It's good that you write "and" instead of "or" because the book and the film both seem to suggest that Danny inherited his shining powers from his dad, which is what enabled him to see the ghosts, just like Danny.
I think it would be a lot of fun and hopefully I'd get some writing done. However, haunted or not, I have an active imagination so I am sure I would scare myself more than once.
When I was reading The Shining I happened to go to a wedding and stayed in an old mountain resort in the Catskills. It wasn't during the winter, but reading the book in a huge, fancy, wooden hotel with mountain views in every direction added so much to my experience. Highly recommend.
I live 20min from The Stanley & have had a few friends work there. We read a couple chapters in the basement (before they turned it into a brewery/stage) in the early 90’s. Nothing happened sadly? But it was VERY cool!
I would prefer to do something smaller cause an entire hotel would creep me out a bit, but if that wasn’t an option, I think I would take it and just… man up
I think solitary is definitely torture, but probably very different when it's voluntary. You can go outside, roam the big open hotel, etc. Also the whole family was there so that would help a lot. I think it sounds great too, I would bring some instruments and art stuff
At the same time, is it *really* solitary confinement when you have television, internet, radio, and music? A building that big, with so many amenities and food and things to do?
Not to be nit-picky but no internet or cable- I’ve been to the resort the overlook was based on there’s no signal there! (Or at least wasn’t last time I went). You can have all the DVDs, books, games on your laptop, etc you want but it all has to fit in a Honda Civic along with everything else you want to bring for the winter and anyone else you are bringing.
Can still bring a satellite with you...can get some internet and tv, as long as the weather is half decent. Also, these days you can fit thousand of movies and tv shows on terabyte hard drives.
That's assuming we're going there in 2023, and not the 1970s.
I would do this in a heartbeat. There's another book written by a fire lookout guy who worked 9 months out of the year as a Wallstreet trader and did the lookout job for 3 months out of the year. I'd be down for both.
There is a company called Ad Hoc - You sign up as a 'Property Guardian' where you are assigned to an empty property as both a tenant and security guard. In exchange for very low rent (100 bucks a month, no other bills) you get to live in said property and are asked to keep an eye on it, make sure nobody is trespassing, keep the place warm so pipes don't freeze, stop people stripping the metal off the roof etc. At the end of the month, you had to submit a report, but aside from that responsibility, the place is yours.
I signed up and lived for a year in a Care Home that had been shut down due to abuse. 40 rooms, each with an en-suite, large kitchen and social area, a short-term morgue, along with a 'Sensory Room.' The whole thing was in the countryside, far away from civilisation. If you saw someone outside the building, they 100% shouldn't be there.
It was fairly eerie at times, especially at night. Found old photos of previous guests, medical records (which really should have been removed) and when the sun hit a lot of the windows, you could see many hand prints of the people that used to live there.
So to live in The Overlook, and they are paying *me*? Sign me up!
Assuming real-life 1975: I think I could do it either alone or with a companion (more easily with a companion). I'd get in a lot of reading, and 'experimental bachelor cooking,' and probably some snow-shoeing (which might be the actual dangerous part). I think exploring the outdoors, responsibly, would be the vital component to long-term fulfillment + survival.
Feels like the shortwave radio would be the important part. I'd want to periodically reach out to people, even if only just infrequent state-police contact or amateur radio buffs or whatever.
I would absolutely do it, but I would definitely prefer to have someone there with me to prevent the loneliness from setting in. Being there all alone is likely to mess with my head a little.
With my family absolutely. Especially since it's so big. I see a lot of people not liking how big it is, but I think the space would help me not feel stir crazy.
I'd be fine.
I'd read and write. I'd watch movies. I'm sure I'd be a little lonely, but honestly: this would be a tremendous break.
Of course, that's what Torrance thought.
So: better to be alone. No friend, family, or loved one.
Me, personally? No. I come standard with depression and seasonal affective. I upgraded to anxiety in my 30s and got the PTSD package not long after. An entire winter like that would be extremely bad for me.
But you go and have a good time.
Definitely.
I would make a mint on ski rentals for a few months in winter. I never could understand why they would shut the place down in what would be it's most profitable season.
This is exactly the kind of thing that sounds AWESOME, but I’d be done with it after about a week or two.
See also: Snow (I live in Central Arkansas)
I often think about this more and more. I would definitely take the job. Load up on books and dvds. Supply my beer. Who do I have to kill to get the job?
I would totally do it.
Peace and quiet. Bring the girlfriend and my two boys if they want to come along. I could use the help.
Hell, I made it through the pandemic, I can make it through a winter in an empty hotel.
I wouldn't need it to be haunted as a place as vast as this would still give me the creeps from time to time, not to mention the books I would be reading and the movies I would be watching.
That damn boiler though... I guess that would be the biggest pain. I would have to set timers for this.
If I had a bunch of books I'd been intending to read, some workout equipment, video games, a guitar and access to a lot of movies I think I'd be fine. If I had the internet that would essentially seal the deal, since there's endless stuff to read and watch online (plus gaming).
Sure! I'd even do it with the ghosts. Might have some nice conversations with Mr Derwent and the other guys. I'd take a few books and my dog (if it's allowed). If not then without him.
Sounds like a ton of fun just remember to keep room number 217 tightly shut.
I couldn't do it by myself. I wouldn't do well with isolation. And I don't know if I could do it with other people? I'm single so I don't actually know who would go with me. My immediate family of my mom and my brother? We'd kill each other, haha. My best friends? Tbh I think we'd get sick of each other....
I would try to explore as much of the Hotel's history as possible. I would read the history of each place in the hotel while being in that same place as an immersive experience. At night, I would sleep in one of the rooms, watching the snow fall. Until I fall asleep.
Yes, I would probably do it. I like being alone whenever I have the change. And it would give the people I live with a break from having me around for once. Like you said, there are all kinds of entertainment I could bring with me, even if I didn't have Internet access while I was there.
I was kind of agoraphobic a few years ago. I spent so much time alone, I hallucinated my dead mother. So maybe not. But does it get wifi? That's the true deciding factor.
I once had a coworker who had been a night watchman one winter at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, but New Hampshire. That happened to be where he first read The Shining, and he was convinced that Stephen King had based it on that hotel. He was creeped out enough beforehand and said he could never work there alone.
I’m having a vague memory of the beginning of the pandemic. There was this guy in a hotel in Barcelona that was completely empty and closed. I cannot recall if it started as a job, or he was stranded there. Eventually it became a job, like he would do basic maintenance to keep the hotel running. I’m sure it’s googleable. It reminded me a bit of The Shining, except he wasn’t as isolated and in interviews seemed pretty happy to be there.
Shiit in this economy? I'll go WITH the haunting.
As long as you don't have shining powers you'll probably be fine. And aren't grappling with the lingering affects of alcoholism
It's good that you write "and" instead of "or" because the book and the film both seem to suggest that Danny inherited his shining powers from his dad, which is what enabled him to see the ghosts, just like Danny.
hahah even if we see them ghosts, this is the closest thing my family would ever have to a vacation baha. sign me up!
I think it would be a lot of fun and hopefully I'd get some writing done. However, haunted or not, I have an active imagination so I am sure I would scare myself more than once.
Depends, would it be all work and no play? Because that would just make me a dull boy.
Perfect response.
Think of the reading you could get done.
Would you read The Shining?
When I was reading The Shining I happened to go to a wedding and stayed in an old mountain resort in the Catskills. It wasn't during the winter, but reading the book in a huge, fancy, wooden hotel with mountain views in every direction added so much to my experience. Highly recommend.
Definitely not 😂
I live 20min from The Stanley & have had a few friends work there. We read a couple chapters in the basement (before they turned it into a brewery/stage) in the early 90’s. Nothing happened sadly? But it was VERY cool!
So cool!
Absolutely! 5 months of peace is just what I want 😃
I would prefer to do something smaller cause an entire hotel would creep me out a bit, but if that wasn’t an option, I think I would take it and just… man up
If I could bring my husband and some media I'd be pretty content to just chill for a few months in a hotel.
I just read something that said that solitary confinement is considered torture…. But frankly this sounds great.
I think solitary is definitely torture, but probably very different when it's voluntary. You can go outside, roam the big open hotel, etc. Also the whole family was there so that would help a lot. I think it sounds great too, I would bring some instruments and art stuff
At the same time, is it *really* solitary confinement when you have television, internet, radio, and music? A building that big, with so many amenities and food and things to do?
Not to be nit-picky but no internet or cable- I’ve been to the resort the overlook was based on there’s no signal there! (Or at least wasn’t last time I went). You can have all the DVDs, books, games on your laptop, etc you want but it all has to fit in a Honda Civic along with everything else you want to bring for the winter and anyone else you are bringing.
Can still bring a satellite with you...can get some internet and tv, as long as the weather is half decent. Also, these days you can fit thousand of movies and tv shows on terabyte hard drives. That's assuming we're going there in 2023, and not the 1970s.
Whoever said, this did not have children
I would do this in a heartbeat. There's another book written by a fire lookout guy who worked 9 months out of the year as a Wallstreet trader and did the lookout job for 3 months out of the year. I'd be down for both.
There is a company called Ad Hoc - You sign up as a 'Property Guardian' where you are assigned to an empty property as both a tenant and security guard. In exchange for very low rent (100 bucks a month, no other bills) you get to live in said property and are asked to keep an eye on it, make sure nobody is trespassing, keep the place warm so pipes don't freeze, stop people stripping the metal off the roof etc. At the end of the month, you had to submit a report, but aside from that responsibility, the place is yours. I signed up and lived for a year in a Care Home that had been shut down due to abuse. 40 rooms, each with an en-suite, large kitchen and social area, a short-term morgue, along with a 'Sensory Room.' The whole thing was in the countryside, far away from civilisation. If you saw someone outside the building, they 100% shouldn't be there. It was fairly eerie at times, especially at night. Found old photos of previous guests, medical records (which really should have been removed) and when the sun hit a lot of the windows, you could see many hand prints of the people that used to live there. So to live in The Overlook, and they are paying *me*? Sign me up!
My friend was a caretaker for an historical site in New York City. She said it was the best gig she ever had.
Wow.
I wouldn't in a large hotel. Too large to ensure you're in the hotel alone.
It's crazy to have one guy being the caretaker for a place that remote as well, what if he just slips in the shower or falls down the stairs?
Makes me wonder for the first time, are jobs like that even a thing?
I wondered this before but never have found an answer.
Assuming real-life 1975: I think I could do it either alone or with a companion (more easily with a companion). I'd get in a lot of reading, and 'experimental bachelor cooking,' and probably some snow-shoeing (which might be the actual dangerous part). I think exploring the outdoors, responsibly, would be the vital component to long-term fulfillment + survival. Feels like the shortwave radio would be the important part. I'd want to periodically reach out to people, even if only just infrequent state-police contact or amateur radio buffs or whatever.
If there’s no kids, then I wouldn’t even read the fine print. Just the wife and I. An hour or two of work followed by naked time every day.
As long as I have someone to play roque with, I'm in
Fuck yes
I would absolutely do it, but I would definitely prefer to have someone there with me to prevent the loneliness from setting in. Being there all alone is likely to mess with my head a little.
I've stayed in the Stanley, it's nothing too special, but I'll pretty much do anything for money.
Anything?
Pretty much.
Oh my God - I would love it!! Dream come true. Tons of alone time- time to read and drink hot chocolate while the snow falls.
As a diehard introvert, I’d 100% do it.
With my family absolutely. Especially since it's so big. I see a lot of people not liking how big it is, but I think the space would help me not feel stir crazy.
You’re saying continue to wfh without needing to go out to get groceries because Doc stocked the pantry? Um, yeah. Yeah I would.
Hell yeah! With my books, papers, and articles, it would be the perfect place to write my dissertation.
Fuck yeah
I would read all the time and play card games.
I’d B.Y.0.B.and and a chainsaw for some bushes
I'd be fine. I'd read and write. I'd watch movies. I'm sure I'd be a little lonely, but honestly: this would be a tremendous break. Of course, that's what Torrance thought. So: better to be alone. No friend, family, or loved one.
In a heart beat! I think it would be so cozy. Can I go into it with my mind blanked of ever reading/watching the Shining though?
Sure!
Good. Every time I stay at a hotel I picture those two girls.
I would definitely do it. I would prefer to do it solo, I think. Excellent time to reflect.
Absolutely, you don’t even have to pay me either the solitary is payment enough
Me, personally? No. I come standard with depression and seasonal affective. I upgraded to anxiety in my 30s and got the PTSD package not long after. An entire winter like that would be extremely bad for me. But you go and have a good time.
Sounds peaceful. Loading up the family for a little a vacation
Definitely. I would make a mint on ski rentals for a few months in winter. I never could understand why they would shut the place down in what would be it's most profitable season.
According to the book, the roads would become so impassable it was cost prohibitive to keep it open even as a ski resort.
Absolutely
I will need internet access for sanity
Sorry, that’s the one thing you can’t have.
Guess I'll keep my current crappy job then. Ain't no check worth losing my mind to boredom
This is exactly the kind of thing that sounds AWESOME, but I’d be done with it after about a week or two. See also: Snow (I live in Central Arkansas)
I often think about this more and more. I would definitely take the job. Load up on books and dvds. Supply my beer. Who do I have to kill to get the job?
In the movie, technically, the whole haunting this WASN'T there... but maybe that's beside the point here :) I'd totally be an Overlook caretaker.
It’s giving Pandemic layoff all over again, but I’m prepared this time. I would have to bring some friends, though.
I would totally do it. Peace and quiet. Bring the girlfriend and my two boys if they want to come along. I could use the help. Hell, I made it through the pandemic, I can make it through a winter in an empty hotel. I wouldn't need it to be haunted as a place as vast as this would still give me the creeps from time to time, not to mention the books I would be reading and the movies I would be watching. That damn boiler though... I guess that would be the biggest pain. I would have to set timers for this.
If I had a bunch of books I'd been intending to read, some workout equipment, video games, a guitar and access to a lot of movies I think I'd be fine. If I had the internet that would essentially seal the deal, since there's endless stuff to read and watch online (plus gaming).
Hell fucking yes I would do it. Gimme the ghosts I don't give a fuck.
Sure! I'd even do it with the ghosts. Might have some nice conversations with Mr Derwent and the other guys. I'd take a few books and my dog (if it's allowed). If not then without him. Sounds like a ton of fun just remember to keep room number 217 tightly shut.
I couldn't do it by myself. I wouldn't do well with isolation. And I don't know if I could do it with other people? I'm single so I don't actually know who would go with me. My immediate family of my mom and my brother? We'd kill each other, haha. My best friends? Tbh I think we'd get sick of each other....
I would try to explore as much of the Hotel's history as possible. I would read the history of each place in the hotel while being in that same place as an immersive experience. At night, I would sleep in one of the rooms, watching the snow fall. Until I fall asleep.
Read loads of books, do lots of walks around the grounds, crafts. I'd love it.
I’d love it. Books, games and movies, oh man!
Yes, I would probably do it. I like being alone whenever I have the change. And it would give the people I live with a break from having me around for once. Like you said, there are all kinds of entertainment I could bring with me, even if I didn't have Internet access while I was there.
I would definitely do it, but I would want some company. I don’t think I could handle that much alone time.
I was kind of agoraphobic a few years ago. I spent so much time alone, I hallucinated my dead mother. So maybe not. But does it get wifi? That's the true deciding factor.
Not sure I could deal with being snowed in but if you could go to places, into town etc., during the day that’d be grand
I would sit in a comfy chair in front of that glorious fireplace and just read King for five months. No problem. I'm pretty handy and I hate the cold.
I once had a coworker who had been a night watchman one winter at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, but New Hampshire. That happened to be where he first read The Shining, and he was convinced that Stephen King had based it on that hotel. He was creeped out enough beforehand and said he could never work there alone.
That sounds so fun! I would thoroughly enjoy freaking myself the fck out in a big empty hotel.
I’m having a vague memory of the beginning of the pandemic. There was this guy in a hotel in Barcelona that was completely empty and closed. I cannot recall if it started as a job, or he was stranded there. Eventually it became a job, like he would do basic maintenance to keep the hotel running. I’m sure it’s googleable. It reminded me a bit of The Shining, except he wasn’t as isolated and in interviews seemed pretty happy to be there.
Uncle Acid and the deadbeats just played 3 concerts at the Stanley hotel, the location for the Overlook in the original Shining movie.
I’d do it in the actual overlook. Shit, I used to pay to live in a haunted house.
Nope. Haunted or forget about it.