The Shining by Stephen King

Shane | Allentown High School, Grade 11

Rating: *****

Those who have heard of Stephen King’s The Shining probably know that it is regarded as one of the scariest novels of all time. The story takes place at the Overlook Hotel, a small establishment in 1970's Colorado, notorious for its haunted stories and tales of people gone mad. Of course, the main characters looked past this in hopes to find a nice quiet place for the family’s father, Jack Torrance, a freelance writer of horror stories, to finally finish the manuscript to his recent novel after a severe case of writer’s block. Things quickly escalate as the spirits of the hotel reveal themselves to the guests, pulling the Torrance family into a nightmare that they could not escape.

The Shining is an interesting novel. It takes one of King’s most infamous horror tropes and floors it to the max. The best part about the novel is the characters, from Jack and his son Danny, all the way to the monsters that linger in the Overlook halls. It's enough to really get invested in, but it wasn’t my favorite. Despite all the love for it, I think it struggles to stand its own in contrast to King’s other works. I personally think that his lesser known works, of horrors that have rarely been utilized, are some of his best. All in all, a very good book.