Stephen King is one of the best writers of our time, and according to the many prestigious awards he received over the years, perhaps the best horror author of the 21th century. But what makes a good horror story? “Fiction is the truth inside the lie”, as he himself put it and this may be the answer to this question, this may be the essence of horror. People fear the truth, so they lie to themselves and as a consequence, when they come across some truths in fiction, the horror is all the more real. We all have our dark thoughts deep in our subconscious and King is a master at pulling them to the surface.
The Shining is the crowning achievement of King’s literary work, even today, despite the fact that it came out in 1977. The inspiration came when King and his wife visited the Stanley Hotel in Colorado. Oddly enough, they were the only guests in the hotel that night and they even got the room which was said to be haunted. After an uncanny, nightmare filled night, the idea for the book was born. King also said, that his inspirations for the novel included works like; Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” and Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death”. Following the novel’s success, a movie adaptation was made in 1980, directed by Stanley Kubrick. King made it no secret that he disliked the movie, but despite this, it was critically acclaimed. King eventually created his own movie version, as a TV miniseries, with the direction of Mick Garris, but it was met with lukewarm reception. In 2013, King released a sequel to the novel titled “Dr. Sleep”, to great critical acclaim.
The story takes place in the 70s, in the Colorado Mountains and it revolves around the Torrance family. Jack Torrance is an aspiring writer and a recovering alcoholic, two often used King tropes. He struggles with anger issues, which in the past caused some major problems, like losing his job as a teacher, or hurting his son. As a favor, one of his old friends from the school gets him a job as a caretaker at the Overlook Hotel in the winter season, but there’s a catch. He’d be alone with his wife, Wendy and son, Danny all winter, isolated from the outside world, but lacking options, he takes the job. Unbeknownst to Jack and Wendy, their son can use some supernatural abilities, like predicting the future and reading minds. This is also a favorite character attribute King likes to use. As we progress through the story, it becomes apparent that the Overlook Hotel holds more surprises than they bargained for.
One of the great classics, The Shining builds on many of horror’s most prominent tropes. Including, but not limited to, the haunted house, the invisible evil presence, the slasher, or even some non-genre exclusive tropes like the wise old mentor are all present. Some may consider this a fault, saying that it lacks originality, but King uses them so well that his interpretation on them can offer something new and exciting. He even pulls out some serious issues from the real world, like domestic violence and alcoholism and their consequences. Everyone knows at least one person who suffers from these issues, so the reader can relate, or at least sympathize with the characters. Be it Jack’s tormented psyche, Wendy’s motherly love or Danny’s terror that only a child can experience, nearly everyone can imagine being in a similar situation.
The characters King created are wonderfully developed, with their own motivations, fears, desires and personalities. The way Jack slowly slips into madness from isolation and the hotel’s influence is gradual and believable. Wendy seems uncertain, way too dependent on her husband at first, but slowly pulls herself together and becomes a strong individual who fights for her own and her son’s safety. Danny is a great example of a well-written child character, as he’s not just there to be scared and in need of saving, but rather a central element of the whole plot. The only prominent supporting character, Dick Holloran, the hotel cook is also a great addition to the character roster, as he functions as a mentor to Danny, but doesn’t come off as a forced addition.
Of course, nothing is perfect and sometimes the reader might feel like the story just stops dead. Quiet time is a very important aspect of literature, as it lets the reader take a breath, take in the atmosphere or allows the story to simply re-iterate on some points. Even movies took note and implemented some quiet time between all the action. Despite the importance of quiet time, King sometimes overuses this tool. Fake scares and build-ups without proper pay-offs happen and these occasions leave the reader unsatisfied with some parts. On the other hand, these dead-ends help punctuate the truly creepy and good parts of the novel, so perhaps it’s intentional. Still, a few parts would benefit from some added excitement.
The novel is a melting pot of everything horror as a genre has to offer; suspense, scares, freak-out moments, and a long lasting, fear-fueled impression even after the reader puts down the book. This is the real power of a good horror story. It captivates the readers long after they finished the book, the fear and anxiety they experienced lingers with them for a long time. It is highly recommended to anyone who likes creepy or scary stories and for Stephen King fans, it’s a must-read.