Stephen King: ‘The Shining’—when the author explored his own secrets
“King was writing Jack Torrance as a kind of exorcism.”—author Grady Hendrix
As the harsh winter weather sets in, the location feels more remote—and more sinister. The Shining is a classic of modern American horror from the undisputed master, Stephen King.
In Stephen King’s classic novel The Shining, Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote…and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted 5-year-old.
“Consciously, King was writing Jack Torrance as a kind of exorcism,” author Grady Hendrix wrote on Tor.com, “coping with his fears that he might lose control and lash out at his kids by expressing them on paper, but it’s what he unconsciously inserted into the book, the silent passengers, that are even more resonant. King has talked about feeling like there’s a component of automatic writing to his work, of getting into a flow where he’s a vessel and the story comes through him, not from him, and the conditions under which he wrote The Shining are optimal for this kind of subconscious dumping.”—Writing Your Fear: Stephen King’s The Shining (Tor.com)
The Shining
Stephen King
Anchor
Categories: Ghost Thrillers, Paranormal Suspense
Reviews
“I do remember being surprised ten years ago by how good The Shining was, and upon a second read with my lady, the charm certainly hadn't faded. The Shining is quite simply a damn good horror story, combining natural and supernatural, complex characters and a fantastically creepy atmosphere into one huge pile of awesome! I suspect that like Jackson's Haunting of Hill House, and Poe's Mask of the Red Death (both of which King references), The Shining will remain a classic for decades to come, and one which (like my lady), I might well return to in the future myself.”—Fantasy Book Review
“The Shining is one of Stephen King’s best novels and a classic of the horror and psychological thriller genres. If you enjoy the supernatural, haunted houses, battles with evil, and psychological torment, then this novel is for you.”—Book Analysis
“Stephen King has added nearly innumerable chapters to his legacy over the past few decades, but I still firmly believe none of his new works can hold a candle to the classics which defined him, such as The Shining. Having defined the horror genre in its time, the novel tells the story of a caretaker and his family stuck in a haunted hotel, slowly driven insane by its paranormal inhabitants.”—Bookwormex
About the Author
Stephen King is the author of dozens of books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are 11/22/63; Full Dark, No Stars; Under the Dome; Just After Sunset; Duma Key; Lisey’s Story; Cell; and the Dark Tower saga. He was the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. In 2007, he received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America.
