After losing his job at a swanky private school in Vermont, Jack Torrance moves with his wife Wendy and their five-year-old son Danny to a remote mountain in the Colorado Rockies, where he will serve as the winter caretaker of the storied Overlook Hotel.
You probably know what happens next: awakened by young Danny’s extrasensory powers, the Overlook terrorizes the young family with ghosts, topiary bushes come to life, and vibes so bad that they reactivate the symptoms of Jack’s alcoholism even though there’s nary a drop of the juice anywhere on the premises.
King’s third book and his first hardcover bestseller, The Shining has sold more than 10 million copies since it was first published nearly 50 years ago and remains the author’s most popular work with more than 1.7 million Goodreads ratings.
New York Times canon editor and lifelong King fan Gilbert Cruz joined Jeff and Rebecca on Zero to Well-Read for a conversation about The Shining‘s impact and enduring appeal. Find it on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find podcasts, and get into some extra credit trivia and literary tourism below.
Two Truths and a Lie
Which one’s the lie? Answer at the end.
- It took King a year to finish the first draft of The Shining.
- King wrote an entire draft of a screenplay for The Shining, but Stanley Kubrick didn’t read a word of it.
- Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining, was King’s 56th novel.
Literscary Tourism
Located in Estes Park, Colorado, the historic Stanley Hotel inspired Stephen King to write The Shining after his 1974 stay in Room 217. You can stay at the hotel and take in the majestic views of the Colorado Mountains, and maybe find some literary inspiration of your own.
While you’re there, book The Shining Tour, a 60-minute walking tour offered by The Stanley exploring the differences between King’s novel, the 1980 Kubrick adaptation, and the 1997 miniseries. Ever wondered why Kubrick’s movie wasn’t filmed at the hotel while the miniseries was? You’ll find that out and more through behind-the-scenes stories from each production.
Did Ya Know?
The hotel used for some of the exterior shots of Kubrick’s adaptation is the Timberline Lodge on the south side of Mt. Hood, about an hour east of Portland, Oregon. The hotel requested that Kubrick change the room in the film from Room 217 to Room 237, which doesn’t exist, so guests wouldn’t ask to avoid Room 217. As it turns out, Room 217 is their most requested room to date.
Links and Things
- If you haven’t yet read the prolific author’s works (it’s okay, a lot of us haven’t), here’s a Stephen King Reading Pathway to get you started.
- Here’s a quick peek inside The Stanley Hotel and a mini crash course on its lore, and a more in-depth documentary about the property.
- Feeling shady? Here’s King on Letterman spilling the tea on how he really felt about Kubrick’s adaptation. And again on the Drew Barrymore show.
- For the movie buffs, here’s an episode of the Blank Check podcast all about The Shining.
- On NPR’s Book of the Day podcast, King talks about the 30-year gap between The Shining and its sequel, and about the novel he co-wrote with this son, Owen King.
Answer: #1. It only took King four months to write the first draft.