Every Stephen King Book That References The Shining and The Overlook Hotel (There’s More Than You Think)

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Stephen King’s books are a fantastic collection of scary stories, memorable monsters, and compelling problems, and they’re all surprisingly connected. While The Dark Tower series is the main thread tying everything together, you can find references and connections throughout his other works too. For instance, his iconic villain, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, has appeared in several books over the years.

Stephen King’s novel, The Shining, is one of his most well-known works. The story of Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy, and their son Danny, and the terrifying Overlook Hotel, has frightened readers for decades and was famously adapted into a classic horror film. Like IT, characters, places, and elements from The Shining reappear throughout King’s other books – sometimes surprisingly so for those who aren’t familiar with his complete collection.

7) The Stand

Stephen King’s longest novel, The Stand, is his most complex and also ties into many of his other works. While it’s most strongly connected to The Dark Tower series—with events referenced in a sequel and the return of the villain Flagg—there are also links to The Shining.

Mother Abagail is a central character in The Stand and represents pure goodness. She guides people through dreams and receives visions from God about what’s to come. She explains that she’s always had dreams, some of which predicted the future, and believes everyone possesses a small amount of prophetic ability – a gift from God. Her grandmother called this gift “the shining lamp of God,” or simply “the shine.”

Those familiar with The Shining will find this explanation echoes what Dick Hallorann describes about the power – he and his grandmother both experienced it when he was a child. However, there’s no real connection between Hallorann and Mother Abagail, other than the fact they both discovered this ability through their grandmothers.

6) IT

Fans of the recent HBO series IT: Welcome to Derry may already know that Stephen King subtly connects his novels IT and The Shining. A well-hidden detail reveals that Dick Hallorann, the chef from The Shining, spent time in Derry, Maine, before his time at the Overlook Hotel. He was even part of “The Black Spot,” a local club that was destroyed in a racist attack, aided by Pennywise. Hallorann’s role in the original IT book was brief, so the Welcome to Derry series greatly expands on his backstory and connection to the town.

5) Misery

As a big Stephen King fan, I always love finding connections between his books! I recently noticed a really subtle nod to The Shining in Misery. Annie Wilkes mentions a character named Andrew Pomeroy, and she casually reveals he was on his way to Sidewinder, Colorado, just like her. He was actually sent by a magazine to sketch the ruins of the Overlook Hotel! It’s a neat little detail, especially since we know the hotel burns down in The Shining, but apparently some of it was still standing for him to draw.

4) The Dark Tower

A central part of the story in The Dark Tower involves Randall Flagg gathering a team of powerful psychics, known as “breakers.” He plans to use their abilities to tear down the beams supporting the Tower, which holds all realities together. Many fans believe the powers of these breakers are similar to the “shine” seen in other worlds. This idea is reinforced by the fact that in Mid-world, the main setting of The Dark Tower, people refer to having “The Touch,” which is their equivalent of “The Shine.”

As a huge Stephen King fan, I always loved how self-aware The Dark Tower series gets. It’s really cool how, in the second book, The Drawing of the Three, Eddie Dean actually contemplates watching Kubrick’s The Shining. But it doesn’t stop there! Later on, King himself shows up as a character and starts reflecting on his own stories – even thinking about Danny Torrance from The Shining. It’s like a literary hall of mirrors, and I find it incredibly clever.

3) Doctor Sleep

As you might expect, the 2013 sequel to The Shining, titled Doctor Sleep, revisits the famous Overlook Hotel and the psychic ability known as ‘the shining’. The story picks up decades later, focusing on an adult Danny Torrance who now uses his powers to help people die peacefully. It also brings back familiar characters like Wendy Torrance and Dick Hallorann, and includes references to others such as Stuart Ullman and the ghosts haunting the hotel, including Horace Derwent.

2) Billy Summers

Even though Billy Summers is a crime story, not a horror one, it includes clear nods to King’s famous Overlook Hotel. The main character finds himself in Sidewinder, Colorado, and his lodging offers a view of the former location of the Overlook, which his host points out was destroyed by fire. Later, one character briefly believes they see the hotel after a walk, but it vanishes almost immediately.

This new discovery suggests the Overlook Hotel’s evil runs even deeper. Billy finds a painting of the hotel’s hedge maze, complete with the animal-shaped bushes. Just like in the novel The Shining, these bushes in the painting seem to move on their own, as Billy notices they change positions. In the book, Billy takes the painting down, but it mysteriously reappears.

1) The Characters Who Can Probably Shine

Stephen King features several characters with extraordinary abilities that resemble “the shine” seen in The Shining, even though they aren’t explicitly described as having it. Examples include Carrie White from his first novel, who can move objects with her mind; Charlie McGee, the fire-starting protagonist of Firestarter; and John Coffey, the gifted healer in The Green Mile. While these stories don’t mention The Shining or its characters, a connection is clear due to the similar powers and the mysterious way these abilities manifest throughout King’s work.

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2026-02-12 02:12