The Monster from the Hotel Room

Abstract

Horror fiction typically aims at generating the emotional effect of fear, terror and suspense, which is usually achieved by the introduction of scary elements such as vampires, witches, and ghosts. Although monsters can be considered an essential part of the genre, the ways of creating them might be different. The object of the article is the monster from the hotel room in Stephen King’s The Shining and its cinematic adaptation directed by Stanley Kubrick. The paper aims at analyzing the various narrative and media-specific means of introducing the ghost in both works of art and exploring some possible interpretations.