Title: The Shining
(The Shining Series #1)
Author: Stephen King
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Classics, Paranormal
First published: 1977
Finished reading: August 4th 2014
Pages: 512
“Soft and sweet and mellow, the song came back and lingered, following her down into a deeper sleep where thought ceased and the faces that came in dreams went unremembered.”
The Shining has been on my TBR list for ages, but somehow I never came around reading it. And boy do I regret ignoring this book before! Stephen King wrote with The Shining without doubt one of the best and creepiest horror books I’ve read until now. While I was reading I noticed I was both chewing my fingernails and keeping my fingers crossed at the same time (which is quite a hard thing to do simultaneously); hoping nothing would happen to the main characters. Definitely recommended!
The Overlook Hotel is closing down for winter and the manager hires Jack to take care of the hotel, even though he had a history with alcoholism and violence. Jack has to move into the hotel with his family, and they are facing a cold winter full of snow. But that is not the only trouble they will find during those cold isolated months… Danny is five years old and has a special gift: he has visions and can hear the thoughts of others close to him. He has what the hotel cook calls ‘the shine‘, and during his presence at the Overlook Hotel his powers are growing out of control. What starts as a pleasant change of scenery, grows out into a nightmare…
The hotel is an old building, and as every building with a history it has its own ghosts of the past. But in The Overlook memories start to develop a life of its own and Jack and his family soon realize the ghosts have become way too real. A murdered lady in room 217 leaving physical wounds, animal-shaped hedges coming to life to attack the caretaker and his family… Danny and his mother Wendy want to leave The Overlook as soon as possible. They are afraid of the developing powers of the evil forces residing at the hotel, but they already have Jack under their spell. The last caretaker had been droven to madness and was convinced to murder his family; will the hotel succeed again?
The Shining was creepy enough for me to freak out while I was trying to read it home alone and with the lights out… Although I admit that was kind of a stupid thing to do while reading a horror book anyway. The scary factor is more psychological than physical, and works perfectly without grossing you out. A definite must read for anyone who enjoys reading the horror genre! And don’t forget to leave the lights on. 😉
Best horror of all time!
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Definitely!
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You are a brave woman reading horror alone at night! I actually didn’t know what the Shining was about, only that it is King’s most popular novel. I still think it’s probably too scary for me, but I enjoyed your review.
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Maybe it was just because I knew my hubby would be back home later that night, but The Shining still scared the crap out of me hehe. It’s definitely scary, so if you don’t enjoy those kind of books, it’s better to leave it on the shelf. 😉
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The Shining has been on my TBR are for too long too. I love horror, and King is a master at it. Great Review 🙂
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Thanks! If you love horror, it’s definitely a must read. 😀
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The Shining is so incredibly scary, but utterly fantastic! I’m glad you enjoyed it (despite the fingernail chewing). I’d read it many years ago, then re-read it last year right before Doctor Sleep came out… still as scary as I’d remembered, and then some!
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I totally agree! It’s definitely a book I want to re-read in the future; it’s creeptastic! 😉
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