While most aspects of this masterpiece may be far-fetched and fictional, one crucial detail was actually based on facts: the Overlook Hotel. While it may not exist in real life, it was inspired by actual experiences Stephen King had at The Stanley Hotel.
The Shining is partially based on a true story, as the supernatural elements of Jack Torrance's stay at the Overlook Hotel are inspired by a real haunting in Colorado and the Stanley Hotel where King stayed.
The longstanding conclusion, from scientists and skeptics, has been that these abilities simply don't exist. Otherwise, they would appear in measured experiments. Historically, any evidence of precognitive ability has existed in the fringes, adamantly believed by supporters and purveyors but discounted by researchers.
Despite its widespread praise, King famously despised Kubrick's adaptation of his book, so much so that he called it “a maddening, perverse, and disappointing film,” likening it to “a great big beautiful Cadillac with no motor inside,” eventually remaking the adaptation himself into a teleplay to finally “correct” ...
Unfortunately for them, Room 237 doesn't exist at their property, and the Stanley says 217 has become its most requested accommodation, with reservations currently on the books for the next several Halloweens. We sought out the room, but it was disappointingly normal, at least from the outside.
In The Shining, room 217 is the room that is focused on as having a dark history and being a haunted room due to the tragedy of Mrs. Massey. Danny is warned not to enter this room and anyone who enters the room has bizarre encounters.
Think of it as the hotel's classy version of a haunted house experience. The promotion includes “special accommodations” in Room 237, for $237 a night. If you'll recall, Room 237 is where all manner of terror occurs at the story's Overlook Hotel.
While Kubrick looked at Jack Nicholson, Robin Williams, Harrison Ford, and Robert De Niro for the role of Jack Torrance, King felt the likes of Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, or Michael Moriarty fit the role better. King felt Nicholson's past roles as an unhinged character would eliminate a lot of the suspense of the movie.
IT/Pennywise has been mentioned in other King stories, and as his works are part of one big (and sometimes complex) universe, there are many theories about how some stories and characters are connected, and one suggests that IT is behind the events of The Shining.
The ending of The Shining, particularly the photo of Jack in the 1921 ballroom, suggests that Jack is a reincarnation of a former hotel employee, although this explanation is not explicitly stated in the film. The Shining explores themes of cyclical violence and abuse, and Kubrick's film is full...
Moments later, he would improvise the “Here's Johnny!” line, which was a reference to the intro of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Interestingly, Kubrick originally shot the scene with a fake door, but Nicholson – who once trained as a fire marshal – chopped it down too quickly.
If only you could visit the Overlook Hotel and feel the bone-chilling energy of the movie for yourself . . . oh wait, you can. While the Overlook Hotel from the movie doesn't actually exist, it is based on The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO: a 142-room colonial revival hotel nestled in the Rocky Mountains.
In this isolation every day becomes the same for Jack as his writer's block becomes quotidian. The combination of isolation, monotony, creative frustration, and supernatural forces extract Jack's insanity. As the insanity sinks in he strays from his male roles as provider and attempts to murder his wife and son.
The apparitions seem to know more about the story than we do, fostering some very real twists and turns. Kubrick constantly pulls the rug out from under us in relation to what is real and what is not. This film is truly one of the scariest movies of all time and is not for the faint of heart.
At some point in the novel, King explained part of IT's backstory but left enough of it untold to raise many questions about it, and everything about Pennywise's origins is a bit confusing, as it's connected to the macroverse and the turtle Maturin, who's the only being IT is afraid of.
In the novel, It claims that its true name is Robert "Bob" Gray, but decided to be named “It”. Throughout the book, It is generally referred to as male, usually appearing as Pennywise. The Losers come to believe It may be female after seeing it in the form of a monstrous giant spider that lays eggs.
Throughout the novel, IT is generally referred to as male; however, late in the novel, the characters come to realize that IT is most likely female, due to its true form in the physical realm being that of a giant pregnant female spider.
It wasn't people — it was the hotel itself. The Overlook is the evil influence in both the movie and the book, and traps people within to use them for its earthly needs. Whether it's the hotel or the ground it sits upon is unclear, but it is the overall evil influence of the location that is the antagonist in the work.
Both an adaptation of Stephen King's 2013 sequel to his 1977 novel The Shining and a continuation of Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of the same, Doctor Sleep is a Kobayashi Maru of a movie. It was always an impossible undertaking certain to end in failure. It was only a matter of what path it takes to get there.
When production began, the hotel expressed concerns that people wouldn't want to stay in its Room 217 if they associated it with a horror story. Kubrick changed the number to 237, since the Timberline doesn't have a Room 237.
What happened to Danny when he went into Room 237?
Danny's encounter happened by accident – or not so much given the force of the hotel itself – as a ball rolled to him from room 217. Danny was lured into the room, where, he later recounted, he came across a “crazy woman” who tried to strangle him.
