The Connection Between Doctor Sleep And The Shining Explained

You know that Doctor Sleep and The Shining are connected…but how? Well, you don't need psychic abilities to figure that one out: Today we're explaining the many connections between the two films, including returning characters and returning themes.

In The Shining, Stephen King introduced us to Danny Torrance, a deeply strange little boy who has the ability to see ghosts and communicate telepathically.

After Danny and his parents move into The Overlook Hotel for the winter, a host of ghosts start slowly or not so slowly driving his father mad. They also take a significant toll on Danny.

Danny and his mother ultimately manage to escape the mayhem, but the haunted hotel costs Jack Torrance his life.

Most of Doctor Sleep focuses on Danny as an adult. He now calls himself just Dan, and he finds that as he gets older, his mysterious "shining" ability is often too much to bear. Like his father before him, he descends into alcoholism as a way to numb his gift... but the ghosts of the past still manage to catch up with him.

In The Shining, The Overlook Hotel might as well be a character both in the novel and in the film version. This formidable fortress is horrifically alive with ghosts. Thanks to the malevolent powers lurking within, The Overlook Hotel manages to claim Danny's father, Jack Torrance…and it very nearly claims Danny and his mom Wendy.

In King's original novel, The Overlook Hotel is destroyed when its faulty boiler explodes. Meanwhile, in Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation of The Shining, the hotel is left standing. Keep watching the video to see the connection between Doctor Sleep and The Shining explained.

#DoctorSleep #TheShining

Dan Torrance | 0:14
The Overlook Hotel | 1:14
The ghosts | 1:58
Dick Hallorann | 2:53
A new psychic bond | 3:51
The True Knot | 4:33