The Shining begins as Jack Torrance is interviewing for a position as the off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, which sits in the mountains of Colorado. Some people say it was inspired by the real-life Stanley Hotel, though Stephen King says the Overlook is entirely fictional and doesn’t have a real-life basis. Who’s to say? Anyway, the Overlook represents a fresh start for the Torrance family, as Jack was fired from his previous job for brutally beating a student that slashed his tires. Jack has anger problems, to say the least, and is a recovering alcoholic. He really sees this job as an opportunity to rekindle things with his wife, Wendy, reconnect with his son, Danny, and focus on writing his play. Soon enough, the harsh Colorado winter sets in, the family is unable to leave the hotel grounds, and sinister things begin to happen that are centering around Danny. Danny has this unique gift that the in-season chef, Dick Halloran, calls his shine. Dick has a lesser version of this gift. Danny can have visions that seem to be premonitions, thanks to his imaginary friend, Tony, and can see and hear the hotel’s ghosts, all of whom seem to have some nefarious intentions with the Torrance family. The Overlook is hungry, and Danny’s shine is the perfect dinner.
How big a part does destiny play in the family’s life? What was Danny’s first sign that the hotel’s spirits were after him? Do we believe in ghosts? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in episode 19 of our spoiler-filled podcast.
Questions: The questions discussed in this episode come from Shmoop.com and from Owlcation. → https://www.shmoop.com/shining-stephen-king/questions.html and https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Shining-Book-Discussion-and-Recipe
Our spooky season music is from a song titled “Horror Background Music” by Lesfm from Pixabay.
Coming up next: A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
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