Synopsis

REDRUM. Danny sees it in the mirror, but he doesn’t know how to read. At five years old, few understand that reflected images are reversed. But Danny feels it. He knows it. His father needs that job at the Overlook, a luxurious hotel that will close for six months due to the snow. They will stay there, alone… alone? Danny sees things. Things no one else sees. And as winter advances, something awakens in the hotel. Something that breathes in the empty hallways. Something that whispers in the dark. Something that wants his father.

First Part: The Promise of Winter

The air smelled of old wood and furniture wax. Jack Torrance sat across from Stuart Ullman, the Overlook’s manager, and tried not to clench his teeth while the man spoke. Ullman was a short, smug man with mechanical precision in his movements, as if his perfectly pressed suit and impeccable tie were part of his own skin.

—The job is simple, Mr. Torrance —Ullman said, intertwining his fingers on his mahogany desk. —You will take care of the hotel during the winter. Maintain the boilers, check the pipes, clear the snow when necessary. The essentials.

Jack nodded. Don’t screw this up. That phrase echoed in his head like the aftermath of a bad hangover.

—Of course —he replied with his best “trustworthy man” smile.