When you think of Colorado, what words come to mind?
Snow?
Mountains?
Hiking trails?
How about “horror?”
For me, horror in Colorado means I forgot to put my gloves on before going outside in below-freezing weather.
For a lot of other people, though, horror in Colorado means The Shining.
The Shining is a 1977 novel by Stephen King. Director Stanley Kubrick made it into an over-the-top movie starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duval. It hit theaters in 1980.
Coloradans have a bit of a love affair with the book and the movie, because our own Stanley Hotel served as the inspiration for Stephen King when he wrote the novel.
The Stanley is a beautiful hotel nestled against the foothills of Estes Park, Colorado.
Guests and visitors are encouraged to wander about the hotel, take in its history and ambiance, and explore the grounds (which you can do on your own or with a guided tour). You can even wander through the hotel’s hedge maze (installed in tribute to a scene from the film).
And since Estes Park is one of my favorite places on Earth, as well as the most beautiful (in my humble opinion), I kind of click with The Stanley’s connection to all things Stephen King.
Last month production closed on a new movie called “Doctor Sleep.” This movie is also based on a Stephen King book by the same name, published in 2013.
And guess what? King wrote Doctor Sleep as a sequel to The Shining.
In the past I’ve enjoyed watching the movie adaptation of The Shining. The film is more campy and fun than scary and horrifying.
But the new movie adaptation of Doctor Sleep is going to be an entirely different animal. The director expects the movie will earn an “R” rating; and since the story involves vampires, I anticipate there will be plenty of graphic scenes involving blood and body parts. Not my cup of tea. But then, I’m a wimp about those kinds of things.
If you’re a Stephen King fan and want to learn more about the movie adaptation of Doctor Sleep, here’s a link.
What about you? Do you like horror movies? How graphic do you like your movies to be?
Writer Jenny Berlin 
Oh, that hotel is beautiful! And the mountains! Even better. 🙂
I don’t do horror movies or books. And I don’t like graphic. I’m the kid who had nightmares after trying to read the first “Happy Hollisters” book when I was 12. (I ended up reading the entire series when I was in my early 20s and enjoyed it.)
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I’m with you, Rebekah. I can barely stand to watch movies that have more than a medium level of suspense, so scary horror movies are big no-no’s for me!
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Sometimes just the covers of books are creepy enough to make me rush past it, and I don’t see how people can stand to read them, let alone watch a movie about it!
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Me, too!
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