Prolific horror author Stephen King turns 62-years-old today. In honor of his birthday today's Dark Destination is the Stanley Hotel. The hotel was part of the inspiration for Stephen King's 1977 horror novel, The Shining. King was inspired after staying at the hotel with his wife on October 30, 1974. It was the night before the hotel closed down for the season and the author and his wife were the only guests. The empty halls and ballroom along with ghost stories about the place caused King to resurrect a story he'd never finished and change the setting from a carnival to a hotel called The Overlook.Over two decades later, the hotel became the primary shooting location for the television mini-series adaption of the novel, directed by Mick Garris. Dark Destination's own Casey Hopkins was actually on set during part of that shoot, and had the chance to chat with King and others after being invited by the director following an interview for the site. Perhaps he'll share his story with all of you sometime. The mini-series followed King's novel closer than Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film adaption, leading to fans being polarized in opinion over the two adaptions. It is rare to find a fan who enjoys both adaptions equally.
Which adaption do you prefer?
Stay the night in the haunted rooms of the Stanley Hotel if you dare.
-Tom G
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2 comments:
Great post. I am going to have to say the movie is my favorite. There were some parts that the mini-series covered that were missing from the book that I really appreciate.
Maybe it is just nostalgia :) BTW -the opening pictures of the lodge are of a place close to my house called Timberline. I went there one Halloween - many, many years (long before the graveyard) ago for a party they have where they watched the movie at the lodge. Very cool.
Cheers!
What a neat place to visit in honor of SK's bday! Great idea! I have to agree with the Frog Queen too. I think I liked the movie the best, although the mini-series was decent too. But it didn't have Jack Nicholson...
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