Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining book was published in 1977 and followed Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who takes a job as the off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. Jack brings his family with him – wife Wendy and son Danny – but when a snowstorm leaves them cut off from the outside world, the supernatural forces living in the hotel start affecting Jack’s sanity.
A sequel to the novel was published in 2013, titled The Shining arrived in 1980 and Stephen King has been very vocal about his dislike towards the film, as Kubrick took creative license with the story and characters, making the novel and the film two very different stories.
The Shining follows the same basic plot line as the novel, with the Torrances moving to the Overlook Hotel in the off-season and getting trapped there due to a snowstorm, but details as small as the room number and others as big as Jack Torrance’s character were changed. Here are the biggest changes from King’s The Shining to Kubrick’s film.
Room 237
In The Shining novel, the mysterious room where some supernatural events take place is room 217. In the film, it was changed to 237. This was due to a request from the Timberline Lodge, a hotel in Oregon that was used for the exterior shots of the Overlook Hotel. The Timberline’s management asked Kubrick to not use room 217 as they feared guests would no longer want to stay in that room once the film was out, and so room 237 was created, as there’s no such room number in the hotel. Ironically, room 217 is the most requested one at the Timberline Lodge.
This change has made way for a bunch of conspiracy theories about Kubrick's involvement in the staged moon landing. Some of these say that 237 is a reference to the distance between the moon and Earth, which according to them is 237,000 miles, although it’s approximately 238,900 miles. The Shining has been considered by many as a confession from Kubrick on the fake moon landing, with other details such as Danny’s rocketship sweater used as evidence. Whatever you choose to believe on that matter, the room change had nothing to do with it.
Ghosts vs Jack’s Mind
The Overlook Hotel is haunted, and that’s very clear in the book, with the topiaries in the garden even coming alive and attacking Dick Hallorann near the end of the story. These supernatural forces are what drive Jack insane, although their first target was Danny, but they couldn’t possess him. In The Shining film, Jack’s descent into madness comes from his own mind, triggered by isolation and the writer’s block he’s struggling with, and the ghosts are there instead to “reclaim” him as he’s a reincarnation of a previous caretaker, as suggested by the photograph at the end. Furthermore, the novel suggests the hotel’s evil comes from the atrocious events that happened there and is manifested as a vaguely sentient malevolence, whereas the film explains that the hotel was built on an Indian burial ground, and that’s where its evil energy comes from.
The Real Jack Torrance
In both versions of The Shining, Jack Torrance is an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic, but Kubrick made some big changes to the character. The Jack from the book is introduced as a likable man struggling with alcohol, anger and authority issues. The novel also offers more details on the Torrance family and their dynamics, including the revelation of Jack’s physical abuse of Danny (Jack even broke Danny’s arm in the past), and other ways in which his anger issues have affected them, such as losing his job as teacher after assaulting a student. Because of all this, Jack is looking to make things right with his family and sees the job at the hotel as an opportunity to reconnect with Wendy and Danny.
The Jack in The Shining film is presented as a sinister character from the beginning, and his time at the hotel is more focused on his writer’s block than his intentions (if any) to reconnect with his family. Kubrick's version of Jack is a man that was already deeply disturbed and only needed a little push to fully fall into madness, while the novel’s version is a man who is struggling to keep his sanity amidst the isolation and the influence of the supernatural forces of the hotel. Also, he doesn’t freeze to death in the book and instead dies when the boiler room explodes.
Wendy Wasn’t Submissive
Shelley Duvall’s Wendy Torrance was gentle, submissive, nervous, and ive – the complete opposite of the Wendy from The Shining book. The film version of the character spends a big part of the story on the verge of a breakdown, finally collapsing on the third act, while the book’s version keeps calm (as calm as anyone can be in a situation like that, of course) and is much more independent and self-reliant. One of the biggest differences is that the Wendy from the novel actually stands up to Jack, whereas the film version is quiet and constantly looks afraid to even talk to her husband – which is understandable given Jack’s personality in the film.
Danny And His Imaginary Friend
Danny Torrance in the novel is quite open about his power, very intelligent, with a large vocabulary, and very close to both his parents. In The Shining film, Danny keeps his “shine” a secret, even from Hallorann, who also has it. He doesn’t speak much and is seen to be closer to Wendy than Jack, which also prompts Jack to think the two are conspiring against him. In the novel, Danny is also able to bring out his father from his “possessed” version, which is how he manages to save himself, with Jack even telling him to run and how much he loves him before the corrupt version of him takes over again.
One of the things that viewers find to be a bit weird in the film is how Danny “interacts” with his imaginary friend, Tony: by moving his finger and changing his voice. In The Shining novel, Danny sees Tony as an actual, flesh and blood person, and is later revealed that it’s an extension of himself – a manifestation of Danny in ten years, as “Anthony” is his middle name. Tony doesn’t play any substantial part in the film, but in the novel he’s a source of fear and later strength for Danny, and has a connection with his “shine” as he warns him of danger.
Dick Hallorann Doesn’t Die
The Overlook’s chef Dick Hallorann is the only character aside from Danny that possesses “the shining”, serving as a mentor to him and forming a very special connection with the young Torrance. In both the novel and the film, Hallorann receives a psychic call from Danny and rushes back to the Overlook. However, in the novel he is attacked by the topiary animals and is severely injured by Jack, but he doesn’t die. In the film, he is killed by Jack in the lobby. The previously mentioned ability of Danny to divert Jack’s corrupt version is what allows him, Wendy, and Hallorann to escape, and Hallorann even appears in the sequel novel Doctor Sleep.
The Most Famous Scenes Are Not In The Book
Those who haven’t read the book but have watched the film will be surprised to find that some of the most iconic scenes from The Shining are not in the source material. The Grady murders are mentioned in the book, but the girls aren’t twins and they never manifest in any shape or form. The torrent of blood from the elevators is also unique to the film, as well as the “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” page and the bathroom scene with Jack breaking through the door with an ax and saying “here’s Johnny!” (although he does chase Wendy into the bathroom in the book, but he carries a croquet mallet instead and never says that famous line). The Overlook’s hedge maze is also an addition of Kubrick to replace the topiary animals, as the special effects at the time were limited and didn’t allow the crew to bring the animals to life. The maze ends up being key in Danny’s escape, as it serves as a refuge for him and a trap for Jack.
