Episode 1 - The Shining

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Published in 1977, the popularity of Stephen King’s gothic horror novel, “The Shining”, is outmatched only by the 1980 film adaptation by legendary director Stanley Kubrick.  

Jack Torrance has been hired to be the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, a grand hotel with a violent past, located high up in the Colorado mountains.  Along with his wife, Wendy and their son Danny, the Torrance family settles in for what is supposed to be a peaceful winter of family togetherness.  However, as Jack slowly descends into madness and something new awakens within Danny, a battle between good and evil, with the Overlook Hotel at the centre, is beginning.

Stephen King has said that he was inspired to write “The Shining” after staying a night at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.  “The Shining’s” book disclaimer reads: Some of the most beautiful resort hotels in the world are located in Colorado, but the hotel in these pages is based on none of them.  The Overlook and the people associated with it exist wholly within the author’s imagination.  However, in our first podcast episode, we will explore the rather interesting true story behind the Stanley Hotel and argue that maybe, just maybe, it influenced Stephen King, and “The Shining” a little more than he thinks it did.

Sources and Credits:
Narrated by: Carissa Willis and Tara Moore
Researched by: Carissa Willis and Tara Moore
Podcast edited by: Carissa Willis
Music by: SoundGalleryByDmitryTaras from Pixabay

King, Stephen. The Shining. New York, Random House, 1977.

Pittman, Rebecca F. The History & Haunting of the Stanley Hotel 2nd Edition. 

Self-Published, 2015

The Shining. Created by Stephen King, Warner Bros, Television, 1997.

The Shining. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, performances by Jack Nicholson, 

Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd,Warner Bros., 1980.

Stanley Hotel Web Page: https://www.stanleyhotel.com/

The Stanley Hotel Ghost Hunt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiFsRSbFgp8

Rocky Mountain  Paranormal:
 https://www.rockymountainparanormal.com/investigationpdfs/StanleyHotel.pdf