The Shining is a 1977 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is King's third published novel and first hardback bestseller; its success firmly established King as a preeminent author in the horror genre. The setting and characters are influenced by King's personal experiences, including both his visit to The Stanley Hotel in 1974 and his struggle with alcoholism. The novel was adapted into a 1980 film and a 1997 miniseries. The book was followed by a sequel, Doctor Sleep, published in 2013, which in turn was adapted into a film of the same name in 2019. The Shining centers on Jack Torrance, a struggling writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a position as the off-season caretaker of the historic Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. His family accompanies him on this job, including his young son Danny, who possesses "the shining", an array of psychic abilities that allow the child to glimpse the hotel's horrific true nature. Soon, after a winter storm leaves the family snowbound, the supernatural forces inhabiting the hotel influence Jack's sanity, leaving his wife and son in grave danger. Plot Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer, is hired as the winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel, an isolated resort hotel in the Colorado Rockies. Jack is a recovering alcoholic with anger issues which, prior to the story, had caused him to accidentally break his son Danny's arm and lose a teaching job after assaulting a student. Jack hopes that the hotel's seclusion will help him reconnect with Danny and his wife, Wendy, and give him the motivation needed to work on a play. Unknown to his parents, Danny possesses psychic abilities referred to as "shining", which include reading minds, premonitions and clairvoyance. While moving into the hotel on closing day, the Torrances meet the chef, Dick Hallorann, who possesses similar abilities to Danny's and forms a connection with him. As the Torrances settle alone in at the Overlook, Danny sees ghosts and frightening visions. Danny does not tell either of his parents about his visions because he senses that the care-taking job is important to his father and dissuades Wendy from leaving Jack at the Overlook by himself. However, Danny soon realizes that his presence in the hotel makes the supernatural activity more powerful, turning echoes of past tragedies from the hotel's history into dangerous threats. Apparitions take solid form and the garden's topiary animals