15 Stephen King stories ranked from heartwarming to horrifying

14. The Shining

If you’ve grown up and lived in heavily populated areas for most of your life, then it may be hard to understand the effects of true isolation. And while it may seem like having the run of a luxury hotel for a few months of the year sounds like a fun (if rejected) Home Alone plot, the reality of it may be far different. Cabin fever is no joke.

But, of course, “cabin fever” can hardly sum up the expansive horror of The Shining. King’s 1977 novel was only his third published one, out of a now (estimated) billion or so works. Seriously, Stephen King is a more prolific writer than nearly anyone else.

At any rate, The Shining is far more complex than it may initially seem. It follows Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy, and their son Danny, as they prepare to spend a winter in the Colorado Rockies. Jack has signed on as the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, seemingly a normal mountain retreat. However, the premises has a dark history: a previous caretaker murdered his family, while ghosts are said to haunt the hotel’s halls. Jack is also a recovering alcoholic and aspiring writer who hopes that the job will help him rebuild his family.

Making matters both worse and better is Danny’s unique “shining” ability. This telepathy allows Danny to connect with both the friendly hotel chef and fellow telepath Dick Hallorann, and an array of frightening spirits.

Eventually, though, even the non-psychic members of the family begin to interact with sinister ghosts. Jack begins to feel the malign influence of the hotel on his own psyche, with murderous results. The Shining is made all the more frightening thanks to its tense family relationships and cold, isolated setting.