voice, it was wearing Daddy’s clothes.\nBefore disappearing, Tony prophesies that Danny “will remember what [his] father forgot.”\nAfter some searching, Jack corners Danny on the third floor. Danny observes the creature that his father has become. He reminds himself “it was not his daddy, not this Saturday Night Shock Show horror with its rolling eyes and hunched and hulking shoulders and blood-drenched shirt.” Despite Jack’s\nmenacing\nthreats, Danny stands his ground. He denounces Jack as a “mask”—a “false face” worn by the hotel. For a moment, Jack recovers control of his body, and he tells his son that he must run. The hotel then takes full control of Jack:\nIt bent over, exposing the knife handle in its back. Its hands closed around the mallet again, but instead of aiming at Danny, it reversed the handle, aiming the hard side of the roque mallet at its own face….Then the mallet began to rise and descend, destroying the last of\nJack Torrance’s\nimage.\nSuddenly, Danny remembers what his father forgot: the Overlook’s old, unstable boiler has not been checked for days. He announces his discovery to the hotel-creature, causing it to panic and take off for the basement. In its absence, Danny finds Wendy and Hallorann, and, together, they flee the hotel. Seconds after they make their exit, the boiler explodes. The hotel-creature is instantly killed, and the Overlook gradually\nsuccumbs\nto the fire. The surviving party—Hallorann, Wendy, and Danny—ride away on a snowmobile.\nA short\nepilogue\n(set in the summer) follows. Hallorann has taken a job in\nMaine\n, where Wendy is recovering from her injuries and Danny fishes. Although he misses Jack, Danny accepts Hallorann as a father figure. Hallorann, in turn, assures Danny that he and his mother will be okay. Together with Wendy, Hallorann watches as Danny reels in a rainbow-colored fish.\nOrigins and background\nKing\nwas inspired to write\nThe Shining\nafter staying a night at the\nStanley Hotel in\nEstes Park\n, Colorado, a resort town nestled in the\nRocky Mountains\n. In late September 1974, King and his wife, Tabitha, checked into what King described as a “grand old hotel.” Notably, the Kings stayed in room 217. King\nrecalled\nthat he and his wife were the only guests staying at the hotel; it was set to close for the winter season the next day. While exploring its hallways, King thought to himself:\n[The hotel] seemed the perfect—maybe the archetypical—setting for a\nghost story\n. That night I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire-hose. I\nwoke\nup with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed.\nThat night, King solidified the “bones of the book.” According to King,\nThe Shining\nhas strong autobiographical undertones. Two of the novel’s central themes—namely, the dangers of alcoholism and the disintegration of the family—are extracts of the author’s personal fears. King struggled with alcoholism in the early stages of his career. In the late 1970s King\nclaimed\nthat he was “drinking, like, a case of beer a night.” He worried that he would lose control of his addiction and in some way hurt his family.\nThe Shining\nvoices this concern. Although he did not realize it at the time, King later claimed that “I had written\nThe Shining\n…about myself.” King\ndescribed\nthe act of writing the novel as “a kind of self-\npsychoanalysis\n.” It was also a form of\ncatharsis\n: writing the novel helped King keep his more violent urges at bay.\nKing’s drinking problem worsened in the 1980s. He wrote novels that, he later explained, he barely remembered writing, including\nCujo\n(1981) and\nThe Tommyknockers\n(1987). In the late 1980s, Tabitha King staged an intervention, and King became sober.\nSymbolism and epigraphs\nKing is not known for subtlety in his novels. Yet three of the most important details in\nThe Shining\nappear before the novel even begins. These details—found in the novel’s three epigraphs—are essential for understanding King’s literary\naspirations\n. The first epigraph is perhaps the most important. It is an excerpt taken from\nEdgar Allan Poe\n’s tale “\nThe Masque of the Red Death\n” (1842). In the tale, a fictional\nmedieval\nprince gives a masquerade ball at his castle. At midnight, the Red Death—a plague that causes swift, agonizing death—reveals itself among the revelers and kills them all. The story concludes with the words that King quotes: “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.”\nAllusions\nto “The Masque of the Red Death” abound in\nThe Shining\n. Certain images and motifs from the tale are replicated. The color red, for example, figures prominently in both stories. An essential ingredient in Poe’s tale, “Blood” is the Red Death’s “Avatar and its seal.” The Red Death leaves “scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim.” When the Red Death appears at the ball, it appears in a “vesture…dabbled in blood.” Likewise, the castle room in which the Red Death ultimately kills the revelers is lined with “blood-colored panes.” Blood plays a similarly important role in\nThe Shining\n. Danny is haunted by images of blood and brain matter throughout the novel. In the climax, Jack sees “red liquid…spraying up like an obscene rain shower, striking the glass sides of the [clock] dome and running,” and he thinks to himself, “\nclockwork can’t bleed clockwork can’t bleed\n.” The color red appears in other contexts. When Jack is extremely angry, he sees “red.” Some readers have even suggested that “REDRUM,” which is phonetically similar to “red room,” is an\nallusion\nto Poe’s tale.\nThere are other similarities between the stories. King’s description of the Overlook Hotel in\nThe Shining\nparallels Poe’s description of the castle in “The Masque of the Red Death.” Like Poe, King focuses on the grandiosity and remoteness of his chosen setting. King’s setting—again, like Poe’s—hosts a masquerade ball governed by a clock with seemingly supernatural powers. Here it is worth noting that masks (and, especially, unmasking) play a particularly important role in both stories. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” all the characters (including the Red Death) hide behind literal masks. In\nThe Shining\n, the main characters conceal their true identities behind metaphorical masks. In the climax of the novel, the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel, led by former hotel owner Horace Derwent, chant “\nUnmask! Unmask!\n” at Jack. After the final cry of “\nUNMASK!\n,” King\nparaphrases\nthe end of Poe’s tale. He announces “\n…the Red Death held sway over all!\n”\nThe second epigraph is shorter than the first but no less revealing. It states that “the sleep of reason breeds monsters.” This is the English translation of the Spanish phrase used in an 18th-century etching by\nFrancisco Goya\n, a Spanish artist known for his grotesque imagery. The etching is part of a series of etchings collectively titled\nLos caprichos\n(published 1799; “Caprices,” or “Follies”). In this particular\netching\n, an artist sleeps at his desk while various flying animals—including\nowls\nand\nbats\n—lurk behind him. In sleep, the artist’s rational faculties give way to the irrational “monsters” of his imagination. Goya’s etching plays on the boundaries between waking and sleeping, rationality and irrationality, the natural and the supernatural. King’s novel plays on the same boundaries. Inside the Overlook Hotel, all three Torrances struggle to distinguish between reality and\nillusion\n. In the novel, King crafts his own version of Goya’s expression. Both Jack and Danny observe that “this inhuman place makes human monsters.”\nThe third and final epigraph is a\nproverb\n: “It’ll shine when it shines,” traditionally used to refer to the\nweather\n. However, it takes on a different meaning in the\ncontext\nof the novel, where “shining” denotes a psychic ability. The epigraph’s casting of “shining” as an uncontrollable natural phenomenon also seems to suggest the reality and validity of second sight—of premonitions and visions and\nprophecies\n. Perhaps, it argues, if Jack and Wendy had trusted Danny’s “shine,” the tragedy of the Overlook could have been avoided.\nStanley Kubrick\n’s 1980\nfilm\n, starring\nJack Nicholson\nas Jack Torrance and\nShelley Duvall\nas Wendy, is the most famous adaptation of King’s novel. It was one of Kubrick’s many film\nadaptations\nof books. Kubrick’s vision for the film differed significantly from King’s; in fact, Kubrick rejected the\nscreenplay\nKing wrote for the film, opting instead to write his own screenplay with the help of American novelist\nDiane Johnson\n. Most of the film was shot on a specially constructed set in\nHertfordshire\n,\nEngland\n, in 1978. Kubrick reportedly exposed 1.3 million feet (396,240 meters) of film while shooting. (A typical shooting ratio—comparing the total hours of footage shot with the eventual running time of the film—is 5:1 or 10:1. Kubrick’s shooting ratio was more than 100:1.) The completed film premiered on May 23, 1980.\nKing was vocal about his dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s adaptation. Although he admitted that he had “admired Kubrick for a long time and had great expectations for the project,” King was “deeply disappointed in the end result.” The author accused the filmmaker of mischaracterizing Jack and Wendy Torrance, thereby dramatically changing the nature of their relationship (and their relationship to the audience). King took issue with Nicholson’s character’s lack of interiority. In King’s mind, “Jack Torrance, in the movie, seems crazy from the jump.”\nAs he told\nPlayboy\nmagazine\nin 1983, “If the guy is nuts to begin with, then the entire tragedy of his downfall is wasted.”\nKubrick also made important changes to Wendy’s character. He transformed the bold,\nresilient\nWendy of the novel into a timid, emotionally fragile character. King disliked the casting of Duvall as Wendy. In a\n2013 interview with the BBC\n, King said, “Shelley Duvall as Wendy is really one of the most\nmisogynistic\ncharacters ever put on film. She’s basically just there to scream and be stupid, and that’s not the woman that I wrote about.” King once colorfully\ndescribed\nDuvall’s character as a “screaming dishrag.” For her part, Duvall once said that she was “in and out of ill health” while filming “because the stress of the role was so great.” She also called her character in\nThe Shining\n“the most difficult role I’ve ever had to play.”\nThere are other differences between Kubrick’s adaptation and the novel. In the film, Kubrick replaces King’s hedge animals with a hedge maze. At the end of the film, Jack and the Overlook freeze; in the novel, the hotel burns in a\nfiery\nexplosion. King’s dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s\nThe Shining\neventually resulted in a 1997\ntelevision miniseries. The TV adaptation, starring Steven Weber as Jack Torrance and Rebecca De Mornay as Wendy Torrance, used King’s original screenplay.\nDespite King’s disapproval and mixed critical reviews, Kubrick’s\nThe Shining\nperformed relatively well at the box office, grossing about $44 million in the\nUnited States\n. Today, Kubrick’s film is considered a cinematic classic. It is widely regarded as one of the scariest and most influential\nhorror movies\never made, alongside\nAlfred Hitchcock\n’s\nPsycho\n(1960),\nWilliam Friedkin\n’s\nThe Exorcist\n(1973), and\nWes Craven\n’s\nA Nightmare on Elm Street\n(1984). A\ndocumentary\nabout Kubrick’s adaptation appeared in theaters in the United States in 2013. Titled\nRoom 237\n, it\ndelved\ninto the symbolism and possible interpretations of Kubrick’s film.\nSequel\nIn September 2013, King published\nDoctor Sleep\n, a follow-up to\nThe Shining\nset more than 30 years after the events of the first novel. In the follow-up, 40-year-old Danny (now “Dan”) Torrance moves to the small town of Frazier,\nNew Hampshire\n. His mother, Wendy, is dead. She died of\nlung cancer\n—possibly caused by ingesting smoke from the explosion of the Overlook—in 1999. Like his father did, Dan struggles with alcoholism and anger issues. In an effort to curb his drinking, Dan attends a few\nAlcoholics Anonymous\n(AA) meetings. After several days of sobriety, he begins to regain his psychic abilities, which had long been\nsuppressed\nby his drinking. He finds work as a night porter at a local\nhospice\n, where he uses his “shine” to comfort dying patients. He becomes known to them as “Doctor Sleep.” Dan’s peaceful existence in Frazier is disrupted by a psychic call for help from Abra Stone, a telepathic preteen with abilities that outshine his own.\nThe much-anticipated sequel reportedly sold 134,000 copies in its first week. The novel received generally positive reviews.\nThe New York Times\ncalled it\n“a very good specimen of the quintessential King blend.”\nA reviewer at\nThe Guardian\ncomplimented\nKing’s “brilliantly simulated normality.” In the author’s note for\nDoctor Sleep\n, King noted, “The man who wrote\nDoctor Sleep\nis very different from the well-meaning alcoholic who wrote\nThe Shining\n, but both remain interested in the same thing: telling a kickass story.”","attrs_markdown":"[![Encyclopedia Britannica](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel\/eb-logo\/MendelNewThistleLogo.png)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/)\n\n[![Encyclopedia Britannica](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel\/eb-logo\/MendelNewThistleLogo.png)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/)\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav&utm_campaign=blue-evergreen)\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav-mobile&utm_campaign=blue-evergreen)\n\nLogin\n\nhttps:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm\\_source=premium\\&utm\\_medium=nav-login-box\\&utm\\_campaign=evergreen\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=hamburger-menu&utm_campaign=blue)\n\n[Ask the Chatbot](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/chatbot)\n\n[Games & Quizzes](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/browse) [History & Society](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/History-Society) [Science & Tech](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Science-Tech) [Biographies](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Biographies) [Animals & Nature](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Animals-Nature) [Geography & Travel](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Geography-Travel) [Arts & Culture](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Arts-Culture) [ProCon](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/procon) [Money](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money) [Videos](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/videos)\n\n[The Shining](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King)\n\n- [Introduction](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King)\n- [Summary and characters](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King#ref343964)\n- [Origins and background](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King#ref343965)\n- [Symbolism and epigraphs](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King#ref343966)\n- [Adaptations](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King#ref343967)\n- [Sequel](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King#ref343968)\n\n[References & Edit History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King\/additional-info)  [Related Topics](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/facts\/The-Shining-novel-by-King)\n\n[Images](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King\/images-videos)\n\n[![The Shining](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/19\/177219-004-44FD6E40\/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/19\/177219-050-907DD0E7\/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg)  [![Stephen King](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/20\/217720-004-7A3BF846\/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/20\/217720-050-857D712B\/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg)\n\nQuizzes\n\n[![Portrait of young thinking bearded man student with stack of books on the table before bookshelves in the library](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/48\/228448-131-2A77AABD\/A-student-looking-quizzical.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/famous-literary-first-lines-quiz)\n\n[Famous Novels, First Lines Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/famous-literary-first-lines-quiz)\n\n[![Young woman with glasses reading a book, student](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/63\/238563-131-4099EC55\/Young-woman-with-glasses-reading-a-book-student.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/famous-novels-last-lines-quiz)\n\n[Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/famous-novels-last-lines-quiz)\n\n[![For a quiz about books\/film adaptations. 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Hompepage blog 2009, History and Society, school education students](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/04\/129404-131-7B0C654F\/Textbook-chalkboard-apple-History-and-Society-Fruit-2009.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/the-literary-world-famous-novels)\n\n[The Literary World (Famous Novels)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/the-literary-world-famous-novels)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)\n\nAsk Anything\n\nQuick Summary\n\n[Literature](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Literature)    [Novels & Short Stories](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Novels-Short-Stories)\n\nCITE\n\nShare\n\nFeedback\n\nExternal Websites\n\n[![The Shining](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/19\/177219-050-907DD0E7\/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/19\/177219-050-907DD0E7\/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg)\n\n[*The Shining*](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/19\/177219-050-907DD0E7\/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg) Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall in *The Shining* (1980), directed by Stanley Kubrick. The film was adapted from Stephen King's novel, published in 1977.\n\n(more)\n\n# The Shining\nnovel by King\n\nHomework Help\n\nWritten by\n\n[Haley Bracken Haley Bracken was an Editorial Intern at Encyclopaedia Britannica in 2018 and 2019. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2019 with bachelor’s degrees in English language and literature and political...](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/contributor\/Haley-Bracken\/12414652)\n\nHaley Bracken\n\nFact-checked by\n\n[Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica\/4419)\n\nBritannica Editors\n\n[History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King\/additional-info#history)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5) Britannica AI\n\nAsk Anything\n\nQuick Summary\n\nTable of Contents\n\nTable of Contents\n\nQuick Summary\n\nAsk Anything\n\nTop Questions\n\n- Who wrote the novel 'The Shining'?\n- What is the basic plot of 'The Shining'?\n- Who are the main characters in 'The Shining'?\n- Where does most of the story take place in 'The Shining'?\n- What supernatural element plays a key role in 'The Shining'?\n- How does 'The Shining' explore the theme of isolation and its effects on the characters?\n\nShow more\n\nShow less\n\n**The Shining**, gothic [horror](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/horror-story) [novel](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/novel) by [Stephen King](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King), first published in 1977. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film [adaptation](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/adaptation), the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. A sequel, titled *Doctor Sleep*, was published in 2013 and adapted into a film in 2019.\n\n## Summary and characters\n*The Shining* is set in [Colorado](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Colorado-state) in the 1970s. It centers on the Torrance family: husband Jack, wife Wendy, and their five-year-old son, Danny. At the beginning of the novel, Jack is hired as the caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel for the winter offseason. He is informed by the hotel manager that the previous caretaker, Delbert Grady, killed his entire family inside the hotel. Specifically, Grady “murdered the little girls with a hatchet, his wife with a shotgun, and himself the same way.” As Jack later learns, the Overlook has a long and ghastly history. Over the years, it has housed illicit affairs, horrible murders, and mob-style executions; perhaps by consequence, its ownership has changed hands several times.\n\nJack is nonetheless determined to be the caretaker. In the past, Jack—an aspiring writer and former [prep-school](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/preparatory-school) teacher—struggled with [alcoholism](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/alcoholism) and anger issues; once, he accidentally broke his son’s arm while trying to [discipline](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/discipline) him. More recently, Jack assaulted a teenage student who let the air out of his tires. The incident cost Jack his teaching job and compelled his wife, Wendy, to strongly consider a divorce. Now Jack is a recovering alcoholic. His ties to his family are weak, and his play—a long-stalled work in progress—remains largely unfinished. Jack hopes that the seclusion of the Overlook will help him finish the play and reconnect with his wife and son.\n\n[![Portrait of young thinking bearded man student with stack of books on the table before bookshelves in the library](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/48\/228448-131-2A77AABD\/A-student-looking-quizzical.jpg) Britannica Quiz Famous Novels, First Lines Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/famous-literary-first-lines-quiz)\n\nOn the day of their arrival, the Torrances are given a tour of the Overlook by the hotel manager. They are introduced to Dick Hallorann, the hotel cook, who takes a special interest in Danny. Unlike his parents, Danny is remarkably perceptive and supernaturally gifted; he has [extrasensory](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/extrasensory-perception) abilities that allow him to read minds, communicate [telepathically](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/telepathy), and see past and possible future events. As he tells Hallorann, he is sometimes visited by a shadowy, [ethereal](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/ethereal) figure whom he calls “Tony.” Hallorann explains that he has powers similar to Danny’s; he calls them “the shining.” Hallorann not only helps Danny understand his powers but also tells him, “If there is trouble…you give a call.” Hallorann then leaves for [St. Petersburg](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Saint-Petersburg-Florida), [Florida](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Florida), where he spends his winters. Shortly thereafter, the remaining staff and guests depart, leaving the Torrance family alone in the Overlook.\n\nThe longer the Torrances stay at the Overlook, the more haunting and powerful it becomes. While inside the hotel, Danny is plagued by disturbing visions and apparitions: “REDRUM” (“MURDER” spelled backward) appears in several [contexts](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/contexts), gruesome figures materialize in strange places, a fire hose chases him down a hallway, and so on. For a long time, Danny refuses to tell either parent about what he has seen. Still, Wendy perceives that something is wrong with Danny. She thinks about removing herself and her son from the hotel, leaving Jack to finish the job alone, but ultimately decides against it. Not long after, a heavy snowfall all but cuts the Torrances off from the outside world.\n\nDuring this time, the Overlook begins trying to possess Jack. It [entices](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/entices) him with historical records and a mysterious scrapbook documenting the exploits of its guests. Eventually, it convinces Jack to destroy his two-way [CB radio](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/citizens-band-radio) and disable the hotel [snowmobile](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/snowmobile). The Overlook thereby eliminates the family’s only remaining links to the outside world. Although unaware of the hotel’s power over her husband, Wendy grows increasingly distrustful of Jack. After a corpse tries to strangle Danny in the infamous room 217 and Wendy and Jack see the resulting bruise on their son’s neck, Wendy accuses Jack of abusing Danny.\n\nOn the morning of December 2, Jack wanders into the hotel ballroom. To his surprise, he finds the bar stocked with liquor and tended by a bartender named Lloyd. While Lloyd pours Jack [martini](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/martini) after martini, a ghostly party—a 1945 [masquerade](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/masquerade) ball—rages on in the ballroom. After several drinks, Jack is confronted by the [ghost](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/ghost-spirit) of Delbert Grady, the caretaker who murdered his family. Grady urges Jack to “correct” his wife and son. In his drunken, enraged state, Jack agrees. That afternoon he attempts to strangle Wendy in the barroom. Wendy’s fingertips graze a glass bottle, which she uses to hit Jack over the head and escape his grip. Together, she and Danny drag Jack’s unconscious body to a walk-in pantry and lock him inside.\n\nExplore Britannica Premium\\!\n\nGo beyond the basics with trusted, in-depth knowledge for professionals, students, and lifelong learners.\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=basics-2026)\n\n![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-left.webp)\n\n![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-right.webp)\n\n![Mobile](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-mobile.webp?w=400)\n\nA few hours later, Grady confronts Jack in the pantry. After making him promise to kill Wendy and bring his son to “us,” presumably the evil spirits of the Overlook, Grady unlocks the pantry, releasing Jack. Again, Jack attacks Wendy, this time with one of the hotel’s roque mallets, savagely injuring her. Although she stabs him in the lower back with a kitchen knife, Jack’s attacks do not [cease](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/cease). Unable to walk, Wendy drags herself up the grand stairs and locks herself in her bathroom. Jack follows closely behind and, upon finding the bathroom door locked, attempts to break the door down with the mallet. When he thrusts his hand through the resulting hole in the door, Wendy slashes it with a razor blade.\n\nMeanwhile, Hallorann receives a psychic call for help from Danny. He rushes back to the Overlook, where he is attacked by its hedge animals, which, like the rest of the hotel, have come to life. Hallorann manages to make it inside the Overlook only to be gravely injured by Jack, who apparently overheard the approach of his snowmobile. With both Wendy and her would-be rescuer out of the way, Jack pursues Danny. Unbeknownst to Jack, Danny is wandering the hallways of the hotel, following Tony’s voice. Tony appears to Danny and tells him, “Danny…you’re in a place deep down in your own mind. The place where I am. I’m a part of you, Danny.” As it turns out, Tony is an older version of Danny; he comes to warn his younger self about forthcoming events. At last, Danny understands:\n\n> A long and nightmarish masquerade party went on here, and had gone on for years. Little by little a force had [accrued](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/accrued), as secret and silent as interest in a bank account. Force, presence, shape, they were all only words and none of them mattered. It wore many masks, but it was all one. Now, somewhere, it was coming for him. It was hiding behind Daddy’s face, it was imitating Daddy’s voice, it was wearing Daddy’s clothes.\n\nBefore disappearing, Tony prophesies that Danny “will remember what \\[his\\] father forgot.”\n\nAfter some searching, Jack corners Danny on the third floor. Danny observes the creature that his father has become. He reminds himself “it was not his daddy, not this Saturday Night Shock Show horror with its rolling eyes and hunched and hulking shoulders and blood-drenched shirt.” Despite Jack’s [menacing](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/menacing) threats, Danny stands his ground. He denounces Jack as a “mask”—a “false face” worn by the hotel. For a moment, Jack recovers control of his body, and he tells his son that he must run. The hotel then takes full control of Jack:\n\n> It bent over, exposing the knife handle in its back. Its hands closed around the mallet again, but instead of aiming at Danny, it reversed the handle, aiming the hard side of the roque mallet at its own face….Then the mallet began to rise and descend, destroying the last of [Jack Torrance’s](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Jack-Torrance) image.\n\nSuddenly, Danny remembers what his father forgot: the Overlook’s old, unstable boiler has not been checked for days. He announces his discovery to the hotel-creature, causing it to panic and take off for the basement. In its absence, Danny finds Wendy and Hallorann, and, together, they flee the hotel. Seconds after they make their exit, the boiler explodes. The hotel-creature is instantly killed, and the Overlook gradually [succumbs](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/succumbs) to the fire. The surviving party—Hallorann, Wendy, and Danny—ride away on a snowmobile.\n\nA short [epilogue](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/epilogue) (set in the summer) follows. Hallorann has taken a job in [Maine](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Maine-state), where Wendy is recovering from her injuries and Danny fishes. Although he misses Jack, Danny accepts Hallorann as a father figure. Hallorann, in turn, assures Danny that he and his mother will be okay. Together with Wendy, Hallorann watches as Danny reels in a rainbow-colored fish.\n\n## Origins and background\n[![Stephen King](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/20\/217720-050-857D712B\/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg?w=300)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/20\/217720-050-857D712B\/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg)\n\n[Stephen King](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/20\/217720-050-857D712B\/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg)Stephen King, 2004.\n\n(more)\n\n[King](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King) was inspired to write *The Shining* after staying a night at the Stanley Hotel in [Estes Park](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Estes-Park), Colorado, a resort town nestled in the [Rocky Mountains](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Rocky-Mountains). In late September 1974, King and his wife, Tabitha, checked into what King described as a “grand old hotel.” Notably, the Kings stayed in room 217. King [recalled](https:\/\/stephenking.com\/works\/novel\/shining.html) that he and his wife were the only guests staying at the hotel; it was set to close for the winter season the next day. While exploring its hallways, King thought to himself:\n\n> \\[The hotel\\] seemed the perfect—maybe the archetypical—setting for a [ghost story](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/ghost-story). That night I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire-hose. I [woke](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/woke) up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed.\n\nThat night, King solidified the “bones of the book.” According to King, *The Shining* has strong autobiographical undertones. Two of the novel’s central themes—namely, the dangers of alcoholism and the disintegration of the family—are extracts of the author’s personal fears. King struggled with alcoholism in the early stages of his career. In the late 1970s King [claimed](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-features\/stephen-king-the-rolling-stone-interview-191529\/) that he was “drinking, like, a case of beer a night.” He worried that he would lose control of his addiction and in some way hurt his family. *The Shining* voices this concern. Although he did not realize it at the time, King later claimed that “I had written *The Shining*…about myself.” King [described](https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=yMbYYw_6200C&pg=PT73) the act of writing the novel as “a kind of self-[psychoanalysis](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/psychoanalysis).” It was also a form of [catharsis](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/catharsis-criticism): writing the novel helped King keep his more violent urges at bay.\n\nKing’s drinking problem worsened in the 1980s. He wrote novels that, he later explained, he barely remembered writing, including *Cujo* (1981) and *The Tommyknockers* (1987). In the late 1980s, Tabitha King staged an intervention, and King became sober.\n\n## Symbolism and epigraphs\nKing is not known for subtlety in his novels. Yet three of the most important details in *The Shining* appear before the novel even begins. These details—found in the novel’s three epigraphs—are essential for understanding King’s literary [aspirations](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/aspirations). The first epigraph is perhaps the most important. It is an excerpt taken from [Edgar Allan Poe](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Edgar-Allan-Poe)’s tale “[The Masque of the Red Death](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Masque-of-the-Red-Death)” (1842). In the tale, a fictional [medieval](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/medieval) prince gives a masquerade ball at his castle. At midnight, the Red Death—a plague that causes swift, agonizing death—reveals itself among the revelers and kills them all. The story concludes with the words that King quotes: “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.”\n\n[Allusions](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Allusions) to “The Masque of the Red Death” abound in *The Shining*. Certain images and motifs from the tale are replicated. The color red, for example, figures prominently in both stories. An essential ingredient in Poe’s tale, “Blood” is the Red Death’s “Avatar and its seal.” The Red Death leaves “scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim.” When the Red Death appears at the ball, it appears in a “vesture…dabbled in blood.” Likewise, the castle room in which the Red Death ultimately kills the revelers is lined with “blood-colored panes.” Blood plays a similarly important role in *The Shining*. Danny is haunted by images of blood and brain matter throughout the novel. In the climax, Jack sees “red liquid…spraying up like an obscene rain shower, striking the glass sides of the \\[clock\\] dome and running,” and he thinks to himself, “*clockwork can’t bleed clockwork can’t bleed*.” The color red appears in other contexts. When Jack is extremely angry, he sees “red.” Some readers have even suggested that “REDRUM,” which is phonetically similar to “red room,” is an [allusion](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/allusion) to Poe’s tale.\n\nThere are other similarities between the stories. King’s description of the Overlook Hotel in *The Shining* parallels Poe’s description of the castle in “The Masque of the Red Death.” Like Poe, King focuses on the grandiosity and remoteness of his chosen setting. King’s setting—again, like Poe’s—hosts a masquerade ball governed by a clock with seemingly supernatural powers. Here it is worth noting that masks (and, especially, unmasking) play a particularly important role in both stories. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” all the characters (including the Red Death) hide behind literal masks. In *The Shining*, the main characters conceal their true identities behind metaphorical masks. In the climax of the novel, the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel, led by former hotel owner Horace Derwent, chant “*Unmask! Unmask\\!*” at Jack. After the final cry of “*UNMASK\\!*,” King [paraphrases](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/paraphrases) the end of Poe’s tale. He announces “*…the Red Death held sway over all\\!*”\n\nThe second epigraph is shorter than the first but no less revealing. It states that “the sleep of reason breeds monsters.” This is the English translation of the Spanish phrase used in an 18th-century etching by [Francisco Goya](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Francisco-Goya), a Spanish artist known for his grotesque imagery. The etching is part of a series of etchings collectively titled *Los caprichos* (published 1799; “Caprices,” or “Follies”). In this particular [etching](https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/338473), an artist sleeps at his desk while various flying animals—including [owls](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/animal\/owl) and [bats](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/animal\/bat-mammal)—lurk behind him. In sleep, the artist’s rational faculties give way to the irrational “monsters” of his imagination. Goya’s etching plays on the boundaries between waking and sleeping, rationality and irrationality, the natural and the supernatural. King’s novel plays on the same boundaries. Inside the Overlook Hotel, all three Torrances struggle to distinguish between reality and [illusion](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/illusion). In the novel, King crafts his own version of Goya’s expression. Both Jack and Danny observe that “this inhuman place makes human monsters.”\n\nThe third and final epigraph is a [proverb](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/proverb): “It’ll shine when it shines,” traditionally used to refer to the [weather](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/weather). However, it takes on a different meaning in the [context](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/context) of the novel, where “shining” denotes a psychic ability. The epigraph’s casting of “shining” as an uncontrollable natural phenomenon also seems to suggest the reality and validity of second sight—of premonitions and visions and [prophecies](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/prophecy). Perhaps, it argues, if Jack and Wendy had trusted Danny’s “shine,” the tragedy of the Overlook could have been avoided.\n\n## Adaptations\n[Stanley Kubrick](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stanley-Kubrick)’s 1980 [film](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-film-by-Kubrick), starring [Jack Nicholson](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Jack-Nicholson) as Jack Torrance and [Shelley Duvall](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Shelley-Duvall) as Wendy, is the most famous adaptation of King’s novel. It was one of Kubrick’s many film [adaptations](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/adaptations) of books. Kubrick’s vision for the film differed significantly from King’s; in fact, Kubrick rejected the [screenplay](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/screenplay) King wrote for the film, opting instead to write his own screenplay with the help of American novelist [Diane Johnson](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Diane-Johnson). Most of the film was shot on a specially constructed set in [Hertfordshire](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Hertfordshire), [England](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/England), in 1978. Kubrick reportedly exposed 1.3 million feet (396,240 meters) of film while shooting. (A typical shooting ratio—comparing the total hours of footage shot with the eventual running time of the film—is 5:1 or 10:1. Kubrick’s shooting ratio was more than 100:1.) The completed film premiered on May 23, 1980.\n\nKing was vocal about his dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s adaptation. Although he admitted that he had “admired Kubrick for a long time and had great expectations for the project,” King was “deeply disappointed in the end result.” The author accused the filmmaker of mischaracterizing Jack and Wendy Torrance, thereby dramatically changing the nature of their relationship (and their relationship to the audience). King took issue with Nicholson’s character’s lack of interiority. In King’s mind, “Jack Torrance, in the movie, seems crazy from the jump.” [As he told *Playboy* magazine](https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=eWeWBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA465) in 1983, “If the guy is nuts to begin with, then the entire tragedy of his downfall is wasted.”\n\nKubrick also made important changes to Wendy’s character. He transformed the bold, [resilient](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/resilient) Wendy of the novel into a timid, emotionally fragile character. King disliked the casting of Duvall as Wendy. In a [2013 interview with the BBC](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/av\/entertainment-arts-24151957\/stephen-king-returns-to-the-shining-with-doctor-sleep), King said, “Shelley Duvall as Wendy is really one of the most [misogynistic](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/misogyny) characters ever put on film. She’s basically just there to scream and be stupid, and that’s not the woman that I wrote about.” King once colorfully [described](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-features\/stephen-king-the-rolling-stone-interview-191529\/) Duvall’s character as a “screaming dishrag.” For her part, Duvall once said that she was “in and out of ill health” while filming “because the stress of the role was so great.” She also called her character in *The Shining* “the most difficult role I’ve ever had to play.”\n\nThere are other differences between Kubrick’s adaptation and the novel. In the film, Kubrick replaces King’s hedge animals with a hedge maze. At the end of the film, Jack and the Overlook freeze; in the novel, the hotel burns in a [fiery](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/fiery) explosion. King’s dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s *The Shining* eventually resulted in a 1997 television miniseries. The TV adaptation, starring Steven Weber as Jack Torrance and Rebecca De Mornay as Wendy Torrance, used King’s original screenplay.\n\nDespite King’s disapproval and mixed critical reviews, Kubrick’s *The Shining* performed relatively well at the box office, grossing about \\$44 million in the [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States). Today, Kubrick’s film is considered a cinematic classic. It is widely regarded as one of the scariest and most influential [horror movies](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/horror-film) ever made, alongside [Alfred Hitchcock](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Alfred-Hitchcock)’s [*Psycho*](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Psycho-film-1960) (1960), [William Friedkin](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/William-Friedkin)’s [*The Exorcist*](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Exorcist-film-by-Friedkin) (1973), and [Wes Craven](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Wes-Craven)’s *A Nightmare on Elm Street* (1984). A [documentary](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/documentary-film) about Kubrick’s adaptation appeared in theaters in the United States in 2013. Titled *Room 237*, it [delved](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/delved) into the symbolism and possible interpretations of Kubrick’s film.\n\n## Sequel\nIn September 2013, King published *[Doctor Sleep](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Doctor-Sleep)*, a follow-up to *The Shining* set more than 30 years after the events of the first novel. In the follow-up, 40-year-old Danny (now “Dan”) Torrance moves to the small town of Frazier, [New Hampshire](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-Hampshire-state). His mother, Wendy, is dead. She died of [lung cancer](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/lung-cancer)—possibly caused by ingesting smoke from the explosion of the Overlook—in 1999. Like his father did, Dan struggles with alcoholism and anger issues. In an effort to curb his drinking, Dan attends a few [Alcoholics Anonymous](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Alcoholics-Anonymous) (AA) meetings. After several days of sobriety, he begins to regain his psychic abilities, which had long been [suppressed](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/suppressed) by his drinking. He finds work as a night porter at a local [hospice](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/hospice), where he uses his “shine” to comfort dying patients. He becomes known to them as “Doctor Sleep.” Dan’s peaceful existence in Frazier is disrupted by a psychic call for help from Abra Stone, a telepathic preteen with abilities that outshine his own.\n\nThe much-anticipated sequel reportedly sold 134,000 copies in its first week. The novel received generally positive reviews. [*The New York Times* called it](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/09\/22\/books\/review\/stephen-kings-shining-sequel-doctor-sleep.html) “a very good specimen of the quintessential King blend.” [A reviewer at *The Guardian* complimented](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2013\/sep\/25\/doctor-sleep-stephen-king-review) King’s “brilliantly simulated normality.” In the author’s note for *Doctor Sleep*, King noted, “The man who wrote *Doctor Sleep* is very different from the well-meaning alcoholic who wrote *The Shining*, but both remain interested in the same thing: telling a kickass story.”\n\n[Haley Bracken](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/contributor\/Haley-Bracken\/12414652)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)Britannica AI\n\n*chevron\\_right*\n\nThe Shining\n\n*close*\n\n[AI-generated answers](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.\n\n[Stephen King](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King)\n\n- [Introduction](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King)\n- [Early life](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King#ref376013)\n- [Breakthrough with *Carrie*](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King#ref376014)\n- [Other novels](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King#ref376015)\n- [Richard Bachman novels](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King#ref376016)\n- [Serial novels](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King#ref376017)\n- [Themes](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King#ref376018)\n- [Short fiction](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King#ref376019)\n- [Films and TV work](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King#ref376020)\n- [*On Writing* and nontraditional publishing](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King#ref376021)\n- [Personal life and honors](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King#ref376022)\n\n[References & Edit History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King\/additional-info)  [Quick Facts & Related Topics](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/facts\/Stephen-King)\n\n[Images](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King\/images-videos)\n\n[![The master of chills and suspense](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/20\/217720-004-7A3BF846\/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/20\/217720-050-857D712B\/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg)  [![Sissy Spacek in Carrie](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/21\/262121-004-BC2ED440\/Publicity-still-from-the-1976-film-Carrie-featuring-Sissy-Spacek-as-Carrie-White-Prom-scene-in-the-1976-film-Carrie.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/21\/262121-050-78016AA6\/Publicity-still-from-the-1976-film-Carrie-featuring-Sissy-Spacek-as-Carrie-White-Prom-scene-in-the-1976-film-Carrie.jpg)  [![Carrie](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/35\/90535-004-2A544674\/Piper-Laurie-Carrie-Sissy-Spacek-Brian-De.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/35\/90535-050-001490D6\/Piper-Laurie-Carrie-Sissy-Spacek-Brian-De.jpg)  [![The Shining](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/19\/177219-004-44FD6E40\/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/19\/177219-050-907DD0E7\/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg)  [![Pennywise in the film It](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/98\/196498-004-EFA0A9D9\/Pennywise-Bill-Skarsgard-film-adaptation-novel-Stephen.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/98\/196498-050-51868DCD\/Pennywise-Bill-Skarsgard-film-adaptation-novel-Stephen.jpg)  [![Stephen King](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/12\/115812-004-C46C68BC\/Stephen-King-2007.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/12\/115812-050-62D12DCE\/Stephen-King-2007.jpg)  [![Stephen King](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/69\/177869-004-A3AC6755\/Stephen-King-2004.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/69\/177869-050-0D2BE160\/Stephen-King-2004.jpg)\n\nAt a Glance\n\n[![default image](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/shared\/new-thistle.svg?v=3.178.5)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/summary\/Stephen-King)\n\n[Stephen (Edwin) King summary](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/summary\/Stephen-King)\n\nQuizzes\n\n[![A child wearing a sheet for a Halloween ghost costume. 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Rows of used books for sale on a table.](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/28\/176128-131-790DED09\/Books-Reading-Publishing-Literacy-Literature-Print-Rows.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/a-study-of-writers)\n\n[A Study of Writers](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/a-study-of-writers)\n\n[![Alien planet, fantasy world, water, mountains](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/25\/188525-131-660B453D\/Alien-planet-fantasy-world-mountains-water.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/fantasy-lands)\n\n[Fantasy Lands](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/fantasy-lands)\n\n[![Nobel prize-winning American author, Pearl S. Buck, at her home, Green Hills Farm, near Perkasie, Pennsylvania, 1962. (Pearl Buck)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/51\/218751-131-DA6446CB\/American-author-Pearl-S-Buck-1962.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/novels-and-novelists-quiz)\n\n[Novels and Novelists Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/novels-and-novelists-quiz)\n\nRelated Questions\n\n- [Where was science fiction invented?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/Where-was-science-fiction-invented)\n- [Where does science fiction get its name?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/Where-does-science-fiction-get-its-name)\n- [When did American literature begin?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/When-did-American-literature-begin)\n- [Who are some important authors of American literature?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/question\/Who-are-some-important-authors-of-American-literature)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)\n\nAsk Anything\n\nQuick Summary\n\n[Literature](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Literature)    [Novels & Short Stories](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Novels-Short-Stories)    [Novelists A-K](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Novelists-A-K)\n\nCITE\n\nShare\n\nFeedback\n\nExternal Websites\n\n[![The master of chills and suspense](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/20\/217720-050-857D712B\/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/20\/217720-050-857D712B\/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg)\n\n[The master of chills and suspense](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/20\/217720-050-857D712B\/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg) American author Stephen King, 2004.\n\n(more)\n\n# Stephen King\nAmerican novelist\n\nHomework Help\n\nAlso known as: Richard Bachmann, Stephen Edwin King\n\nWritten and fact-checked by\n\n[Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica\/4419)\n\nBritannica Editors\n\nLast updated\n\nMar. 21, 2026\n\n•[History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King\/additional-info#history)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5) Britannica AI\n\nAsk Anything\n\nQuick Summary\n\nTable of Contents\n\nTable of Contents\n\nQuick Summary\n\nAsk Anything\n\n## News •\n[Stephen King calls out Laura Loomer over crying baby post](https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/stephen-king-laura-loomer-crying-baby-11722603)\n\n• Mar. 23, 2026, 3:26 PM ET (Newsweek)\n\n...(Show more)\n\n[Sylvester Stallone, Gina Carano, Stephen King, More Remember Chuck Norris: “All American in Every Way”](https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/chuck-norris-dead-celeb-reactions-1236542463\/)  • Mar. 20, 2026, 1:42 PM ET (The Hollywood Reporter)\n\n[Stephen King book faces Utah school ban—this is his response](https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/entertainment\/stephen-king-book-faces-utah-school-ban-response-11689502)  • Mar. 17, 2026, 10:28 AM ET (Newsweek)\n\n[Stephen King attacks Trump over Iran: \"Screaming for impeachment\"](https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/stephen-king-attacks-trump-iran-screaming-for-impeachment-11687492)  • Mar. 17, 2026, 4:47 AM ET (Newsweek)\n\n[Using email from wrong Stephen King was 'insulting', partner says](https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-03-14\/sa-email-bungle-and-the-human-impact\/106452422)  • Mar. 13, 2026, 4:27 PM ET (ABC News (Australia))\n\nShow less\n\nTop Questions\n\n- Who is Stephen King?\n- What kinds of books is Stephen King famous for writing?\n- Which are some of Stephen King's most well-known novels?\n- What themes or topics does Stephen King often explore in his stories?\n- How have Stephen King's books influenced popular movies or television shows?\n- Why is Stephen King considered an important figure in modern literature?\n\nShow more\n\nShow less\n\n**Stephen King** (born September 21, 1947, [Portland](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Portland-Maine), Maine, U.S.) is an American novelist and short-story writer whose books are [credited](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/credited) with reviving the [genre](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/genre-literature) of [horror fiction](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/horror-story) in the late 20th century.\n\n## Early life\nKing is the second of two sons born to Donald and Nellie Ruth (née Pillsbury) King. His parents separated when he was very young. King and his elder brother, David, moved several times while growing up, living near their father’s family in [Fort Wayne](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Fort-Wayne), [Indiana](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Indiana-state), and in [Stratford](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Stratford-Connecticut), [Connecticut](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Connecticut), before their mother moved them back to [Maine](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Maine-state) when King was 11 years old. After graduating from [high school](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/high-school) in 1966, King attended the [University of Maine](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/University-of-Maine), where he wrote for the school newspaper. He graduated with a [bachelor’s degree](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/bachelors-degree) in English and a teaching certificate in 1970. The following year he married the writer Tabitha Spruce, whom he met in college. While writing [short stories](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/short-story), King earned a [meager](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/meager) income by teaching and working in an industrial laundry, among other jobs. He had sold his first story in 1967 to a [mystery](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/mystery-story) [fiction](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/fiction-literature) magazine, after which many of his stories were published in men’s magazines.\n\n## Breakthrough with *Carrie*\n[![Sissy Spacek in Carrie](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/21\/262121-050-78016AA6\/Publicity-still-from-the-1976-film-Carrie-featuring-Sissy-Spacek-as-Carrie-White-Prom-scene-in-the-1976-film-Carrie.jpg?w=300)1 of 2](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/21\/262121-050-78016AA6\/Publicity-still-from-the-1976-film-Carrie-featuring-Sissy-Spacek-as-Carrie-White-Prom-scene-in-the-1976-film-Carrie.jpg)\n\n[Sissy Spacek in *Carrie*](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/21\/262121-050-78016AA6\/Publicity-still-from-the-1976-film-Carrie-featuring-Sissy-Spacek-as-Carrie-White-Prom-scene-in-the-1976-film-Carrie.jpg)In 1976 Stephen King's breakthrough novel *Carrie* (1974) was adapted into a film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Sissy Spacek in the title role.\n\n(more)\n\n[![Carrie](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/35\/90535-050-001490D6\/Piper-Laurie-Carrie-Sissy-Spacek-Brian-De.jpg?w=300)2 of 2](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/35\/90535-050-001490D6\/Piper-Laurie-Carrie-Sissy-Spacek-Brian-De.jpg)\n\n[*Carrie*](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/35\/90535-050-001490D6\/Piper-Laurie-Carrie-Sissy-Spacek-Brian-De.jpg)Piper Laurie (holding a knife) and Sissy Spacek in *Carrie* (1976), Brian De Palma's film adaptation of Stephen King's 1974 novel.\n\n(more)\n\nHis first published [novel](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/novel), *Carrie* (1974), is about a tormented teenage girl gifted with [telekinetic](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/psychokinesis) powers. Its inspiration was sparked by King’s memories of his brief stint working as a janitor in a high school and from an article he had read in [*Life*](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Life-magazine) magazine that proposed that girls might be susceptible to having powers of telekinesis at the time of their [first menstruation](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/menstruation#ref75988). The novel’s protagonist, a misfit named Carrie White, was created as a composite of two girls whom King knew when he was growing up. After drafting three pages of the novel, King had second thoughts about his idea and threw the pages away. His wife, however, rescued the pages from the trash, read them, and encouraged him to keep going. *Carrie* was an immediate popular success and was adapted into a film for the first time in 1976 (directed by [Brian De Palma](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Brian-De-Palma) and starring [Sissy Spacek](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Sissy-Spacek) as Carrie). Other versions have appeared as television movies, feature films, and a [musical](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/musical) play.\n\n[![A child wearing a sheet for a Halloween ghost costume. Holiday Trick-or-treat](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/79\/219679-131-A8D9C7EF\/Halloween-Ghost-Costume-Child-Trick-or-Treat.jpg) Britannica Quiz Monsters, Ghouls, and Ghosts Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/monsters-ghouls-and-ghosts-quiz)\n\n## Other novels\n[![The Shining](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/19\/177219-050-907DD0E7\/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg?w=300)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/19\/177219-050-907DD0E7\/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg)\n\n[*The Shining*](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/19\/177219-050-907DD0E7\/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg)Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall in *The Shining* (1980), Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Stephen King's 1977 novel.\n\n(more)\n\n*Carrie* was the first of many novels in which King blended horror, the [macabre](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/macabre), [fantasy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/fantasy-narrative-genre), and [science fiction](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/science-fiction). Among such works are *’Salem’s Lot* (1975; TV miniseries 1979 and 2004); *[The Shining](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King)* (1977; [film 1980](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-film-by-Kubrick); TV miniseries 1997); *The Stand* (1978; TV miniseries 1994 and 2020–21); and *[The Dead Zone](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Dead-Zone)* (1979; [film 1983](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Dead-Zone-film); TV series 2002–07). *The Shining*, a horror novel set in a haunted [Colorado](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Colorado-state) hotel in the winter offseason, was inspired by King’s one-night stay in a similar hotel in [Estes Park](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Estes-Park), Colorado, during a time when the Kings were living in nearby [Boulder](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Boulder-Colorado). *The Stand* also mostly features a Colorado setting, though many of King’s novels, including *Carrie*, are set in Maine.\n\n[![Pennywise in the film It](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/98\/196498-050-51868DCD\/Pennywise-Bill-Skarsgard-film-adaptation-novel-Stephen.jpg?w=300)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/98\/196498-050-51868DCD\/Pennywise-Bill-Skarsgard-film-adaptation-novel-Stephen.jpg)\n\n[Pennywise in the film *It*](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/98\/196498-050-51868DCD\/Pennywise-Bill-Skarsgard-film-adaptation-novel-Stephen.jpg)Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in *It* (2017), a film adaptation of Stephen King's 1986 novel.\n\n(more)\n\nKing’s books were so popular by the 1980s that they were virtually guaranteed to be adapted into feature films, TV movies, or miniseries. That decade he published *[Firestarter](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Firestarter-novel-by-King)* (1980; [films 1984](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Firestarter-film) and 2022); *[Cujo](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Cujo)* (1981; [film 1983](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Cujo-film)); *The Running Man* (1982; film 1987); *Christine* (1983; film 1983); *Thinner* (1984; film 1996); *[It](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/It-by-King)* (1986; TV miniseries 1990; [films 2017](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/It-2017-film) and 2019); *[Misery](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Misery-novel-by-King)* (1987; [film 1990](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Misery-film-by-Reiner)); *The Tommyknockers* (1987; TV miniseries 1993); and *The Dark Half* (1989; [film 1993](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Dark-Half-1993-film)).\n\nBy the early 1990s King’s books had sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, and his name had become synonymous with the [genre](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/genre) of horror fiction. In the 1990s and first decades of the 21st century, he published *Needful Things* (1991; film 1993); *Dolores Claiborne* (1993; film 1995); *The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon* (1999); *Dreamcatcher* (2001; film 2003); *Cell* (2006; film 2016); *Lisey’s Story* (2006; TV miniseries 2021); *Duma Key* (2008); *Under the Dome* (2009; TV series 2013–15); *[11\/22\/63](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/11-22-63)* (2011; TV miniseries 2016); *Joyland* (2013); *[Doctor Sleep](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Doctor-Sleep)* (2013; [film 2019](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Doctor-Sleep-2019-film)), a sequel to *The Shining*; *Revival* (2014); *The Outsider* (2018; TV miniseries 2020); *The Institute* (2019); *Later* (2021); and *Fairy Tale* (2022).\n\n## Richard Bachman novels\nKing published several early novels, among them the *The Running Man*, under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. After admitting to being Bachman, King released a collection of the first four Bachman novels, *The Bachman Books* (1985), under his own name. The collection also includes his essay “Why I Was Bachman.” King later published *The Regulators* (1996) and *Blaze* (2007) under Bachman’s name.\n\nExplore Britannica Premium\\!\n\nThe trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=redesign-2026)\n\n![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-left.webp)\n\n![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-right.webp)\n\n![Mobile](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-mobile.webp?w=400)\n\n## Serial novels\nKing’s *Mr. Mercedes* (2014), *Finders Keepers* (2015), and *End of Watch* (2016) form a trilogy of [hard-boiled crime novels](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/hard-boiled-fiction) centering on retired detective Bill Hodges. The trilogy was adapted into a TV series in 2017–19, starring Brendan Gleeson as Hodges. King also wrote a serial novel, *The Dark Tower*, whose first installment, *The Gunslinger*, appeared in 1982; an eighth volume was published in 2012. A [film adaptation of the series](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Dark-Tower-film) was released in 2017, and a TV movie [adaptation](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/adaptation) aired in 2020.\n\n## Themes\nIn his books, King explores almost every terror-producing theme imaginable, from [vampires](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/vampire), [rabid](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/rabies) dogs, deranged killers, and a [pyromaniac](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/pyromania) to [ghosts](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/ghost-spirit), [extrasensory perception](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/extrasensory-perception) and telekinesis, [biological warfare](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/biological-weapon), and even a malevolent [automobile](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/automobile). In his later fiction, exemplified by *Dolores Claiborne*, King has departed from the horror genre to provide sharply detailed psychological portraits of his protagonists, many of them women, who confront difficult and challenging circumstances.\n\nThough sometimes [disparaged](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/disparaged) as undisciplined and inelegant, King’s books show him to be a talented storyteller who [deploys](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/deploys) realistic detail, forceful plotting, and an undoubted ability to involve and scare the reader. His work consistently addresses such themes as the potential for politics and [technology](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/technology) to disrupt or even destroy an individual human life. Obsession—the forms it can assume and its power to wreck individuals, families, and whole communities—is a recurring theme in King’s fiction, driving the narratives of *Christine*, *Misery*, and *Needful Things*.\n\n## Short fiction\nHis short fiction has been collected in such volumes as *Night Shift* (1978), *Nightmares and Dreamscapes* (1993; TV miniseries 2006), *Hearts in Atlantis* (1999; [film 2001](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Hearts-in-Atlantis)), *Just After Sunset* (2008), and *The Bazaar of Bad Dreams* (2015). His collection *You Like It Darker* was released in 2024. Among its stories is “The Answer Man,” which King began writing in the 1970s but did not finish because he did not think the story was worthwhile. As King [told National Public Radio](https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/05\/22\/1252772130\/stephen-king-new-book-short-stories-you-like-it-darker), his nephew found the story while clearing out King’s writing space to archive the author’s unpublished and unfinished works, and he encouraged King to complete and publish the story.\n\nThe [novella](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/novella) *[Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Rita-Hayworth-and-the-Shawshank-Redemption)*, which was published in *Different Seasons* (1982), inspired the [Academy Award](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/Academy-Award)\\-nominated film *[The Shawshank Redemption](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shawshank-Redemption)* (1994), starring [Morgan Freeman](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Morgan-Freeman) and [Tim Robbins](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Tim-Robbins).\n\n## Films and TV work\nNumerous TV and film [adaptations](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/adaptations) have been made of King’s works, and they involved such notable directors as [John Carpenter](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/John-Carpenter-filmmaker), [David Cronenberg](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/David-Cronenberg), [Brian De Palma](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Brian-De-Palma), [Stanley Kubrick](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stanley-Kubrick), [George A. Romero](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/George-A-Romero), and [Rob Reiner](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Rob-Reiner). While King often had little participation in these projects, he wrote the TV miniseries *The Stand* (1994), *The Shining* (1997), and *Lisey’s Story* (2021). For *The Stand* and *The Shining*, King received [Emmy Award](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/Emmy-Award) nominations for outstanding miniseries. He also penned several motion-picture screenplays, including *Maximum Overdrive* (1986), which he directed.\n\n## *On Writing* and nontraditional publishing\nKing explored both his own career and the craft of writing in *On Writing* (2000), a book he completed while recovering from severe injuries he had received after being struck by a car. He has also experimented with different forms of book distribution. *The Plant: Zenith Rising* was released in 2000 solely as an [e-book](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/e-book), distributed via the [Internet](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/Internet), with readers asked but not required to pay for it. The novella *UR* was made available in 2009 only to users of the [Kindle](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/Kindle) electronic reading device. The short story “Drunken Fireworks” was released in 2015 as an audiobook prior to its print publication.\n\n## Personal life and honors\nKing and his wife, Tabitha King, have a daughter, Naomi King, who is a [Unitarian Universalist](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Unitarian-Universalist-Association) minister, and two sons, Joe Hill and Owen King, who are novelists. With Owen King he wrote *Sleeping Beauties* (2017), in which women become wrapped in [cocoons](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/cocoon-biology) when they fall asleep.\n\nQuick Facts\n\nIn full:\n\nStephen Edwin King\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nBorn:\n\nSeptember 21, 1947, [Portland](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Portland-Maine), [Maine](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Maine-state), U.S. (age 78)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nAwards And Honors:\n\n[Edgar Award (2016)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Edgar-Award)\n\n[National Medal of Arts (2015)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/National-Medal-of-Arts)\n\n[Edgar Award (2015)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Edgar-Award)\n\n[National Medal of Arts (2015)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/National-Medal-of-Arts)\n\n[National Book Award (2003)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/National-Book-Award)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nNotable Works:\n\n[“11\/22\/63”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/11-22-63)\n\n[“Carrie”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Carrie-novel-by-King)\n\n[“Cell”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Cell-novel-by-King)\n\n[“Christine”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Christine-novel-by-King)\n\n[“Cujo”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Cujo)\n\n[“Dolores Claiborne”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Dolores-Claiborne)\n\n[“Finders Keepers”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Finders-Keepers-by-King)\n\n[“Firestarter”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Firestarter-novel-by-King)\n\n[“It”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/It-by-King)\n\n[“Lisey’s Story”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Liseys-Story)\n\n[“Misery”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Misery-novel-by-King)\n\n[“Mr. Mercedes”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Mr-Mercedes)\n\n[“Needful Things”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Needful-Things)\n\n[“Night Shift”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Night-Shift-short-story-by-King)\n\n[“Sleeping Beauties”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Sleeping-Beauties)\n\n[“The Dark Half”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Dark-Half)\n\n[“The Dead Zone”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Dead-Zone)\n\n[“The Plant: Zenith Rising”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Plant-Zenith-Rising)\n\n[“The Running Man”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Running-Man)\n\n[“The Shining”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King)\n\n[“The Stand”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Stand)\n\n[“The Tommyknockers”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Tommyknockers)\n\n[“UR”](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/UR-novella-by-King)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nOn the Web:\n\n[PBS News - Stephen King reflects on his iconic career and latest release 'You Like It Darker'](https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/show\/stephen-king-reflects-on-his-iconic-career-and-latest-release-you-like-it-darker) (Mar. 21, 2026)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\n[See all related content](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/facts\/Stephen-King)\n\nKing received the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2003 and the [National Medal of Arts](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/list-of-National-Medal-of-Arts-recipients-2038058) in 2015.\n\n[The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica\/4419)This article was most recently revised and updated by [René Ostberg](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/rene-ostberg\/12853185).\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)Britannica AI\n\n*chevron\\_right*\n\nStephen King\n\n*close*\n\n[AI-generated answers](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.\n\nLoad Next Page\n\nFeedback\n\nThank you for your feedback\n\nOur editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.\n\n*print* Print\n\nPlease select which sections you would like to print:\n\n*verified*Cite\n\nWhile every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.\n\nSelect Citation Style\n\nBracken, Haley. \"The Shining\". *Encyclopedia Britannica*, 3 Oct. 2025, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King. Accessed 7 April 2026.\n\nCopy Citation\n\nShare\n\nShare to social media\n\n[Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BRITANNICA\/) [X](https:\/\/x.com\/britannica)\n\nURL\n\n<https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-novel-by-King>\n\nExternal Websites\n\n- [International Journal of Science and Research - Analysing the Pattern of ï¿½Suspense Buildingï¿½ in ï¿½Stephen King's the Shiningï¿½](https:\/\/www.ijsr.net\/archive\/v11i6\/SR22529120850.pdf)\n- [Project MUSE - The Shining (PDF)](https:\/\/muse.jhu.edu\/pub\/319\/oa_monograph\/chapter\/2331433)\n- [CORE - Gothic Elements in Stephen Kingï¿½s The Shining](https:\/\/core.ac.uk\/download\/pdf\/197865765.pdf)\n- [Internet Archive - \"The Shining\"](https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/11-king-stephen-the-shining\/mode\/2up)\n\nFeedback\n\nThank you for your feedback\n\nOur editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.\n\n*print* Print\n\nPlease select which sections you would like to print:\n\n*verified*Cite\n\nWhile every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.\n\nSelect Citation Style\n\nBritannica Editors. \"Stephen King\". *Encyclopedia Britannica*, 21 Mar. 2026, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King. Accessed 7 April 2026.\n\nCopy Citation\n\nShare\n\nShare to social media\n\n[Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BRITANNICA\/) [X](https:\/\/x.com\/britannica)\n\nURL\n\n<https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King>\n\nExternal Websites\n\n- [All Music - Biography of Stephen King](https:\/\/www.allmusic.com\/artist\/stephen-king-mn0000024991)\n- [The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction - Stephen King](https:\/\/sf-encyclopedia.com\/entry\/king_stephen)\n- [Official Site of Stephen King](https:\/\/stephenking.com\/)\n- [CNN US - Stephen King Fast Facts](https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/us\/stephen-king-fast-facts)\n- [PBS News - Stephen King reflects on his iconic career and latest release 'You Like It Darker'](https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/show\/stephen-king-reflects-on-his-iconic-career-and-latest-release-you-like-it-darker)\n\nBritannica Websites\n\nArticles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.\n\n- [Stephen King - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/Stephen-King\/275279)","attrs_readable_markdown":"Top Questions\n\n- Who wrote the novel 'The Shining'?\n- What is the basic plot of 'The Shining'?\n- Who are the main characters in 'The Shining'?\n- Where does most of the story take place in 'The Shining'?\n- What supernatural element plays a key role in 'The Shining'?\n- How does 'The Shining' explore the theme of isolation and its effects on the characters?\n\n**The Shining**, gothic [horror](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/horror-story) [novel](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/novel) by [Stephen King](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King), first published in 1977. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film [adaptation](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/adaptation), the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. A sequel, titled *Doctor Sleep*, was published in 2013 and adapted into a film in 2019.\n\n## Summary and characters\n*The Shining* is set in [Colorado](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Colorado-state) in the 1970s. It centers on the Torrance family: husband Jack, wife Wendy, and their five-year-old son, Danny. At the beginning of the novel, Jack is hired as the caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel for the winter offseason. He is informed by the hotel manager that the previous caretaker, Delbert Grady, killed his entire family inside the hotel. Specifically, Grady “murdered the little girls with a hatchet, his wife with a shotgun, and himself the same way.” As Jack later learns, the Overlook has a long and ghastly history. Over the years, it has housed illicit affairs, horrible murders, and mob-style executions; perhaps by consequence, its ownership has changed hands several times.\n\nJack is nonetheless determined to be the caretaker. In the past, Jack—an aspiring writer and former [prep-school](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/preparatory-school) teacher—struggled with [alcoholism](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/alcoholism) and anger issues; once, he accidentally broke his son’s arm while trying to [discipline](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/discipline) him. More recently, Jack assaulted a teenage student who let the air out of his tires. The incident cost Jack his teaching job and compelled his wife, Wendy, to strongly consider a divorce. Now Jack is a recovering alcoholic. His ties to his family are weak, and his play—a long-stalled work in progress—remains largely unfinished. Jack hopes that the seclusion of the Overlook will help him finish the play and reconnect with his wife and son.\n\n[![Portrait of young thinking bearded man student with stack of books on the table before bookshelves in the library](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/48\/228448-131-2A77AABD\/A-student-looking-quizzical.jpg) Britannica Quiz Famous Novels, First Lines Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/famous-literary-first-lines-quiz)\n\nOn the day of their arrival, the Torrances are given a tour of the Overlook by the hotel manager. They are introduced to Dick Hallorann, the hotel cook, who takes a special interest in Danny. Unlike his parents, Danny is remarkably perceptive and supernaturally gifted; he has [extrasensory](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/extrasensory-perception) abilities that allow him to read minds, communicate [telepathically](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/telepathy), and see past and possible future events. As he tells Hallorann, he is sometimes visited by a shadowy, [ethereal](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/ethereal) figure whom he calls “Tony.” Hallorann explains that he has powers similar to Danny’s; he calls them “the shining.” Hallorann not only helps Danny understand his powers but also tells him, “If there is trouble…you give a call.” Hallorann then leaves for [St. Petersburg](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Saint-Petersburg-Florida), [Florida](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Florida), where he spends his winters. Shortly thereafter, the remaining staff and guests depart, leaving the Torrance family alone in the Overlook.\n\nThe longer the Torrances stay at the Overlook, the more haunting and powerful it becomes. While inside the hotel, Danny is plagued by disturbing visions and apparitions: “REDRUM” (“MURDER” spelled backward) appears in several [contexts](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/contexts), gruesome figures materialize in strange places, a fire hose chases him down a hallway, and so on. For a long time, Danny refuses to tell either parent about what he has seen. Still, Wendy perceives that something is wrong with Danny. She thinks about removing herself and her son from the hotel, leaving Jack to finish the job alone, but ultimately decides against it. Not long after, a heavy snowfall all but cuts the Torrances off from the outside world.\n\nDuring this time, the Overlook begins trying to possess Jack. It [entices](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/entices) him with historical records and a mysterious scrapbook documenting the exploits of its guests. Eventually, it convinces Jack to destroy his two-way [CB radio](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/citizens-band-radio) and disable the hotel [snowmobile](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/snowmobile). The Overlook thereby eliminates the family’s only remaining links to the outside world. Although unaware of the hotel’s power over her husband, Wendy grows increasingly distrustful of Jack. After a corpse tries to strangle Danny in the infamous room 217 and Wendy and Jack see the resulting bruise on their son’s neck, Wendy accuses Jack of abusing Danny.\n\nOn the morning of December 2, Jack wanders into the hotel ballroom. To his surprise, he finds the bar stocked with liquor and tended by a bartender named Lloyd. While Lloyd pours Jack [martini](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/martini) after martini, a ghostly party—a 1945 [masquerade](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/masquerade) ball—rages on in the ballroom. After several drinks, Jack is confronted by the [ghost](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/ghost-spirit) of Delbert Grady, the caretaker who murdered his family. Grady urges Jack to “correct” his wife and son. In his drunken, enraged state, Jack agrees. That afternoon he attempts to strangle Wendy in the barroom. Wendy’s fingertips graze a glass bottle, which she uses to hit Jack over the head and escape his grip. Together, she and Danny drag Jack’s unconscious body to a walk-in pantry and lock him inside.\n\nGo beyond the basics with trusted, in-depth knowledge for professionals, students, and lifelong learners.\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=basics-2026)\n\n![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-left.webp)\n\n![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-right.webp)\n\n![Mobile](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-mobile.webp?w=400)\n\nA few hours later, Grady confronts Jack in the pantry. After making him promise to kill Wendy and bring his son to “us,” presumably the evil spirits of the Overlook, Grady unlocks the pantry, releasing Jack. Again, Jack attacks Wendy, this time with one of the hotel’s roque mallets, savagely injuring her. Although she stabs him in the lower back with a kitchen knife, Jack’s attacks do not [cease](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/cease). Unable to walk, Wendy drags herself up the grand stairs and locks herself in her bathroom. Jack follows closely behind and, upon finding the bathroom door locked, attempts to break the door down with the mallet. When he thrusts his hand through the resulting hole in the door, Wendy slashes it with a razor blade.\n\nMeanwhile, Hallorann receives a psychic call for help from Danny. He rushes back to the Overlook, where he is attacked by its hedge animals, which, like the rest of the hotel, have come to life. Hallorann manages to make it inside the Overlook only to be gravely injured by Jack, who apparently overheard the approach of his snowmobile. With both Wendy and her would-be rescuer out of the way, Jack pursues Danny. Unbeknownst to Jack, Danny is wandering the hallways of the hotel, following Tony’s voice. Tony appears to Danny and tells him, “Danny…you’re in a place deep down in your own mind. The place where I am. I’m a part of you, Danny.” As it turns out, Tony is an older version of Danny; he comes to warn his younger self about forthcoming events. At last, Danny understands:\n\n> A long and nightmarish masquerade party went on here, and had gone on for years. Little by little a force had [accrued](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/accrued), as secret and silent as interest in a bank account. Force, presence, shape, they were all only words and none of them mattered. It wore many masks, but it was all one. Now, somewhere, it was coming for him. It was hiding behind Daddy’s face, it was imitating Daddy’s voice, it was wearing Daddy’s clothes.\n\nBefore disappearing, Tony prophesies that Danny “will remember what \\[his\\] father forgot.”\n\nAfter some searching, Jack corners Danny on the third floor. Danny observes the creature that his father has become. He reminds himself “it was not his daddy, not this Saturday Night Shock Show horror with its rolling eyes and hunched and hulking shoulders and blood-drenched shirt.” Despite Jack’s [menacing](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/menacing) threats, Danny stands his ground. He denounces Jack as a “mask”—a “false face” worn by the hotel. For a moment, Jack recovers control of his body, and he tells his son that he must run. The hotel then takes full control of Jack:\n\n> It bent over, exposing the knife handle in its back. Its hands closed around the mallet again, but instead of aiming at Danny, it reversed the handle, aiming the hard side of the roque mallet at its own face….Then the mallet began to rise and descend, destroying the last of [Jack Torrance’s](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Jack-Torrance) image.\n\nSuddenly, Danny remembers what his father forgot: the Overlook’s old, unstable boiler has not been checked for days. He announces his discovery to the hotel-creature, causing it to panic and take off for the basement. In its absence, Danny finds Wendy and Hallorann, and, together, they flee the hotel. Seconds after they make their exit, the boiler explodes. The hotel-creature is instantly killed, and the Overlook gradually [succumbs](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/succumbs) to the fire. The surviving party—Hallorann, Wendy, and Danny—ride away on a snowmobile.\n\nA short [epilogue](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/epilogue) (set in the summer) follows. Hallorann has taken a job in [Maine](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Maine-state), where Wendy is recovering from her injuries and Danny fishes. Although he misses Jack, Danny accepts Hallorann as a father figure. Hallorann, in turn, assures Danny that he and his mother will be okay. Together with Wendy, Hallorann watches as Danny reels in a rainbow-colored fish.\n\n## Origins and background\n[King](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stephen-King) was inspired to write *The Shining* after staying a night at the Stanley Hotel in [Estes Park](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Estes-Park), Colorado, a resort town nestled in the [Rocky Mountains](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Rocky-Mountains). In late September 1974, King and his wife, Tabitha, checked into what King described as a “grand old hotel.” Notably, the Kings stayed in room 217. King [recalled](https:\/\/stephenking.com\/works\/novel\/shining.html) that he and his wife were the only guests staying at the hotel; it was set to close for the winter season the next day. While exploring its hallways, King thought to himself:\n\n> \\[The hotel\\] seemed the perfect—maybe the archetypical—setting for a [ghost story](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/ghost-story). That night I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire-hose. I [woke](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/woke) up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed.\n\nThat night, King solidified the “bones of the book.” According to King, *The Shining* has strong autobiographical undertones. Two of the novel’s central themes—namely, the dangers of alcoholism and the disintegration of the family—are extracts of the author’s personal fears. King struggled with alcoholism in the early stages of his career. In the late 1970s King [claimed](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-features\/stephen-king-the-rolling-stone-interview-191529\/) that he was “drinking, like, a case of beer a night.” He worried that he would lose control of his addiction and in some way hurt his family. *The Shining* voices this concern. Although he did not realize it at the time, King later claimed that “I had written *The Shining*…about myself.” King [described](https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=yMbYYw_6200C&pg=PT73) the act of writing the novel as “a kind of self-[psychoanalysis](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/psychoanalysis).” It was also a form of [catharsis](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/catharsis-criticism): writing the novel helped King keep his more violent urges at bay.\n\nKing’s drinking problem worsened in the 1980s. He wrote novels that, he later explained, he barely remembered writing, including *Cujo* (1981) and *The Tommyknockers* (1987). In the late 1980s, Tabitha King staged an intervention, and King became sober.\n\n## Symbolism and epigraphs\nKing is not known for subtlety in his novels. Yet three of the most important details in *The Shining* appear before the novel even begins. These details—found in the novel’s three epigraphs—are essential for understanding King’s literary [aspirations](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/aspirations). The first epigraph is perhaps the most important. It is an excerpt taken from [Edgar Allan Poe](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Edgar-Allan-Poe)’s tale “[The Masque of the Red Death](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Masque-of-the-Red-Death)” (1842). In the tale, a fictional [medieval](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/medieval) prince gives a masquerade ball at his castle. At midnight, the Red Death—a plague that causes swift, agonizing death—reveals itself among the revelers and kills them all. The story concludes with the words that King quotes: “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.”\n\n[Allusions](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Allusions) to “The Masque of the Red Death” abound in *The Shining*. Certain images and motifs from the tale are replicated. The color red, for example, figures prominently in both stories. An essential ingredient in Poe’s tale, “Blood” is the Red Death’s “Avatar and its seal.” The Red Death leaves “scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim.” When the Red Death appears at the ball, it appears in a “vesture…dabbled in blood.” Likewise, the castle room in which the Red Death ultimately kills the revelers is lined with “blood-colored panes.” Blood plays a similarly important role in *The Shining*. Danny is haunted by images of blood and brain matter throughout the novel. In the climax, Jack sees “red liquid…spraying up like an obscene rain shower, striking the glass sides of the \\[clock\\] dome and running,” and he thinks to himself, “*clockwork can’t bleed clockwork can’t bleed*.” The color red appears in other contexts. When Jack is extremely angry, he sees “red.” Some readers have even suggested that “REDRUM,” which is phonetically similar to “red room,” is an [allusion](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/allusion) to Poe’s tale.\n\nThere are other similarities between the stories. King’s description of the Overlook Hotel in *The Shining* parallels Poe’s description of the castle in “The Masque of the Red Death.” Like Poe, King focuses on the grandiosity and remoteness of his chosen setting. King’s setting—again, like Poe’s—hosts a masquerade ball governed by a clock with seemingly supernatural powers. Here it is worth noting that masks (and, especially, unmasking) play a particularly important role in both stories. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” all the characters (including the Red Death) hide behind literal masks. In *The Shining*, the main characters conceal their true identities behind metaphorical masks. In the climax of the novel, the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel, led by former hotel owner Horace Derwent, chant “*Unmask! Unmask\\!*” at Jack. After the final cry of “*UNMASK\\!*,” King [paraphrases](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/paraphrases) the end of Poe’s tale. He announces “*…the Red Death held sway over all\\!*”\n\nThe second epigraph is shorter than the first but no less revealing. It states that “the sleep of reason breeds monsters.” This is the English translation of the Spanish phrase used in an 18th-century etching by [Francisco Goya](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Francisco-Goya), a Spanish artist known for his grotesque imagery. The etching is part of a series of etchings collectively titled *Los caprichos* (published 1799; “Caprices,” or “Follies”). In this particular [etching](https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/338473), an artist sleeps at his desk while various flying animals—including [owls](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/animal\/owl) and [bats](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/animal\/bat-mammal)—lurk behind him. In sleep, the artist’s rational faculties give way to the irrational “monsters” of his imagination. Goya’s etching plays on the boundaries between waking and sleeping, rationality and irrationality, the natural and the supernatural. King’s novel plays on the same boundaries. Inside the Overlook Hotel, all three Torrances struggle to distinguish between reality and [illusion](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/illusion). In the novel, King crafts his own version of Goya’s expression. Both Jack and Danny observe that “this inhuman place makes human monsters.”\n\nThe third and final epigraph is a [proverb](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/proverb): “It’ll shine when it shines,” traditionally used to refer to the [weather](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/weather). However, it takes on a different meaning in the [context](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/context) of the novel, where “shining” denotes a psychic ability. The epigraph’s casting of “shining” as an uncontrollable natural phenomenon also seems to suggest the reality and validity of second sight—of premonitions and visions and [prophecies](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/prophecy). Perhaps, it argues, if Jack and Wendy had trusted Danny’s “shine,” the tragedy of the Overlook could have been avoided.\n\n[Stanley Kubrick](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Stanley-Kubrick)’s 1980 [film](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Shining-film-by-Kubrick), starring [Jack Nicholson](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Jack-Nicholson) as Jack Torrance and [Shelley Duvall](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Shelley-Duvall) as Wendy, is the most famous adaptation of King’s novel. It was one of Kubrick’s many film [adaptations](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/adaptations) of books. Kubrick’s vision for the film differed significantly from King’s; in fact, Kubrick rejected the [screenplay](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/screenplay) King wrote for the film, opting instead to write his own screenplay with the help of American novelist [Diane Johnson](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Diane-Johnson). Most of the film was shot on a specially constructed set in [Hertfordshire](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Hertfordshire), [England](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/England), in 1978. Kubrick reportedly exposed 1.3 million feet (396,240 meters) of film while shooting. (A typical shooting ratio—comparing the total hours of footage shot with the eventual running time of the film—is 5:1 or 10:1. Kubrick’s shooting ratio was more than 100:1.) The completed film premiered on May 23, 1980.\n\nKing was vocal about his dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s adaptation. Although he admitted that he had “admired Kubrick for a long time and had great expectations for the project,” King was “deeply disappointed in the end result.” The author accused the filmmaker of mischaracterizing Jack and Wendy Torrance, thereby dramatically changing the nature of their relationship (and their relationship to the audience). King took issue with Nicholson’s character’s lack of interiority. In King’s mind, “Jack Torrance, in the movie, seems crazy from the jump.” [As he told *Playboy* magazine](https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=eWeWBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA465) in 1983, “If the guy is nuts to begin with, then the entire tragedy of his downfall is wasted.”\n\nKubrick also made important changes to Wendy’s character. He transformed the bold, [resilient](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/resilient) Wendy of the novel into a timid, emotionally fragile character. King disliked the casting of Duvall as Wendy. In a [2013 interview with the BBC](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/av\/entertainment-arts-24151957\/stephen-king-returns-to-the-shining-with-doctor-sleep), King said, “Shelley Duvall as Wendy is really one of the most [misogynistic](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/misogyny) characters ever put on film. She’s basically just there to scream and be stupid, and that’s not the woman that I wrote about.” King once colorfully [described](https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-features\/stephen-king-the-rolling-stone-interview-191529\/) Duvall’s character as a “screaming dishrag.” For her part, Duvall once said that she was “in and out of ill health” while filming “because the stress of the role was so great.” She also called her character in *The Shining* “the most difficult role I’ve ever had to play.”\n\nThere are other differences between Kubrick’s adaptation and the novel. In the film, Kubrick replaces King’s hedge animals with a hedge maze. At the end of the film, Jack and the Overlook freeze; in the novel, the hotel burns in a [fiery](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/fiery) explosion. King’s dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s *The Shining* eventually resulted in a 1997 television miniseries. The TV adaptation, starring Steven Weber as Jack Torrance and Rebecca De Mornay as Wendy Torrance, used King’s original screenplay.\n\nDespite King’s disapproval and mixed critical reviews, Kubrick’s *The Shining* performed relatively well at the box office, grossing about \\$44 million in the [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States). Today, Kubrick’s film is considered a cinematic classic. It is widely regarded as one of the scariest and most influential [horror movies](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/horror-film) ever made, alongside [Alfred Hitchcock](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Alfred-Hitchcock)’s [*Psycho*](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Psycho-film-1960) (1960), [William Friedkin](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/William-Friedkin)’s [*The Exorcist*](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Exorcist-film-by-Friedkin) (1973), and [Wes Craven](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Wes-Craven)’s *A Nightmare on Elm Street* (1984). A [documentary](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/documentary-film) about Kubrick’s adaptation appeared in theaters in the United States in 2013. Titled *Room 237*, it [delved](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/delved) into the symbolism and possible interpretations of Kubrick’s film.\n\n## Sequel\nIn September 2013, King published *[Doctor Sleep](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Doctor-Sleep)*, a follow-up to *The Shining* set more than 30 years after the events of the first novel. In the follow-up, 40-year-old Danny (now “Dan”) Torrance moves to the small town of Frazier, [New Hampshire](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/New-Hampshire-state). His mother, Wendy, is dead. She died of [lung cancer](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/lung-cancer)—possibly caused by ingesting smoke from the explosion of the Overlook—in 1999. Like his father did, Dan struggles with alcoholism and anger issues. In an effort to curb his drinking, Dan attends a few [Alcoholics Anonymous](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Alcoholics-Anonymous) (AA) meetings. After several days of sobriety, he begins to regain his psychic abilities, which had long been [suppressed](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/suppressed) by his drinking. He finds work as a night porter at a local [hospice](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/hospice), where he uses his “shine” to comfort dying patients. He becomes known to them as “Doctor Sleep.” Dan’s peaceful existence in Frazier is disrupted by a psychic call for help from Abra Stone, a telepathic preteen with abilities that outshine his own.\n\nThe much-anticipated sequel reportedly sold 134,000 copies in its first week. The novel received generally positive reviews. [*The New York Times* called it](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/09\/22\/books\/review\/stephen-kings-shining-sequel-doctor-sleep.html) “a very good specimen of the quintessential King blend.” [A reviewer at *The Guardian* complimented](https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2013\/sep\/25\/doctor-sleep-stephen-king-review) King’s “brilliantly simulated normality.” In the author’s note for *Doctor Sleep*, King noted, “The man who wrote *Doctor Sleep* is very different from the well-meaning alcoholic who wrote *The Shining*, but both remain interested in the same thing: telling a kickass story.”","meta_canonical":null}

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Meta Title	The Shining \| Book, Summary, Facts, Adaptations, & Sequel \| Britannica
Meta Description	The Shining is a gothic horror novel by Stephen King, first published in 1977. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation, the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time.
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Boilerpipe Text	Top Questions Who wrote the novel 'The Shining'? What is the basic plot of 'The Shining'? Who are the main characters in 'The Shining'? Where does most of the story take place in 'The Shining'? What supernatural element plays a key role in 'The Shining'? How does 'The Shining' explore the theme of isolation and its effects on the characters? The Shining , gothic horror novel by Stephen King , first published in 1977. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation , the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. A sequel, titled Doctor Sleep , was published in 2013 and adapted into a film in 2019. Summary and characters The Shining is set in Colorado in the 1970s. It centers on the Torrance family: husband Jack, wife Wendy, and their five-year-old son, Danny. At the beginning of the novel, Jack is hired as the caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel for the winter offseason. He is informed by the hotel manager that the previous caretaker, Delbert Grady, killed his entire family inside the hotel. Specifically, Grady “murdered the little girls with a hatchet, his wife with a shotgun, and himself the same way.” As Jack later learns, the Overlook has a long and ghastly history. Over the years, it has housed illicit affairs, horrible murders, and mob-style executions; perhaps by consequence, its ownership has changed hands several times. Jack is nonetheless determined to be the caretaker. In the past, Jack—an aspiring writer and former prep-school teacher—struggled with alcoholism and anger issues; once, he accidentally broke his son’s arm while trying to discipline him. More recently, Jack assaulted a teenage student who let the air out of his tires. The incident cost Jack his teaching job and compelled his wife, Wendy, to strongly consider a divorce. Now Jack is a recovering alcoholic. His ties to his family are weak, and his play—a long-stalled work in progress—remains largely unfinished. Jack hopes that the seclusion of the Overlook will help him finish the play and reconnect with his wife and son. Britannica Quiz Famous Novels, First Lines Quiz On the day of their arrival, the Torrances are given a tour of the Overlook by the hotel manager. They are introduced to Dick Hallorann, the hotel cook, who takes a special interest in Danny. Unlike his parents, Danny is remarkably perceptive and supernaturally gifted; he has extrasensory abilities that allow him to read minds, communicate telepathically , and see past and possible future events. As he tells Hallorann, he is sometimes visited by a shadowy, ethereal figure whom he calls “Tony.” Hallorann explains that he has powers similar to Danny’s; he calls them “the shining.” Hallorann not only helps Danny understand his powers but also tells him, “If there is trouble…you give a call.” Hallorann then leaves for St. Petersburg , Florida , where he spends his winters. Shortly thereafter, the remaining staff and guests depart, leaving the Torrance family alone in the Overlook. The longer the Torrances stay at the Overlook, the more haunting and powerful it becomes. While inside the hotel, Danny is plagued by disturbing visions and apparitions: “REDRUM” (“MURDER” spelled backward) appears in several contexts , gruesome figures materialize in strange places, a fire hose chases him down a hallway, and so on. For a long time, Danny refuses to tell either parent about what he has seen. Still, Wendy perceives that something is wrong with Danny. She thinks about removing herself and her son from the hotel, leaving Jack to finish the job alone, but ultimately decides against it. Not long after, a heavy snowfall all but cuts the Torrances off from the outside world. During this time, the Overlook begins trying to possess Jack. It entices him with historical records and a mysterious scrapbook documenting the exploits of its guests. Eventually, it convinces Jack to destroy his two-way CB radio and disable the hotel snowmobile . The Overlook thereby eliminates the family’s only remaining links to the outside world. Although unaware of the hotel’s power over her husband, Wendy grows increasingly distrustful of Jack. After a corpse tries to strangle Danny in the infamous room 217 and Wendy and Jack see the resulting bruise on their son’s neck, Wendy accuses Jack of abusing Danny. On the morning of December 2, Jack wanders into the hotel ballroom. To his surprise, he finds the bar stocked with liquor and tended by a bartender named Lloyd. While Lloyd pours Jack martini after martini, a ghostly party—a 1945 masquerade ball—rages on in the ballroom. After several drinks, Jack is confronted by the ghost of Delbert Grady, the caretaker who murdered his family. Grady urges Jack to “correct” his wife and son. In his drunken, enraged state, Jack agrees. That afternoon he attempts to strangle Wendy in the barroom. Wendy’s fingertips graze a glass bottle, which she uses to hit Jack over the head and escape his grip. Together, she and Danny drag Jack’s unconscious body to a walk-in pantry and lock him inside. Go beyond the basics with trusted, in-depth knowledge for professionals, students, and lifelong learners. SUBSCRIBE A few hours later, Grady confronts Jack in the pantry. After making him promise to kill Wendy and bring his son to “us,” presumably the evil spirits of the Overlook, Grady unlocks the pantry, releasing Jack. Again, Jack attacks Wendy, this time with one of the hotel’s roque mallets, savagely injuring her. Although she stabs him in the lower back with a kitchen knife, Jack’s attacks do not cease . Unable to walk, Wendy drags herself up the grand stairs and locks herself in her bathroom. Jack follows closely behind and, upon finding the bathroom door locked, attempts to break the door down with the mallet. When he thrusts his hand through the resulting hole in the door, Wendy slashes it with a razor blade. Meanwhile, Hallorann receives a psychic call for help from Danny. He rushes back to the Overlook, where he is attacked by its hedge animals, which, like the rest of the hotel, have come to life. Hallorann manages to make it inside the Overlook only to be gravely injured by Jack, who apparently overheard the approach of his snowmobile. With both Wendy and her would-be rescuer out of the way, Jack pursues Danny. Unbeknownst to Jack, Danny is wandering the hallways of the hotel, following Tony’s voice. Tony appears to Danny and tells him, “Danny…you’re in a place deep down in your own mind. The place where I am. I’m a part of you, Danny.” As it turns out, Tony is an older version of Danny; he comes to warn his younger self about forthcoming events. At last, Danny understands: A long and nightmarish masquerade party went on here, and had gone on for years. Little by little a force had accrued , as secret and silent as interest in a bank account. Force, presence, shape, they were all only words and none of them mattered. It wore many masks, but it was all one. Now, somewhere, it was coming for him. It was hiding behind Daddy’s face, it was imitating Daddy’s voice, it was wearing Daddy’s clothes. Before disappearing, Tony prophesies that Danny “will remember what [his] father forgot.” After some searching, Jack corners Danny on the third floor. Danny observes the creature that his father has become. He reminds himself “it was not his daddy, not this Saturday Night Shock Show horror with its rolling eyes and hunched and hulking shoulders and blood-drenched shirt.” Despite Jack’s menacing threats, Danny stands his ground. He denounces Jack as a “mask”—a “false face” worn by the hotel. For a moment, Jack recovers control of his body, and he tells his son that he must run. The hotel then takes full control of Jack: It bent over, exposing the knife handle in its back. Its hands closed around the mallet again, but instead of aiming at Danny, it reversed the handle, aiming the hard side of the roque mallet at its own face….Then the mallet began to rise and descend, destroying the last of Jack Torrance’s image. Suddenly, Danny remembers what his father forgot: the Overlook’s old, unstable boiler has not been checked for days. He announces his discovery to the hotel-creature, causing it to panic and take off for the basement. In its absence, Danny finds Wendy and Hallorann, and, together, they flee the hotel. Seconds after they make their exit, the boiler explodes. The hotel-creature is instantly killed, and the Overlook gradually succumbs to the fire. The surviving party—Hallorann, Wendy, and Danny—ride away on a snowmobile. A short epilogue (set in the summer) follows. Hallorann has taken a job in Maine , where Wendy is recovering from her injuries and Danny fishes. Although he misses Jack, Danny accepts Hallorann as a father figure. Hallorann, in turn, assures Danny that he and his mother will be okay. Together with Wendy, Hallorann watches as Danny reels in a rainbow-colored fish. Origins and background King was inspired to write The Shining after staying a night at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park , Colorado, a resort town nestled in the Rocky Mountains . In late September 1974, King and his wife, Tabitha, checked into what King described as a “grand old hotel.” Notably, the Kings stayed in room 217. King recalled that he and his wife were the only guests staying at the hotel; it was set to close for the winter season the next day. While exploring its hallways, King thought to himself: [The hotel] seemed the perfect—maybe the archetypical—setting for a ghost story . That night I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire-hose. I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed. That night, King solidified the “bones of the book.” According to King, The Shining has strong autobiographical undertones. Two of the novel’s central themes—namely, the dangers of alcoholism and the disintegration of the family—are extracts of the author’s personal fears. King struggled with alcoholism in the early stages of his career. In the late 1970s King claimed that he was “drinking, like, a case of beer a night.” He worried that he would lose control of his addiction and in some way hurt his family. The Shining voices this concern. Although he did not realize it at the time, King later claimed that “I had written The Shining …about myself.” King described the act of writing the novel as “a kind of self- psychoanalysis .” It was also a form of catharsis : writing the novel helped King keep his more violent urges at bay. King’s drinking problem worsened in the 1980s. He wrote novels that, he later explained, he barely remembered writing, including Cujo (1981) and The Tommyknockers (1987). In the late 1980s, Tabitha King staged an intervention, and King became sober. Symbolism and epigraphs King is not known for subtlety in his novels. Yet three of the most important details in The Shining appear before the novel even begins. These details—found in the novel’s three epigraphs—are essential for understanding King’s literary aspirations . The first epigraph is perhaps the most important. It is an excerpt taken from Edgar Allan Poe ’s tale “ The Masque of the Red Death ” (1842). In the tale, a fictional medieval prince gives a masquerade ball at his castle. At midnight, the Red Death—a plague that causes swift, agonizing death—reveals itself among the revelers and kills them all. The story concludes with the words that King quotes: “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.” Allusions to “The Masque of the Red Death” abound in The Shining . Certain images and motifs from the tale are replicated. The color red, for example, figures prominently in both stories. An essential ingredient in Poe’s tale, “Blood” is the Red Death’s “Avatar and its seal.” The Red Death leaves “scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim.” When the Red Death appears at the ball, it appears in a “vesture…dabbled in blood.” Likewise, the castle room in which the Red Death ultimately kills the revelers is lined with “blood-colored panes.” Blood plays a similarly important role in The Shining . Danny is haunted by images of blood and brain matter throughout the novel. In the climax, Jack sees “red liquid…spraying up like an obscene rain shower, striking the glass sides of the [clock] dome and running,” and he thinks to himself, “ clockwork can’t bleed clockwork can’t bleed .” The color red appears in other contexts. When Jack is extremely angry, he sees “red.” Some readers have even suggested that “REDRUM,” which is phonetically similar to “red room,” is an allusion to Poe’s tale. There are other similarities between the stories. King’s description of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining parallels Poe’s description of the castle in “The Masque of the Red Death.” Like Poe, King focuses on the grandiosity and remoteness of his chosen setting. King’s setting—again, like Poe’s—hosts a masquerade ball governed by a clock with seemingly supernatural powers. Here it is worth noting that masks (and, especially, unmasking) play a particularly important role in both stories. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” all the characters (including the Red Death) hide behind literal masks. In The Shining , the main characters conceal their true identities behind metaphorical masks. In the climax of the novel, the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel, led by former hotel owner Horace Derwent, chant “ Unmask! Unmask! ” at Jack. After the final cry of “ UNMASK! ,” King paraphrases the end of Poe’s tale. He announces “ …the Red Death held sway over all! ” The second epigraph is shorter than the first but no less revealing. It states that “the sleep of reason breeds monsters.” This is the English translation of the Spanish phrase used in an 18th-century etching by Francisco Goya , a Spanish artist known for his grotesque imagery. The etching is part of a series of etchings collectively titled Los caprichos (published 1799; “Caprices,” or “Follies”). In this particular etching , an artist sleeps at his desk while various flying animals—including owls and bats —lurk behind him. In sleep, the artist’s rational faculties give way to the irrational “monsters” of his imagination. Goya’s etching plays on the boundaries between waking and sleeping, rationality and irrationality, the natural and the supernatural. King’s novel plays on the same boundaries. Inside the Overlook Hotel, all three Torrances struggle to distinguish between reality and illusion . In the novel, King crafts his own version of Goya’s expression. Both Jack and Danny observe that “this inhuman place makes human monsters.” The third and final epigraph is a proverb : “It’ll shine when it shines,” traditionally used to refer to the weather . However, it takes on a different meaning in the context of the novel, where “shining” denotes a psychic ability. The epigraph’s casting of “shining” as an uncontrollable natural phenomenon also seems to suggest the reality and validity of second sight—of premonitions and visions and prophecies . Perhaps, it argues, if Jack and Wendy had trusted Danny’s “shine,” the tragedy of the Overlook could have been avoided. Stanley Kubrick ’s 1980 film , starring Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance and Shelley Duvall as Wendy, is the most famous adaptation of King’s novel. It was one of Kubrick’s many film adaptations of books. Kubrick’s vision for the film differed significantly from King’s; in fact, Kubrick rejected the screenplay King wrote for the film, opting instead to write his own screenplay with the help of American novelist Diane Johnson . Most of the film was shot on a specially constructed set in Hertfordshire , England , in 1978. Kubrick reportedly exposed 1.3 million feet (396,240 meters) of film while shooting. (A typical shooting ratio—comparing the total hours of footage shot with the eventual running time of the film—is 5:1 or 10:1. Kubrick’s shooting ratio was more than 100:1.) The completed film premiered on May 23, 1980. King was vocal about his dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s adaptation. Although he admitted that he had “admired Kubrick for a long time and had great expectations for the project,” King was “deeply disappointed in the end result.” The author accused the filmmaker of mischaracterizing Jack and Wendy Torrance, thereby dramatically changing the nature of their relationship (and their relationship to the audience). King took issue with Nicholson’s character’s lack of interiority. In King’s mind, “Jack Torrance, in the movie, seems crazy from the jump.” As he told Playboy magazine in 1983, “If the guy is nuts to begin with, then the entire tragedy of his downfall is wasted.” Kubrick also made important changes to Wendy’s character. He transformed the bold, resilient Wendy of the novel into a timid, emotionally fragile character. King disliked the casting of Duvall as Wendy. In a 2013 interview with the BBC , King said, “Shelley Duvall as Wendy is really one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film. She’s basically just there to scream and be stupid, and that’s not the woman that I wrote about.” King once colorfully described Duvall’s character as a “screaming dishrag.” For her part, Duvall once said that she was “in and out of ill health” while filming “because the stress of the role was so great.” She also called her character in The Shining “the most difficult role I’ve ever had to play.” There are other differences between Kubrick’s adaptation and the novel. In the film, Kubrick replaces King’s hedge animals with a hedge maze. At the end of the film, Jack and the Overlook freeze; in the novel, the hotel burns in a fiery explosion. King’s dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s The Shining eventually resulted in a 1997 television miniseries. The TV adaptation, starring Steven Weber as Jack Torrance and Rebecca De Mornay as Wendy Torrance, used King’s original screenplay. Despite King’s disapproval and mixed critical reviews, Kubrick’s The Shining performed relatively well at the box office, grossing about $44 million in the United States . Today, Kubrick’s film is considered a cinematic classic. It is widely regarded as one of the scariest and most influential horror movies ever made, alongside Alfred Hitchcock ’s Psycho (1960), William Friedkin ’s The Exorcist (1973), and Wes Craven ’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). A documentary about Kubrick’s adaptation appeared in theaters in the United States in 2013. Titled Room 237 , it delved into the symbolism and possible interpretations of Kubrick’s film. Sequel In September 2013, King published Doctor Sleep , a follow-up to The Shining set more than 30 years after the events of the first novel. In the follow-up, 40-year-old Danny (now “Dan”) Torrance moves to the small town of Frazier, New Hampshire . His mother, Wendy, is dead. She died of lung cancer —possibly caused by ingesting smoke from the explosion of the Overlook—in 1999. Like his father did, Dan struggles with alcoholism and anger issues. In an effort to curb his drinking, Dan attends a few Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings. After several days of sobriety, he begins to regain his psychic abilities, which had long been suppressed by his drinking. He finds work as a night porter at a local hospice , where he uses his “shine” to comfort dying patients. He becomes known to them as “Doctor Sleep.” Dan’s peaceful existence in Frazier is disrupted by a psychic call for help from Abra Stone, a telepathic preteen with abilities that outshine his own. The much-anticipated sequel reportedly sold 134,000 copies in its first week. The novel received generally positive reviews. The New York Times called it “a very good specimen of the quintessential King blend.” A reviewer at The Guardian complimented King’s “brilliantly simulated normality.” In the author’s note for Doctor Sleep , King noted, “The man who wrote Doctor Sleep is very different from the well-meaning alcoholic who wrote The Shining , but both remain interested in the same thing: telling a kickass story.”
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The film was adapted from Stephen King's novel, published in 1977. (more) # The Shining novel by King Homework Help Written by [Haley Bracken Haley Bracken was an Editorial Intern at Encyclopaedia Britannica in 2018 and 2019. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2019 with bachelor’s degrees in English language and literature and political...](https://www.britannica.com/contributor/Haley-Bracken/12414652) Haley Bracken Fact-checked by [Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419) Britannica Editors [History](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Shining-novel-by-King/additional-info#history) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5) Britannica AI Ask Anything Quick Summary Table of Contents Table of Contents Quick Summary Ask Anything Top Questions - Who wrote the novel 'The Shining'? - What is the basic plot of 'The Shining'? - Who are the main characters in 'The Shining'? - Where does most of the story take place in 'The Shining'? - What supernatural element plays a key role in 'The Shining'? - How does 'The Shining' explore the theme of isolation and its effects on the characters? Show more Show less The Shining, gothic [horror](https://www.britannica.com/art/horror-story) [novel](https://www.britannica.com/art/novel) by [Stephen King](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King), first published in 1977. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film [adaptation](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adaptation), the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. A sequel, titled Doctor Sleep, was published in 2013 and adapted into a film in 2019. ## Summary and characters The Shining is set in [Colorado](https://www.britannica.com/place/Colorado-state) in the 1970s. It centers on the Torrance family: husband Jack, wife Wendy, and their five-year-old son, Danny. At the beginning of the novel, Jack is hired as the caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel for the winter offseason. He is informed by the hotel manager that the previous caretaker, Delbert Grady, killed his entire family inside the hotel. Specifically, Grady “murdered the little girls with a hatchet, his wife with a shotgun, and himself the same way.” As Jack later learns, the Overlook has a long and ghastly history. Over the years, it has housed illicit affairs, horrible murders, and mob-style executions; perhaps by consequence, its ownership has changed hands several times. Jack is nonetheless determined to be the caretaker. In the past, Jack—an aspiring writer and former [prep-school](https://www.britannica.com/topic/preparatory-school) teacher—struggled with [alcoholism](https://www.britannica.com/science/alcoholism) and anger issues; once, he accidentally broke his son’s arm while trying to [discipline](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discipline) him. More recently, Jack assaulted a teenage student who let the air out of his tires. The incident cost Jack his teaching job and compelled his wife, Wendy, to strongly consider a divorce. Now Jack is a recovering alcoholic. His ties to his family are weak, and his play—a long-stalled work in progress—remains largely unfinished. Jack hopes that the seclusion of the Overlook will help him finish the play and reconnect with his wife and son. [![Portrait of young thinking bearded man student with stack of books on the table before bookshelves in the library](https://cdn.britannica.com/48/228448-131-2A77AABD/A-student-looking-quizzical.jpg) Britannica Quiz Famous Novels, First Lines Quiz](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/famous-literary-first-lines-quiz) On the day of their arrival, the Torrances are given a tour of the Overlook by the hotel manager. They are introduced to Dick Hallorann, the hotel cook, who takes a special interest in Danny. Unlike his parents, Danny is remarkably perceptive and supernaturally gifted; he has [extrasensory](https://www.britannica.com/topic/extrasensory-perception) abilities that allow him to read minds, communicate [telepathically](https://www.britannica.com/topic/telepathy), and see past and possible future events. As he tells Hallorann, he is sometimes visited by a shadowy, [ethereal](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethereal) figure whom he calls “Tony.” Hallorann explains that he has powers similar to Danny’s; he calls them “the shining.” Hallorann not only helps Danny understand his powers but also tells him, “If there is trouble…you give a call.” Hallorann then leaves for [St. Petersburg](https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Petersburg-Florida), [Florida](https://www.britannica.com/place/Florida), where he spends his winters. Shortly thereafter, the remaining staff and guests depart, leaving the Torrance family alone in the Overlook. The longer the Torrances stay at the Overlook, the more haunting and powerful it becomes. While inside the hotel, Danny is plagued by disturbing visions and apparitions: “REDRUM” (“MURDER” spelled backward) appears in several [contexts](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contexts), gruesome figures materialize in strange places, a fire hose chases him down a hallway, and so on. For a long time, Danny refuses to tell either parent about what he has seen. Still, Wendy perceives that something is wrong with Danny. She thinks about removing herself and her son from the hotel, leaving Jack to finish the job alone, but ultimately decides against it. Not long after, a heavy snowfall all but cuts the Torrances off from the outside world. During this time, the Overlook begins trying to possess Jack. It [entices](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/entices) him with historical records and a mysterious scrapbook documenting the exploits of its guests. Eventually, it convinces Jack to destroy his two-way [CB radio](https://www.britannica.com/technology/citizens-band-radio) and disable the hotel [snowmobile](https://www.britannica.com/technology/snowmobile). The Overlook thereby eliminates the family’s only remaining links to the outside world. Although unaware of the hotel’s power over her husband, Wendy grows increasingly distrustful of Jack. After a corpse tries to strangle Danny in the infamous room 217 and Wendy and Jack see the resulting bruise on their son’s neck, Wendy accuses Jack of abusing Danny. On the morning of December 2, Jack wanders into the hotel ballroom. To his surprise, he finds the bar stocked with liquor and tended by a bartender named Lloyd. While Lloyd pours Jack [martini](https://www.britannica.com/topic/martini) after martini, a ghostly party—a 1945 [masquerade](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/masquerade) ball—rages on in the ballroom. After several drinks, Jack is confronted by the [ghost](https://www.britannica.com/topic/ghost-spirit) of Delbert Grady, the caretaker who murdered his family. Grady urges Jack to “correct” his wife and son. In his drunken, enraged state, Jack agrees. That afternoon he attempts to strangle Wendy in the barroom. Wendy’s fingertips graze a glass bottle, which she uses to hit Jack over the head and escape his grip. Together, she and Danny drag Jack’s unconscious body to a walk-in pantry and lock him inside. Explore Britannica Premium\! Go beyond the basics with trusted, in-depth knowledge for professionals, students, and lifelong learners. [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=basics-2026) ![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-left.webp) ![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-right.webp) ![Mobile](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-mobile.webp?w=400) A few hours later, Grady confronts Jack in the pantry. After making him promise to kill Wendy and bring his son to “us,” presumably the evil spirits of the Overlook, Grady unlocks the pantry, releasing Jack. Again, Jack attacks Wendy, this time with one of the hotel’s roque mallets, savagely injuring her. Although she stabs him in the lower back with a kitchen knife, Jack’s attacks do not [cease](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/cease). Unable to walk, Wendy drags herself up the grand stairs and locks herself in her bathroom. Jack follows closely behind and, upon finding the bathroom door locked, attempts to break the door down with the mallet. When he thrusts his hand through the resulting hole in the door, Wendy slashes it with a razor blade. Meanwhile, Hallorann receives a psychic call for help from Danny. He rushes back to the Overlook, where he is attacked by its hedge animals, which, like the rest of the hotel, have come to life. Hallorann manages to make it inside the Overlook only to be gravely injured by Jack, who apparently overheard the approach of his snowmobile. With both Wendy and her would-be rescuer out of the way, Jack pursues Danny. Unbeknownst to Jack, Danny is wandering the hallways of the hotel, following Tony’s voice. Tony appears to Danny and tells him, “Danny…you’re in a place deep down in your own mind. The place where I am. I’m a part of you, Danny.” As it turns out, Tony is an older version of Danny; he comes to warn his younger self about forthcoming events. At last, Danny understands: > A long and nightmarish masquerade party went on here, and had gone on for years. Little by little a force had [accrued](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accrued), as secret and silent as interest in a bank account. Force, presence, shape, they were all only words and none of them mattered. It wore many masks, but it was all one. Now, somewhere, it was coming for him. It was hiding behind Daddy’s face, it was imitating Daddy’s voice, it was wearing Daddy’s clothes. Before disappearing, Tony prophesies that Danny “will remember what \[his\] father forgot.” After some searching, Jack corners Danny on the third floor. Danny observes the creature that his father has become. He reminds himself “it was not his daddy, not this Saturday Night Shock Show horror with its rolling eyes and hunched and hulking shoulders and blood-drenched shirt.” Despite Jack’s [menacing](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/menacing) threats, Danny stands his ground. He denounces Jack as a “mask”—a “false face” worn by the hotel. For a moment, Jack recovers control of his body, and he tells his son that he must run. The hotel then takes full control of Jack: > It bent over, exposing the knife handle in its back. Its hands closed around the mallet again, but instead of aiming at Danny, it reversed the handle, aiming the hard side of the roque mallet at its own face….Then the mallet began to rise and descend, destroying the last of [Jack Torrance’s](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jack-Torrance) image. Suddenly, Danny remembers what his father forgot: the Overlook’s old, unstable boiler has not been checked for days. He announces his discovery to the hotel-creature, causing it to panic and take off for the basement. In its absence, Danny finds Wendy and Hallorann, and, together, they flee the hotel. Seconds after they make their exit, the boiler explodes. The hotel-creature is instantly killed, and the Overlook gradually [succumbs](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/succumbs) to the fire. The surviving party—Hallorann, Wendy, and Danny—ride away on a snowmobile. A short [epilogue](https://www.britannica.com/art/epilogue) (set in the summer) follows. Hallorann has taken a job in [Maine](https://www.britannica.com/place/Maine-state), where Wendy is recovering from her injuries and Danny fishes. Although he misses Jack, Danny accepts Hallorann as a father figure. Hallorann, in turn, assures Danny that he and his mother will be okay. Together with Wendy, Hallorann watches as Danny reels in a rainbow-colored fish. ## Origins and background [![Stephen King](https://cdn.britannica.com/20/217720-050-857D712B/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg?w=300)](https://cdn.britannica.com/20/217720-050-857D712B/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg) [Stephen King](https://cdn.britannica.com/20/217720-050-857D712B/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg)Stephen King, 2004. (more) [King](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King) was inspired to write The Shining after staying a night at the Stanley Hotel in [Estes Park](https://www.britannica.com/place/Estes-Park), Colorado, a resort town nestled in the [Rocky Mountains](https://www.britannica.com/place/Rocky-Mountains). In late September 1974, King and his wife, Tabitha, checked into what King described as a “grand old hotel.” Notably, the Kings stayed in room 217. King [recalled](https://stephenking.com/works/novel/shining.html) that he and his wife were the only guests staying at the hotel; it was set to close for the winter season the next day. While exploring its hallways, King thought to himself: > \[The hotel\] seemed the perfect—maybe the archetypical—setting for a [ghost story](https://www.britannica.com/art/ghost-story). That night I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire-hose. I [woke](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/woke) up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed. That night, King solidified the “bones of the book.” According to King, The Shining has strong autobiographical undertones. Two of the novel’s central themes—namely, the dangers of alcoholism and the disintegration of the family—are extracts of the author’s personal fears. King struggled with alcoholism in the early stages of his career. In the late 1970s King [claimed](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/stephen-king-the-rolling-stone-interview-191529/) that he was “drinking, like, a case of beer a night.” He worried that he would lose control of his addiction and in some way hurt his family. The Shining voices this concern. Although he did not realize it at the time, King later claimed that “I had written The Shining…about myself.” King [described](https://books.google.com/books?id=yMbYYw_6200C&pg=PT73) the act of writing the novel as “a kind of self-[psychoanalysis](https://www.britannica.com/science/psychoanalysis).” It was also a form of [catharsis](https://www.britannica.com/art/catharsis-criticism): writing the novel helped King keep his more violent urges at bay. King’s drinking problem worsened in the 1980s. He wrote novels that, he later explained, he barely remembered writing, including Cujo (1981) and The Tommyknockers (1987). In the late 1980s, Tabitha King staged an intervention, and King became sober. ## Symbolism and epigraphs King is not known for subtlety in his novels. Yet three of the most important details in The Shining appear before the novel even begins. These details—found in the novel’s three epigraphs—are essential for understanding King’s literary [aspirations](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aspirations). The first epigraph is perhaps the most important. It is an excerpt taken from [Edgar Allan Poe](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edgar-Allan-Poe)’s tale “[The Masque of the Red Death](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Masque-of-the-Red-Death)” (1842). In the tale, a fictional [medieval](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medieval) prince gives a masquerade ball at his castle. At midnight, the Red Death—a plague that causes swift, agonizing death—reveals itself among the revelers and kills them all. The story concludes with the words that King quotes: “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.” [Allusions](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Allusions) to “The Masque of the Red Death” abound in The Shining. Certain images and motifs from the tale are replicated. The color red, for example, figures prominently in both stories. An essential ingredient in Poe’s tale, “Blood” is the Red Death’s “Avatar and its seal.” The Red Death leaves “scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim.” When the Red Death appears at the ball, it appears in a “vesture…dabbled in blood.” Likewise, the castle room in which the Red Death ultimately kills the revelers is lined with “blood-colored panes.” Blood plays a similarly important role in The Shining. Danny is haunted by images of blood and brain matter throughout the novel. In the climax, Jack sees “red liquid…spraying up like an obscene rain shower, striking the glass sides of the \[clock\] dome and running,” and he thinks to himself, “clockwork can’t bleed clockwork can’t bleed.” The color red appears in other contexts. When Jack is extremely angry, he sees “red.” Some readers have even suggested that “REDRUM,” which is phonetically similar to “red room,” is an [allusion](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allusion) to Poe’s tale. There are other similarities between the stories. King’s description of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining parallels Poe’s description of the castle in “The Masque of the Red Death.” Like Poe, King focuses on the grandiosity and remoteness of his chosen setting. King’s setting—again, like Poe’s—hosts a masquerade ball governed by a clock with seemingly supernatural powers. Here it is worth noting that masks (and, especially, unmasking) play a particularly important role in both stories. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” all the characters (including the Red Death) hide behind literal masks. In The Shining, the main characters conceal their true identities behind metaphorical masks. In the climax of the novel, the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel, led by former hotel owner Horace Derwent, chant “Unmask! Unmask\!” at Jack. After the final cry of “UNMASK\!,” King [paraphrases](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/paraphrases) the end of Poe’s tale. He announces “…the Red Death held sway over all\!” The second epigraph is shorter than the first but no less revealing. It states that “the sleep of reason breeds monsters.” This is the English translation of the Spanish phrase used in an 18th-century etching by [Francisco Goya](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francisco-Goya), a Spanish artist known for his grotesque imagery. The etching is part of a series of etchings collectively titled Los caprichos (published 1799; “Caprices,” or “Follies”). In this particular [etching](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/338473), an artist sleeps at his desk while various flying animals—including [owls](https://www.britannica.com/animal/owl) and [bats](https://www.britannica.com/animal/bat-mammal)—lurk behind him. In sleep, the artist’s rational faculties give way to the irrational “monsters” of his imagination. Goya’s etching plays on the boundaries between waking and sleeping, rationality and irrationality, the natural and the supernatural. King’s novel plays on the same boundaries. Inside the Overlook Hotel, all three Torrances struggle to distinguish between reality and [illusion](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illusion). In the novel, King crafts his own version of Goya’s expression. Both Jack and Danny observe that “this inhuman place makes human monsters.” The third and final epigraph is a [proverb](https://www.britannica.com/art/proverb): “It’ll shine when it shines,” traditionally used to refer to the [weather](https://www.britannica.com/science/weather). However, it takes on a different meaning in the [context](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/context) of the novel, where “shining” denotes a psychic ability. The epigraph’s casting of “shining” as an uncontrollable natural phenomenon also seems to suggest the reality and validity of second sight—of premonitions and visions and [prophecies](https://www.britannica.com/topic/prophecy). Perhaps, it argues, if Jack and Wendy had trusted Danny’s “shine,” the tragedy of the Overlook could have been avoided. ## Adaptations [Stanley Kubrick](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stanley-Kubrick)’s 1980 [film](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Shining-film-by-Kubrick), starring [Jack Nicholson](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jack-Nicholson) as Jack Torrance and [Shelley Duvall](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shelley-Duvall) as Wendy, is the most famous adaptation of King’s novel. It was one of Kubrick’s many film [adaptations](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adaptations) of books. Kubrick’s vision for the film differed significantly from King’s; in fact, Kubrick rejected the [screenplay](https://www.britannica.com/art/screenplay) King wrote for the film, opting instead to write his own screenplay with the help of American novelist [Diane Johnson](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Diane-Johnson). Most of the film was shot on a specially constructed set in [Hertfordshire](https://www.britannica.com/place/Hertfordshire), [England](https://www.britannica.com/place/England), in 1978. Kubrick reportedly exposed 1.3 million feet (396,240 meters) of film while shooting. (A typical shooting ratio—comparing the total hours of footage shot with the eventual running time of the film—is 5:1 or 10:1. Kubrick’s shooting ratio was more than 100:1.) The completed film premiered on May 23, 1980. King was vocal about his dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s adaptation. Although he admitted that he had “admired Kubrick for a long time and had great expectations for the project,” King was “deeply disappointed in the end result.” The author accused the filmmaker of mischaracterizing Jack and Wendy Torrance, thereby dramatically changing the nature of their relationship (and their relationship to the audience). King took issue with Nicholson’s character’s lack of interiority. In King’s mind, “Jack Torrance, in the movie, seems crazy from the jump.” [As he told Playboy magazine](https://books.google.com/books?id=eWeWBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA465) in 1983, “If the guy is nuts to begin with, then the entire tragedy of his downfall is wasted.” Kubrick also made important changes to Wendy’s character. He transformed the bold, [resilient](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resilient) Wendy of the novel into a timid, emotionally fragile character. King disliked the casting of Duvall as Wendy. In a [2013 interview with the BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-24151957/stephen-king-returns-to-the-shining-with-doctor-sleep), King said, “Shelley Duvall as Wendy is really one of the most [misogynistic](https://www.britannica.com/topic/misogyny) characters ever put on film. She’s basically just there to scream and be stupid, and that’s not the woman that I wrote about.” King once colorfully [described](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/stephen-king-the-rolling-stone-interview-191529/) Duvall’s character as a “screaming dishrag.” For her part, Duvall once said that she was “in and out of ill health” while filming “because the stress of the role was so great.” She also called her character in The Shining “the most difficult role I’ve ever had to play.” There are other differences between Kubrick’s adaptation and the novel. In the film, Kubrick replaces King’s hedge animals with a hedge maze. At the end of the film, Jack and the Overlook freeze; in the novel, the hotel burns in a [fiery](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/fiery) explosion. King’s dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s The Shining eventually resulted in a 1997 television miniseries. The TV adaptation, starring Steven Weber as Jack Torrance and Rebecca De Mornay as Wendy Torrance, used King’s original screenplay. Despite King’s disapproval and mixed critical reviews, Kubrick’s The Shining performed relatively well at the box office, grossing about \$44 million in the [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States). Today, Kubrick’s film is considered a cinematic classic. It is widely regarded as one of the scariest and most influential [horror movies](https://www.britannica.com/art/horror-film) ever made, alongside [Alfred Hitchcock](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-Hitchcock)’s [Psycho](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Psycho-film-1960) (1960), [William Friedkin](https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Friedkin)’s [The Exorcist](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Exorcist-film-by-Friedkin) (1973), and [Wes Craven](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wes-Craven)’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). A [documentary](https://www.britannica.com/art/documentary-film) about Kubrick’s adaptation appeared in theaters in the United States in 2013. Titled Room 237, it [delved](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/delved) into the symbolism and possible interpretations of Kubrick’s film. ## Sequel In September 2013, King published [Doctor Sleep](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Doctor-Sleep), a follow-up to The Shining set more than 30 years after the events of the first novel. In the follow-up, 40-year-old Danny (now “Dan”) Torrance moves to the small town of Frazier, [New Hampshire](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Hampshire-state). His mother, Wendy, is dead. She died of [lung cancer](https://www.britannica.com/science/lung-cancer)—possibly caused by ingesting smoke from the explosion of the Overlook—in 1999. Like his father did, Dan struggles with alcoholism and anger issues. In an effort to curb his drinking, Dan attends a few [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alcoholics-Anonymous) (AA) meetings. After several days of sobriety, he begins to regain his psychic abilities, which had long been [suppressed](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/suppressed) by his drinking. He finds work as a night porter at a local [hospice](https://www.britannica.com/science/hospice), where he uses his “shine” to comfort dying patients. He becomes known to them as “Doctor Sleep.” Dan’s peaceful existence in Frazier is disrupted by a psychic call for help from Abra Stone, a telepathic preteen with abilities that outshine his own. The much-anticipated sequel reportedly sold 134,000 copies in its first week. The novel received generally positive reviews. [The New York Times called it](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/books/review/stephen-kings-shining-sequel-doctor-sleep.html) “a very good specimen of the quintessential King blend.” [A reviewer at The Guardian complimented](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/25/doctor-sleep-stephen-king-review) King’s “brilliantly simulated normality.” In the author’s note for Doctor Sleep, King noted, “The man who wrote Doctor Sleep is very different from the well-meaning alcoholic who wrote The Shining, but both remain interested in the same thing: telling a kickass story.” [Haley Bracken](https://www.britannica.com/contributor/Haley-Bracken/12414652) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)Britannica AI chevron\_right The Shining close [AI-generated answers](https://www.britannica.com/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. [Stephen King](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King) - [Introduction](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King) - [Early life](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King#ref376013) - [Breakthrough with Carrie](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King#ref376014) - [Other novels](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King#ref376015) - [Richard Bachman novels](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King#ref376016) - [Serial novels](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King#ref376017) - [Themes](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King#ref376018) - [Short fiction](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King#ref376019) - [Films and TV work](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King#ref376020) - [On Writing and nontraditional publishing](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King#ref376021) - [Personal life and honors](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King#ref376022) [References & Edit History](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King/additional-info) [Quick Facts & Related Topics](https://www.britannica.com/facts/Stephen-King) [Images](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King/images-videos) [![The master of chills and suspense](https://cdn.britannica.com/20/217720-004-7A3BF846/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/20/217720-050-857D712B/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg) [![Sissy Spacek in Carrie](https://cdn.britannica.com/21/262121-004-BC2ED440/Publicity-still-from-the-1976-film-Carrie-featuring-Sissy-Spacek-as-Carrie-White-Prom-scene-in-the-1976-film-Carrie.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/21/262121-050-78016AA6/Publicity-still-from-the-1976-film-Carrie-featuring-Sissy-Spacek-as-Carrie-White-Prom-scene-in-the-1976-film-Carrie.jpg) [![Carrie](https://cdn.britannica.com/35/90535-004-2A544674/Piper-Laurie-Carrie-Sissy-Spacek-Brian-De.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/35/90535-050-001490D6/Piper-Laurie-Carrie-Sissy-Spacek-Brian-De.jpg) [![The Shining](https://cdn.britannica.com/19/177219-004-44FD6E40/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/19/177219-050-907DD0E7/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg) [![Pennywise in the film It](https://cdn.britannica.com/98/196498-004-EFA0A9D9/Pennywise-Bill-Skarsgard-film-adaptation-novel-Stephen.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/98/196498-050-51868DCD/Pennywise-Bill-Skarsgard-film-adaptation-novel-Stephen.jpg) [![Stephen King](https://cdn.britannica.com/12/115812-004-C46C68BC/Stephen-King-2007.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/12/115812-050-62D12DCE/Stephen-King-2007.jpg) [![Stephen King](https://cdn.britannica.com/69/177869-004-A3AC6755/Stephen-King-2004.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/69/177869-050-0D2BE160/Stephen-King-2004.jpg) At a Glance [![default image](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/shared/new-thistle.svg?v=3.178.5)](https://www.britannica.com/summary/Stephen-King) [Stephen (Edwin) King summary](https://www.britannica.com/summary/Stephen-King) Quizzes [![A child wearing a sheet for a Halloween ghost costume. Holiday Trick-or-treat](https://cdn.britannica.com/79/219679-131-A8D9C7EF/Halloween-Ghost-Costume-Child-Trick-or-Treat.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/monsters-ghouls-and-ghosts-quiz) [Monsters, Ghouls, and Ghosts Quiz](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/monsters-ghouls-and-ghosts-quiz) [![Jules Verne (1828-1905) prolific French author whose writings laid much of the foundation of modern science fiction.](https://cdn.britannica.com/74/177874-131-62098C6C/Jules-Verne.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/famous-authors) [Famous Authors](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/famous-authors) [![Books. Reading. Publishing. Print. Literature. Literacy. 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(Pearl Buck)](https://cdn.britannica.com/51/218751-131-DA6446CB/American-author-Pearl-S-Buck-1962.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/novels-and-novelists-quiz) [Novels and Novelists Quiz](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/novels-and-novelists-quiz) Related Questions - [Where was science fiction invented?](https://www.britannica.com/question/Where-was-science-fiction-invented) - [Where does science fiction get its name?](https://www.britannica.com/question/Where-does-science-fiction-get-its-name) - [When did American literature begin?](https://www.britannica.com/question/When-did-American-literature-begin) - [Who are some important authors of American literature?](https://www.britannica.com/question/Who-are-some-important-authors-of-American-literature) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5) Ask Anything Quick Summary [Literature](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Literature) [Novels & Short Stories](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Novels-Short-Stories) [Novelists A-K](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Novelists-A-K) CITE Share Feedback External Websites [![The master of chills and suspense](https://cdn.britannica.com/20/217720-050-857D712B/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)](https://cdn.britannica.com/20/217720-050-857D712B/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg) [The master of chills and suspense](https://cdn.britannica.com/20/217720-050-857D712B/American-novelist-Stephen-King-2004.jpg) American author Stephen King, 2004. (more) # Stephen King American novelist Homework Help Also known as: Richard Bachmann, Stephen Edwin King Written and fact-checked by [Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419) Britannica Editors Last updated Mar. 21, 2026 •[History](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King/additional-info#history) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5) Britannica AI Ask Anything Quick Summary Table of Contents Table of Contents Quick Summary Ask Anything ## News • [Stephen King calls out Laura Loomer over crying baby post](https://www.newsweek.com/stephen-king-laura-loomer-crying-baby-11722603) • Mar. 23, 2026, 3:26 PM ET (Newsweek) ...(Show more) [Sylvester Stallone, Gina Carano, Stephen King, More Remember Chuck Norris: “All American in Every Way”](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/chuck-norris-dead-celeb-reactions-1236542463/) • Mar. 20, 2026, 1:42 PM ET (The Hollywood Reporter) [Stephen King book faces Utah school ban—this is his response](https://www.newsweek.com/entertainment/stephen-king-book-faces-utah-school-ban-response-11689502) • Mar. 17, 2026, 10:28 AM ET (Newsweek) [Stephen King attacks Trump over Iran: "Screaming for impeachment"](https://www.newsweek.com/stephen-king-attacks-trump-iran-screaming-for-impeachment-11687492) • Mar. 17, 2026, 4:47 AM ET (Newsweek) [Using email from wrong Stephen King was 'insulting', partner says](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-14/sa-email-bungle-and-the-human-impact/106452422) • Mar. 13, 2026, 4:27 PM ET (ABC News (Australia)) Show less Top Questions - Who is Stephen King? - What kinds of books is Stephen King famous for writing? - Which are some of Stephen King's most well-known novels? - What themes or topics does Stephen King often explore in his stories? - How have Stephen King's books influenced popular movies or television shows? - Why is Stephen King considered an important figure in modern literature? Show more Show less Stephen King (born September 21, 1947, [Portland](https://www.britannica.com/place/Portland-Maine), Maine, U.S.) is an American novelist and short-story writer whose books are [credited](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/credited) with reviving the [genre](https://www.britannica.com/art/genre-literature) of [horror fiction](https://www.britannica.com/art/horror-story) in the late 20th century. ## Early life King is the second of two sons born to Donald and Nellie Ruth (née Pillsbury) King. His parents separated when he was very young. King and his elder brother, David, moved several times while growing up, living near their father’s family in [Fort Wayne](https://www.britannica.com/place/Fort-Wayne), [Indiana](https://www.britannica.com/place/Indiana-state), and in [Stratford](https://www.britannica.com/place/Stratford-Connecticut), [Connecticut](https://www.britannica.com/place/Connecticut), before their mother moved them back to [Maine](https://www.britannica.com/place/Maine-state) when King was 11 years old. After graduating from [high school](https://www.britannica.com/topic/high-school) in 1966, King attended the [University of Maine](https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Maine), where he wrote for the school newspaper. He graduated with a [bachelor’s degree](https://www.britannica.com/topic/bachelors-degree) in English and a teaching certificate in 1970. The following year he married the writer Tabitha Spruce, whom he met in college. While writing [short stories](https://www.britannica.com/art/short-story), King earned a [meager](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/meager) income by teaching and working in an industrial laundry, among other jobs. He had sold his first story in 1967 to a [mystery](https://www.britannica.com/art/mystery-story) [fiction](https://www.britannica.com/art/fiction-literature) magazine, after which many of his stories were published in men’s magazines. ## Breakthrough with Carrie [![Sissy Spacek in Carrie](https://cdn.britannica.com/21/262121-050-78016AA6/Publicity-still-from-the-1976-film-Carrie-featuring-Sissy-Spacek-as-Carrie-White-Prom-scene-in-the-1976-film-Carrie.jpg?w=300)1 of 2](https://cdn.britannica.com/21/262121-050-78016AA6/Publicity-still-from-the-1976-film-Carrie-featuring-Sissy-Spacek-as-Carrie-White-Prom-scene-in-the-1976-film-Carrie.jpg) [Sissy Spacek in Carrie](https://cdn.britannica.com/21/262121-050-78016AA6/Publicity-still-from-the-1976-film-Carrie-featuring-Sissy-Spacek-as-Carrie-White-Prom-scene-in-the-1976-film-Carrie.jpg)In 1976 Stephen King's breakthrough novel Carrie (1974) was adapted into a film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Sissy Spacek in the title role. (more) [![Carrie](https://cdn.britannica.com/35/90535-050-001490D6/Piper-Laurie-Carrie-Sissy-Spacek-Brian-De.jpg?w=300)2 of 2](https://cdn.britannica.com/35/90535-050-001490D6/Piper-Laurie-Carrie-Sissy-Spacek-Brian-De.jpg) [Carrie](https://cdn.britannica.com/35/90535-050-001490D6/Piper-Laurie-Carrie-Sissy-Spacek-Brian-De.jpg)Piper Laurie (holding a knife) and Sissy Spacek in Carrie (1976), Brian De Palma's film adaptation of Stephen King's 1974 novel. (more) His first published [novel](https://www.britannica.com/art/novel), Carrie (1974), is about a tormented teenage girl gifted with [telekinetic](https://www.britannica.com/topic/psychokinesis) powers. Its inspiration was sparked by King’s memories of his brief stint working as a janitor in a high school and from an article he had read in [Life](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Life-magazine) magazine that proposed that girls might be susceptible to having powers of telekinesis at the time of their [first menstruation](https://www.britannica.com/science/menstruation#ref75988). The novel’s protagonist, a misfit named Carrie White, was created as a composite of two girls whom King knew when he was growing up. After drafting three pages of the novel, King had second thoughts about his idea and threw the pages away. His wife, however, rescued the pages from the trash, read them, and encouraged him to keep going. Carrie was an immediate popular success and was adapted into a film for the first time in 1976 (directed by [Brian De Palma](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Brian-De-Palma) and starring [Sissy Spacek](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sissy-Spacek) as Carrie). Other versions have appeared as television movies, feature films, and a [musical](https://www.britannica.com/art/musical) play. [![A child wearing a sheet for a Halloween ghost costume. Holiday Trick-or-treat](https://cdn.britannica.com/79/219679-131-A8D9C7EF/Halloween-Ghost-Costume-Child-Trick-or-Treat.jpg) Britannica Quiz Monsters, Ghouls, and Ghosts Quiz](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/monsters-ghouls-and-ghosts-quiz) ## Other novels [![The Shining](https://cdn.britannica.com/19/177219-050-907DD0E7/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg?w=300)](https://cdn.britannica.com/19/177219-050-907DD0E7/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg) [The Shining](https://cdn.britannica.com/19/177219-050-907DD0E7/Jack-Nicholson-The-Shining-Shelley-Duvall-Stanley.jpg)Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall in The Shining (1980), Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of Stephen King's 1977 novel. (more) Carrie was the first of many novels in which King blended horror, the [macabre](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/macabre), [fantasy](https://www.britannica.com/art/fantasy-narrative-genre), and [science fiction](https://www.britannica.com/art/science-fiction). Among such works are ’Salem’s Lot (1975; TV miniseries 1979 and 2004); [The Shining](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Shining-novel-by-King) (1977; [film 1980](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Shining-film-by-Kubrick); TV miniseries 1997); The Stand (1978; TV miniseries 1994 and 2020–21); and [The Dead Zone](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Dead-Zone) (1979; [film 1983](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Dead-Zone-film); TV series 2002–07). The Shining, a horror novel set in a haunted [Colorado](https://www.britannica.com/place/Colorado-state) hotel in the winter offseason, was inspired by King’s one-night stay in a similar hotel in [Estes Park](https://www.britannica.com/place/Estes-Park), Colorado, during a time when the Kings were living in nearby [Boulder](https://www.britannica.com/place/Boulder-Colorado). The Stand also mostly features a Colorado setting, though many of King’s novels, including Carrie, are set in Maine. [![Pennywise in the film It](https://cdn.britannica.com/98/196498-050-51868DCD/Pennywise-Bill-Skarsgard-film-adaptation-novel-Stephen.jpg?w=300)](https://cdn.britannica.com/98/196498-050-51868DCD/Pennywise-Bill-Skarsgard-film-adaptation-novel-Stephen.jpg) [Pennywise in the film It](https://cdn.britannica.com/98/196498-050-51868DCD/Pennywise-Bill-Skarsgard-film-adaptation-novel-Stephen.jpg)Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in It (2017), a film adaptation of Stephen King's 1986 novel. (more) King’s books were so popular by the 1980s that they were virtually guaranteed to be adapted into feature films, TV movies, or miniseries. That decade he published [Firestarter](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Firestarter-novel-by-King) (1980; [films 1984](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Firestarter-film) and 2022); [Cujo](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cujo) (1981; [film 1983](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cujo-film)); The Running Man (1982; film 1987); Christine (1983; film 1983); Thinner (1984; film 1996); [It](https://www.britannica.com/topic/It-by-King) (1986; TV miniseries 1990; [films 2017](https://www.britannica.com/topic/It-2017-film) and 2019); [Misery](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Misery-novel-by-King) (1987; [film 1990](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Misery-film-by-Reiner)); The Tommyknockers (1987; TV miniseries 1993); and The Dark Half (1989; [film 1993](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Dark-Half-1993-film)). By the early 1990s King’s books had sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, and his name had become synonymous with the [genre](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genre) of horror fiction. In the 1990s and first decades of the 21st century, he published Needful Things (1991; film 1993); Dolores Claiborne (1993; film 1995); The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999); Dreamcatcher (2001; film 2003); Cell (2006; film 2016); Lisey’s Story (2006; TV miniseries 2021); Duma Key (2008); Under the Dome (2009; TV series 2013–15); [11/22/63](https://www.britannica.com/topic/11-22-63) (2011; TV miniseries 2016); Joyland (2013); [Doctor Sleep](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Doctor-Sleep) (2013; [film 2019](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Doctor-Sleep-2019-film)), a sequel to The Shining; Revival (2014); The Outsider (2018; TV miniseries 2020); The Institute (2019); Later (2021); and Fairy Tale (2022). ## Richard Bachman novels King published several early novels, among them the The Running Man, under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. After admitting to being Bachman, King released a collection of the first four Bachman novels, The Bachman Books (1985), under his own name. The collection also includes his essay “Why I Was Bachman.” King later published The Regulators (1996) and Blaze (2007) under Bachman’s name. Explore Britannica Premium\! The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners. [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=redesign-2026) ![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-left.webp) ![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-right.webp) ![Mobile](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-mobile.webp?w=400) ## Serial novels King’s Mr. Mercedes (2014), Finders Keepers (2015), and End of Watch (2016) form a trilogy of [hard-boiled crime novels](https://www.britannica.com/art/hard-boiled-fiction) centering on retired detective Bill Hodges. The trilogy was adapted into a TV series in 2017–19, starring Brendan Gleeson as Hodges. King also wrote a serial novel, The Dark Tower, whose first installment, The Gunslinger, appeared in 1982; an eighth volume was published in 2012. A [film adaptation of the series](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Dark-Tower-film) was released in 2017, and a TV movie [adaptation](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adaptation) aired in 2020. ## Themes In his books, King explores almost every terror-producing theme imaginable, from [vampires](https://www.britannica.com/topic/vampire), [rabid](https://www.britannica.com/science/rabies) dogs, deranged killers, and a [pyromaniac](https://www.britannica.com/science/pyromania) to [ghosts](https://www.britannica.com/topic/ghost-spirit), [extrasensory perception](https://www.britannica.com/topic/extrasensory-perception) and telekinesis, [biological warfare](https://www.britannica.com/technology/biological-weapon), and even a malevolent [automobile](https://www.britannica.com/technology/automobile). In his later fiction, exemplified by Dolores Claiborne, King has departed from the horror genre to provide sharply detailed psychological portraits of his protagonists, many of them women, who confront difficult and challenging circumstances. Though sometimes [disparaged](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disparaged) as undisciplined and inelegant, King’s books show him to be a talented storyteller who [deploys](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deploys) realistic detail, forceful plotting, and an undoubted ability to involve and scare the reader. His work consistently addresses such themes as the potential for politics and [technology](https://www.britannica.com/technology/technology) to disrupt or even destroy an individual human life. Obsession—the forms it can assume and its power to wreck individuals, families, and whole communities—is a recurring theme in King’s fiction, driving the narratives of Christine, Misery, and Needful Things. ## Short fiction His short fiction has been collected in such volumes as Night Shift (1978), Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993; TV miniseries 2006), Hearts in Atlantis (1999; [film 2001](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hearts-in-Atlantis)), Just After Sunset (2008), and The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015). His collection You Like It Darker was released in 2024. Among its stories is “The Answer Man,” which King began writing in the 1970s but did not finish because he did not think the story was worthwhile. As King [told National Public Radio](https://www.npr.org/2024/05/22/1252772130/stephen-king-new-book-short-stories-you-like-it-darker), his nephew found the story while clearing out King’s writing space to archive the author’s unpublished and unfinished works, and he encouraged King to complete and publish the story. The [novella](https://www.britannica.com/art/novella) [Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rita-Hayworth-and-the-Shawshank-Redemption), which was published in Different Seasons (1982), inspired the [Academy Award](https://www.britannica.com/art/Academy-Award)\-nominated film [The Shawshank Redemption](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Shawshank-Redemption) (1994), starring [Morgan Freeman](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Morgan-Freeman) and [Tim Robbins](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tim-Robbins). ## Films and TV work Numerous TV and film [adaptations](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adaptations) have been made of King’s works, and they involved such notable directors as [John Carpenter](https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Carpenter-filmmaker), [David Cronenberg](https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Cronenberg), [Brian De Palma](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Brian-De-Palma), [Stanley Kubrick](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stanley-Kubrick), [George A. Romero](https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-A-Romero), and [Rob Reiner](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rob-Reiner). While King often had little participation in these projects, he wrote the TV miniseries The Stand (1994), The Shining (1997), and Lisey’s Story (2021). For The Stand and The Shining, King received [Emmy Award](https://www.britannica.com/art/Emmy-Award) nominations for outstanding miniseries. He also penned several motion-picture screenplays, including Maximum Overdrive (1986), which he directed. ## On Writing and nontraditional publishing King explored both his own career and the craft of writing in On Writing (2000), a book he completed while recovering from severe injuries he had received after being struck by a car. He has also experimented with different forms of book distribution. The Plant: Zenith Rising was released in 2000 solely as an [e-book](https://www.britannica.com/technology/e-book), distributed via the [Internet](https://www.britannica.com/technology/Internet), with readers asked but not required to pay for it. The novella UR was made available in 2009 only to users of the [Kindle](https://www.britannica.com/technology/Kindle) electronic reading device. The short story “Drunken Fireworks” was released in 2015 as an audiobook prior to its print publication. ## Personal life and honors King and his wife, Tabitha King, have a daughter, Naomi King, who is a [Unitarian Universalist](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Unitarian-Universalist-Association) minister, and two sons, Joe Hill and Owen King, who are novelists. With Owen King he wrote Sleeping Beauties (2017), in which women become wrapped in [cocoons](https://www.britannica.com/science/cocoon-biology) when they fall asleep. Quick Facts In full: Stephen Edwin King (Show more) Born: September 21, 1947, [Portland](https://www.britannica.com/place/Portland-Maine), [Maine](https://www.britannica.com/place/Maine-state), U.S. (age 78) (Show more) Awards And Honors: [Edgar Award (2016)](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Edgar-Award) [National Medal of Arts (2015)](https://www.britannica.com/art/National-Medal-of-Arts) [Edgar Award (2015)](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Edgar-Award) [National Medal of Arts (2015)](https://www.britannica.com/art/National-Medal-of-Arts) [National Book Award (2003)](https://www.britannica.com/art/National-Book-Award) (Show more) Notable Works: [“11/22/63”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/11-22-63) [“Carrie”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Carrie-novel-by-King) [“Cell”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cell-novel-by-King) [“Christine”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christine-novel-by-King) [“Cujo”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cujo) [“Dolores Claiborne”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dolores-Claiborne) [“Finders Keepers”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Finders-Keepers-by-King) [“Firestarter”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Firestarter-novel-by-King) [“It”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/It-by-King) [“Lisey’s Story”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Liseys-Story) [“Misery”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Misery-novel-by-King) [“Mr. Mercedes”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mr-Mercedes) [“Needful Things”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Needful-Things) [“Night Shift”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Night-Shift-short-story-by-King) [“Sleeping Beauties”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sleeping-Beauties) [“The Dark Half”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Dark-Half) [“The Dead Zone”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Dead-Zone) [“The Plant: Zenith Rising”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Plant-Zenith-Rising) [“The Running Man”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Running-Man) [“The Shining”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Shining-novel-by-King) [“The Stand”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Stand) [“The Tommyknockers”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Tommyknockers) [“UR”](https://www.britannica.com/topic/UR-novella-by-King) (Show more) On the Web: [PBS News - Stephen King reflects on his iconic career and latest release 'You Like It Darker'](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/stephen-king-reflects-on-his-iconic-career-and-latest-release-you-like-it-darker) (Mar. 21, 2026) (Show more) [See all related content](https://www.britannica.com/facts/Stephen-King) King received the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2003 and the [National Medal of Arts](https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-National-Medal-of-Arts-recipients-2038058) in 2015. [The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419)This article was most recently revised and updated by [René Ostberg](https://www.britannica.com/editor/rene-ostberg/12853185). ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)Britannica AI chevron\_right Stephen King close [AI-generated answers](https://www.britannica.com/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. Load Next Page Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. print Print Please select which sections you would like to print: verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Bracken, Haley. "The Shining". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Oct. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Shining-novel-by-King. Accessed 7 April 2026. Copy Citation Share Share to social media [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/) [X](https://x.com/britannica) URL <https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Shining-novel-by-King> External Websites - [International Journal of Science and Research - Analysing the Pattern of ï¿½Suspense Buildingï¿½ in ï¿½Stephen King's the Shiningï¿½](https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v11i6/SR22529120850.pdf) - [Project MUSE - The Shining (PDF)](https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/319/oa_monograph/chapter/2331433) - [CORE - Gothic Elements in Stephen Kingï¿½s The Shining](https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/197865765.pdf) - [Internet Archive - "The Shining"](https://archive.org/details/11-king-stephen-the-shining/mode/2up) Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. print Print Please select which sections you would like to print: verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Britannica Editors. "Stephen King". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Mar. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King. Accessed 7 April 2026. Copy Citation Share Share to social media [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/) [X](https://x.com/britannica) URL <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King> External Websites - [All Music - Biography of Stephen King](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/stephen-king-mn0000024991) - [The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction - Stephen King](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/king_stephen) - [Official Site of Stephen King](https://stephenking.com/) - [CNN US - Stephen King Fast Facts](https://edition.cnn.com/us/stephen-king-fast-facts) - [PBS News - Stephen King reflects on his iconic career and latest release 'You Like It Darker'](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/stephen-king-reflects-on-his-iconic-career-and-latest-release-you-like-it-darker) Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. - [Stephen King - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Stephen-King/275279)
Readable Markdown	Top Questions - Who wrote the novel 'The Shining'? - What is the basic plot of 'The Shining'? - Who are the main characters in 'The Shining'? - Where does most of the story take place in 'The Shining'? - What supernatural element plays a key role in 'The Shining'? - How does 'The Shining' explore the theme of isolation and its effects on the characters? The Shining, gothic [horror](https://www.britannica.com/art/horror-story) [novel](https://www.britannica.com/art/novel) by [Stephen King](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King), first published in 1977. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film [adaptation](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adaptation), the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. A sequel, titled Doctor Sleep, was published in 2013 and adapted into a film in 2019. ## Summary and characters The Shining is set in [Colorado](https://www.britannica.com/place/Colorado-state) in the 1970s. It centers on the Torrance family: husband Jack, wife Wendy, and their five-year-old son, Danny. At the beginning of the novel, Jack is hired as the caretaker of the remote Overlook Hotel for the winter offseason. He is informed by the hotel manager that the previous caretaker, Delbert Grady, killed his entire family inside the hotel. Specifically, Grady “murdered the little girls with a hatchet, his wife with a shotgun, and himself the same way.” As Jack later learns, the Overlook has a long and ghastly history. Over the years, it has housed illicit affairs, horrible murders, and mob-style executions; perhaps by consequence, its ownership has changed hands several times. Jack is nonetheless determined to be the caretaker. In the past, Jack—an aspiring writer and former [prep-school](https://www.britannica.com/topic/preparatory-school) teacher—struggled with [alcoholism](https://www.britannica.com/science/alcoholism) and anger issues; once, he accidentally broke his son’s arm while trying to [discipline](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discipline) him. More recently, Jack assaulted a teenage student who let the air out of his tires. The incident cost Jack his teaching job and compelled his wife, Wendy, to strongly consider a divorce. Now Jack is a recovering alcoholic. His ties to his family are weak, and his play—a long-stalled work in progress—remains largely unfinished. Jack hopes that the seclusion of the Overlook will help him finish the play and reconnect with his wife and son. [![Portrait of young thinking bearded man student with stack of books on the table before bookshelves in the library](https://cdn.britannica.com/48/228448-131-2A77AABD/A-student-looking-quizzical.jpg) Britannica Quiz Famous Novels, First Lines Quiz](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/famous-literary-first-lines-quiz) On the day of their arrival, the Torrances are given a tour of the Overlook by the hotel manager. They are introduced to Dick Hallorann, the hotel cook, who takes a special interest in Danny. Unlike his parents, Danny is remarkably perceptive and supernaturally gifted; he has [extrasensory](https://www.britannica.com/topic/extrasensory-perception) abilities that allow him to read minds, communicate [telepathically](https://www.britannica.com/topic/telepathy), and see past and possible future events. As he tells Hallorann, he is sometimes visited by a shadowy, [ethereal](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethereal) figure whom he calls “Tony.” Hallorann explains that he has powers similar to Danny’s; he calls them “the shining.” Hallorann not only helps Danny understand his powers but also tells him, “If there is trouble…you give a call.” Hallorann then leaves for [St. Petersburg](https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Petersburg-Florida), [Florida](https://www.britannica.com/place/Florida), where he spends his winters. Shortly thereafter, the remaining staff and guests depart, leaving the Torrance family alone in the Overlook. The longer the Torrances stay at the Overlook, the more haunting and powerful it becomes. While inside the hotel, Danny is plagued by disturbing visions and apparitions: “REDRUM” (“MURDER” spelled backward) appears in several [contexts](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contexts), gruesome figures materialize in strange places, a fire hose chases him down a hallway, and so on. For a long time, Danny refuses to tell either parent about what he has seen. Still, Wendy perceives that something is wrong with Danny. She thinks about removing herself and her son from the hotel, leaving Jack to finish the job alone, but ultimately decides against it. Not long after, a heavy snowfall all but cuts the Torrances off from the outside world. During this time, the Overlook begins trying to possess Jack. It [entices](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/entices) him with historical records and a mysterious scrapbook documenting the exploits of its guests. Eventually, it convinces Jack to destroy his two-way [CB radio](https://www.britannica.com/technology/citizens-band-radio) and disable the hotel [snowmobile](https://www.britannica.com/technology/snowmobile). The Overlook thereby eliminates the family’s only remaining links to the outside world. Although unaware of the hotel’s power over her husband, Wendy grows increasingly distrustful of Jack. After a corpse tries to strangle Danny in the infamous room 217 and Wendy and Jack see the resulting bruise on their son’s neck, Wendy accuses Jack of abusing Danny. On the morning of December 2, Jack wanders into the hotel ballroom. To his surprise, he finds the bar stocked with liquor and tended by a bartender named Lloyd. While Lloyd pours Jack [martini](https://www.britannica.com/topic/martini) after martini, a ghostly party—a 1945 [masquerade](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/masquerade) ball—rages on in the ballroom. After several drinks, Jack is confronted by the [ghost](https://www.britannica.com/topic/ghost-spirit) of Delbert Grady, the caretaker who murdered his family. Grady urges Jack to “correct” his wife and son. In his drunken, enraged state, Jack agrees. That afternoon he attempts to strangle Wendy in the barroom. Wendy’s fingertips graze a glass bottle, which she uses to hit Jack over the head and escape his grip. Together, she and Danny drag Jack’s unconscious body to a walk-in pantry and lock him inside. Go beyond the basics with trusted, in-depth knowledge for professionals, students, and lifelong learners. [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=basics-2026) ![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-left.webp) ![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-right.webp) ![Mobile](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-mobile.webp?w=400) A few hours later, Grady confronts Jack in the pantry. After making him promise to kill Wendy and bring his son to “us,” presumably the evil spirits of the Overlook, Grady unlocks the pantry, releasing Jack. Again, Jack attacks Wendy, this time with one of the hotel’s roque mallets, savagely injuring her. Although she stabs him in the lower back with a kitchen knife, Jack’s attacks do not [cease](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/cease). Unable to walk, Wendy drags herself up the grand stairs and locks herself in her bathroom. Jack follows closely behind and, upon finding the bathroom door locked, attempts to break the door down with the mallet. When he thrusts his hand through the resulting hole in the door, Wendy slashes it with a razor blade. Meanwhile, Hallorann receives a psychic call for help from Danny. He rushes back to the Overlook, where he is attacked by its hedge animals, which, like the rest of the hotel, have come to life. Hallorann manages to make it inside the Overlook only to be gravely injured by Jack, who apparently overheard the approach of his snowmobile. With both Wendy and her would-be rescuer out of the way, Jack pursues Danny. Unbeknownst to Jack, Danny is wandering the hallways of the hotel, following Tony’s voice. Tony appears to Danny and tells him, “Danny…you’re in a place deep down in your own mind. The place where I am. I’m a part of you, Danny.” As it turns out, Tony is an older version of Danny; he comes to warn his younger self about forthcoming events. At last, Danny understands: > A long and nightmarish masquerade party went on here, and had gone on for years. Little by little a force had [accrued](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accrued), as secret and silent as interest in a bank account. Force, presence, shape, they were all only words and none of them mattered. It wore many masks, but it was all one. Now, somewhere, it was coming for him. It was hiding behind Daddy’s face, it was imitating Daddy’s voice, it was wearing Daddy’s clothes. Before disappearing, Tony prophesies that Danny “will remember what \[his\] father forgot.” After some searching, Jack corners Danny on the third floor. Danny observes the creature that his father has become. He reminds himself “it was not his daddy, not this Saturday Night Shock Show horror with its rolling eyes and hunched and hulking shoulders and blood-drenched shirt.” Despite Jack’s [menacing](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/menacing) threats, Danny stands his ground. He denounces Jack as a “mask”—a “false face” worn by the hotel. For a moment, Jack recovers control of his body, and he tells his son that he must run. The hotel then takes full control of Jack: > It bent over, exposing the knife handle in its back. Its hands closed around the mallet again, but instead of aiming at Danny, it reversed the handle, aiming the hard side of the roque mallet at its own face….Then the mallet began to rise and descend, destroying the last of [Jack Torrance’s](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jack-Torrance) image. Suddenly, Danny remembers what his father forgot: the Overlook’s old, unstable boiler has not been checked for days. He announces his discovery to the hotel-creature, causing it to panic and take off for the basement. In its absence, Danny finds Wendy and Hallorann, and, together, they flee the hotel. Seconds after they make their exit, the boiler explodes. The hotel-creature is instantly killed, and the Overlook gradually [succumbs](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/succumbs) to the fire. The surviving party—Hallorann, Wendy, and Danny—ride away on a snowmobile. A short [epilogue](https://www.britannica.com/art/epilogue) (set in the summer) follows. Hallorann has taken a job in [Maine](https://www.britannica.com/place/Maine-state), where Wendy is recovering from her injuries and Danny fishes. Although he misses Jack, Danny accepts Hallorann as a father figure. Hallorann, in turn, assures Danny that he and his mother will be okay. Together with Wendy, Hallorann watches as Danny reels in a rainbow-colored fish. ## Origins and background [King](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stephen-King) was inspired to write The Shining after staying a night at the Stanley Hotel in [Estes Park](https://www.britannica.com/place/Estes-Park), Colorado, a resort town nestled in the [Rocky Mountains](https://www.britannica.com/place/Rocky-Mountains). In late September 1974, King and his wife, Tabitha, checked into what King described as a “grand old hotel.” Notably, the Kings stayed in room 217. King [recalled](https://stephenking.com/works/novel/shining.html) that he and his wife were the only guests staying at the hotel; it was set to close for the winter season the next day. While exploring its hallways, King thought to himself: > \[The hotel\] seemed the perfect—maybe the archetypical—setting for a [ghost story](https://www.britannica.com/art/ghost-story). That night I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire-hose. I [woke](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/woke) up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed. That night, King solidified the “bones of the book.” According to King, The Shining has strong autobiographical undertones. Two of the novel’s central themes—namely, the dangers of alcoholism and the disintegration of the family—are extracts of the author’s personal fears. King struggled with alcoholism in the early stages of his career. In the late 1970s King [claimed](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/stephen-king-the-rolling-stone-interview-191529/) that he was “drinking, like, a case of beer a night.” He worried that he would lose control of his addiction and in some way hurt his family. The Shining voices this concern. Although he did not realize it at the time, King later claimed that “I had written The Shining…about myself.” King [described](https://books.google.com/books?id=yMbYYw_6200C&pg=PT73) the act of writing the novel as “a kind of self-[psychoanalysis](https://www.britannica.com/science/psychoanalysis).” It was also a form of [catharsis](https://www.britannica.com/art/catharsis-criticism): writing the novel helped King keep his more violent urges at bay. King’s drinking problem worsened in the 1980s. He wrote novels that, he later explained, he barely remembered writing, including Cujo (1981) and The Tommyknockers (1987). In the late 1980s, Tabitha King staged an intervention, and King became sober. ## Symbolism and epigraphs King is not known for subtlety in his novels. Yet three of the most important details in The Shining appear before the novel even begins. These details—found in the novel’s three epigraphs—are essential for understanding King’s literary [aspirations](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aspirations). The first epigraph is perhaps the most important. It is an excerpt taken from [Edgar Allan Poe](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edgar-Allan-Poe)’s tale “[The Masque of the Red Death](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Masque-of-the-Red-Death)” (1842). In the tale, a fictional [medieval](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medieval) prince gives a masquerade ball at his castle. At midnight, the Red Death—a plague that causes swift, agonizing death—reveals itself among the revelers and kills them all. The story concludes with the words that King quotes: “And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.” [Allusions](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Allusions) to “The Masque of the Red Death” abound in The Shining. Certain images and motifs from the tale are replicated. The color red, for example, figures prominently in both stories. An essential ingredient in Poe’s tale, “Blood” is the Red Death’s “Avatar and its seal.” The Red Death leaves “scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim.” When the Red Death appears at the ball, it appears in a “vesture…dabbled in blood.” Likewise, the castle room in which the Red Death ultimately kills the revelers is lined with “blood-colored panes.” Blood plays a similarly important role in The Shining. Danny is haunted by images of blood and brain matter throughout the novel. In the climax, Jack sees “red liquid…spraying up like an obscene rain shower, striking the glass sides of the \[clock\] dome and running,” and he thinks to himself, “clockwork can’t bleed clockwork can’t bleed.” The color red appears in other contexts. When Jack is extremely angry, he sees “red.” Some readers have even suggested that “REDRUM,” which is phonetically similar to “red room,” is an [allusion](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allusion) to Poe’s tale. There are other similarities between the stories. King’s description of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining parallels Poe’s description of the castle in “The Masque of the Red Death.” Like Poe, King focuses on the grandiosity and remoteness of his chosen setting. King’s setting—again, like Poe’s—hosts a masquerade ball governed by a clock with seemingly supernatural powers. Here it is worth noting that masks (and, especially, unmasking) play a particularly important role in both stories. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” all the characters (including the Red Death) hide behind literal masks. In The Shining, the main characters conceal their true identities behind metaphorical masks. In the climax of the novel, the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel, led by former hotel owner Horace Derwent, chant “Unmask! Unmask\!” at Jack. After the final cry of “UNMASK\!,” King [paraphrases](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/paraphrases) the end of Poe’s tale. He announces “…the Red Death held sway over all\!” The second epigraph is shorter than the first but no less revealing. It states that “the sleep of reason breeds monsters.” This is the English translation of the Spanish phrase used in an 18th-century etching by [Francisco Goya](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francisco-Goya), a Spanish artist known for his grotesque imagery. The etching is part of a series of etchings collectively titled Los caprichos (published 1799; “Caprices,” or “Follies”). In this particular [etching](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/338473), an artist sleeps at his desk while various flying animals—including [owls](https://www.britannica.com/animal/owl) and [bats](https://www.britannica.com/animal/bat-mammal)—lurk behind him. In sleep, the artist’s rational faculties give way to the irrational “monsters” of his imagination. Goya’s etching plays on the boundaries between waking and sleeping, rationality and irrationality, the natural and the supernatural. King’s novel plays on the same boundaries. Inside the Overlook Hotel, all three Torrances struggle to distinguish between reality and [illusion](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/illusion). In the novel, King crafts his own version of Goya’s expression. Both Jack and Danny observe that “this inhuman place makes human monsters.” The third and final epigraph is a [proverb](https://www.britannica.com/art/proverb): “It’ll shine when it shines,” traditionally used to refer to the [weather](https://www.britannica.com/science/weather). However, it takes on a different meaning in the [context](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/context) of the novel, where “shining” denotes a psychic ability. The epigraph’s casting of “shining” as an uncontrollable natural phenomenon also seems to suggest the reality and validity of second sight—of premonitions and visions and [prophecies](https://www.britannica.com/topic/prophecy). Perhaps, it argues, if Jack and Wendy had trusted Danny’s “shine,” the tragedy of the Overlook could have been avoided. [Stanley Kubrick](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stanley-Kubrick)’s 1980 [film](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Shining-film-by-Kubrick), starring [Jack Nicholson](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jack-Nicholson) as Jack Torrance and [Shelley Duvall](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shelley-Duvall) as Wendy, is the most famous adaptation of King’s novel. It was one of Kubrick’s many film [adaptations](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adaptations) of books. Kubrick’s vision for the film differed significantly from King’s; in fact, Kubrick rejected the [screenplay](https://www.britannica.com/art/screenplay) King wrote for the film, opting instead to write his own screenplay with the help of American novelist [Diane Johnson](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Diane-Johnson). Most of the film was shot on a specially constructed set in [Hertfordshire](https://www.britannica.com/place/Hertfordshire), [England](https://www.britannica.com/place/England), in 1978. Kubrick reportedly exposed 1.3 million feet (396,240 meters) of film while shooting. (A typical shooting ratio—comparing the total hours of footage shot with the eventual running time of the film—is 5:1 or 10:1. Kubrick’s shooting ratio was more than 100:1.) The completed film premiered on May 23, 1980. King was vocal about his dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s adaptation. Although he admitted that he had “admired Kubrick for a long time and had great expectations for the project,” King was “deeply disappointed in the end result.” The author accused the filmmaker of mischaracterizing Jack and Wendy Torrance, thereby dramatically changing the nature of their relationship (and their relationship to the audience). King took issue with Nicholson’s character’s lack of interiority. In King’s mind, “Jack Torrance, in the movie, seems crazy from the jump.” [As he told Playboy magazine](https://books.google.com/books?id=eWeWBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA465) in 1983, “If the guy is nuts to begin with, then the entire tragedy of his downfall is wasted.” Kubrick also made important changes to Wendy’s character. He transformed the bold, [resilient](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resilient) Wendy of the novel into a timid, emotionally fragile character. King disliked the casting of Duvall as Wendy. In a [2013 interview with the BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-24151957/stephen-king-returns-to-the-shining-with-doctor-sleep), King said, “Shelley Duvall as Wendy is really one of the most [misogynistic](https://www.britannica.com/topic/misogyny) characters ever put on film. She’s basically just there to scream and be stupid, and that’s not the woman that I wrote about.” King once colorfully [described](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/stephen-king-the-rolling-stone-interview-191529/) Duvall’s character as a “screaming dishrag.” For her part, Duvall once said that she was “in and out of ill health” while filming “because the stress of the role was so great.” She also called her character in The Shining “the most difficult role I’ve ever had to play.” There are other differences between Kubrick’s adaptation and the novel. In the film, Kubrick replaces King’s hedge animals with a hedge maze. At the end of the film, Jack and the Overlook freeze; in the novel, the hotel burns in a [fiery](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/fiery) explosion. King’s dissatisfaction with Kubrick’s The Shining eventually resulted in a 1997 television miniseries. The TV adaptation, starring Steven Weber as Jack Torrance and Rebecca De Mornay as Wendy Torrance, used King’s original screenplay. Despite King’s disapproval and mixed critical reviews, Kubrick’s The Shining performed relatively well at the box office, grossing about \$44 million in the [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States). Today, Kubrick’s film is considered a cinematic classic. It is widely regarded as one of the scariest and most influential [horror movies](https://www.britannica.com/art/horror-film) ever made, alongside [Alfred Hitchcock](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-Hitchcock)’s [Psycho](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Psycho-film-1960) (1960), [William Friedkin](https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Friedkin)’s [The Exorcist](https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Exorcist-film-by-Friedkin) (1973), and [Wes Craven](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wes-Craven)’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). A [documentary](https://www.britannica.com/art/documentary-film) about Kubrick’s adaptation appeared in theaters in the United States in 2013. Titled Room 237, it [delved](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/delved) into the symbolism and possible interpretations of Kubrick’s film. ## Sequel In September 2013, King published [Doctor Sleep](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Doctor-Sleep), a follow-up to The Shining set more than 30 years after the events of the first novel. In the follow-up, 40-year-old Danny (now “Dan”) Torrance moves to the small town of Frazier, [New Hampshire](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Hampshire-state). His mother, Wendy, is dead. She died of [lung cancer](https://www.britannica.com/science/lung-cancer)—possibly caused by ingesting smoke from the explosion of the Overlook—in 1999. Like his father did, Dan struggles with alcoholism and anger issues. In an effort to curb his drinking, Dan attends a few [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alcoholics-Anonymous) (AA) meetings. After several days of sobriety, he begins to regain his psychic abilities, which had long been [suppressed](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/suppressed) by his drinking. He finds work as a night porter at a local [hospice](https://www.britannica.com/science/hospice), where he uses his “shine” to comfort dying patients. He becomes known to them as “Doctor Sleep.” Dan’s peaceful existence in Frazier is disrupted by a psychic call for help from Abra Stone, a telepathic preteen with abilities that outshine his own. The much-anticipated sequel reportedly sold 134,000 copies in its first week. The novel received generally positive reviews. [The New York Times called it](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/books/review/stephen-kings-shining-sequel-doctor-sleep.html) “a very good specimen of the quintessential King blend.” [A reviewer at The Guardian complimented](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/25/doctor-sleep-stephen-king-review) King’s “brilliantly simulated normality.” In the author’s note for Doctor Sleep, King noted, “The man who wrote Doctor Sleep is very different from the well-meaning alcoholic who wrote The Shining, but both remain interested in the same thing: telling a kickass story.”
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