The shining is Dick Hallorann’s name for the psychic ability that some people have. He tells Danny, “What you got son, I call it shinin on, the Bible calls it having visions, and there’s scientists that call it precognition…they all mean seeing the future” (84). Tony—Danny’s imaginary friend—is the instrument of Danny’s shining. He appears to show Danny visions. Danny’s experiences with the shining often involve trancelike states which can render him lethargic or even catatonic. The shining is both a blessing and a curse for Dick and Danny. It saves Danny and Wendy since Danny is able to use it to call Hallorann psychically to come help them. However, the shining—particularly at Danny’s intensity—is what makes the hotel want him so badly. It can use Danny’s shining to increase its own power, making it capable of physical manifestations with the actual ability to harm them, like the dead woman in 217 who tries to choke Danny.

At its most basic, the Overlook Hotel is a symbol of evil, decadence, and an endless appetite for suffering. Its sordid history is a testament to its dark magnetism. Watson tells Jack, “Any big hotels have got scandals…Just like every big hotel has got a ghost.