4.5 stars!! Stephen King's *The Shining* is a must-read for any horror fan. A chilling tale of isolation and madness, this book will stay with you long after you've finished reading. If you're looking for a truly terrifying read, look no further than *The Shining*.

3.5 stars “Sometimes human places, create inhuman monsters.” The Overlook Hotel – gorgeous and isolated – needs a winter caretaker.Jack and his family need an income and a place to stay.Months alone, trapped by snow, with only the family by their sides. What could go wrong? “Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just going to bash your brains in.” So, "The Shining" by Stephen King was pretty dang good, but gosh-dang did I get lost at times.I think it was because I watc...

Okay, wow. I totally get why so many readers call "The Shining" by Stephen King their absolute favorite. Honestly, it's my favorite of his so far, even though I've still got a bunch of his books to catch up on. I've been a bit harsh on his stuff in the past, maybe because he's so massively popular, but I think the problem was me. I'd pick up these huge doorstopper books when I just wasn't ready to put in the time and energy to really dive into his world-building and all the details. This time, I...

Is this horror?I'm genuinely asking here because I'm not a horror aficionado, so I don't know what all constitutes that genre. To a layman like myself, IT was horror because it scared the piss out of me and I couldn't sleep without the lights on for a while. The Shining by Stephen King is more like a Spooky Family Drama. Yeah, yeah, there at the end things got a little hairy, but it was still mostly a human trotting around getting all stabby.Now, I say mostly because good old Jack is getting som...

And just like that, another journey into the heart of The Overlook Hotel has come to an end...Words can't express how much this story means to me, but I've tried over the years to capture some of my thoughts on it. I'm quite proud of a few of those reviews I've written before, so I will leave those up below if you're interested.Each time I reread this story, I pick up finer details and begin to care more and more deeply for this cast of fantastically-developed characters.This time around, I had ...

"The thought rose from nowhere, naked and unadorned. The urge to tumble her out of bed, naked, bewildered, just beginning to wake up; to pounce on her, seize her neck like the green limb of a young aspen and to throttle her, thumbs on windpipe, fingers pressing against the top of her spine, jerking her head up and ramming it back down against the floorboards, again and again, whamming, whacking, smashing, crashing. Jitter and jive, baby. Shake, rattle, and roll. He would make her take her medici...

Quite simply put, *The Shining* is the best horror story I have ever read. It scared the hell out of me.Over a period of time, I have noticed certain standard "motifs" in horror stories. One of these I call "The Lost Child". Such stories will typically involve a child who can see what the silly grownups cannot (or, even if they do see, don't acknowledge because it goes against reason and logic), and who fights, however high the odds are stacked against him or her. Danny Torrance is such a boy.Da...

Stephen King's *The Shining* is about as perfect a haunted house story as you can get; King was at his absolute best here. It's like he built a haunted house and then filled every nook and cranny with terrifying detail. King's characterization is also top-notch; everyone is well-rounded and complete. We understand the family relationships, the group dynamics, and all the old, hidden, buried fears. King touches on psychological, theological, metaphysical, spiritual, and cryptic aspects of a ghost...

If you haven't already read *The Shining*, the 2013 publication of *Doctor Sleep*, the sequel, gave you the perfect excuse to dive into one of the greatest ghost stories ever told. It's a perfect reason to finally step through those bat-wing doors. 1st Edition cover – Published January 28, 1977 – 447 pps It feels like a lifetime since I first read *The Shining*, over thirty years ago. Back then, I loved it because it was so effective at telling a scary story – no, a *very* scary story. Reading i...

This scene from Friends pretty much sums up how I feel about this book:"Rachel: Hmm. (she opens the freezer) Umm, why do you have a copy of The Shining in your freezer?Joey: Oh, I was reading it last night, and I got scared, so.Rachel: But ah, you’re safe from it if it’s in the freezer?Joey: Well, safer. Y'know, I mean I never start reading The Shining, without making sure we’ve got plenty of room in the freezer, y'know.Rachel: How often do you read it?Joey: Haven’t you ever read the same book o...