The Shining

TTHE SHINING (BOOK #1)
by Stephen King
5 stars

Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. He never fails to scare you.
The Shining is about a man, Jack Torrance, down on his luck. Mostly his own doing, he has anger and drinking problems. He needs a job to support his wife, Wendy; and son, Danny.
He accepts a position as caretaker of a hotel in the mountains during the off season. This hotel has had it's share of deaths over the years.
Jack and Danny have some kind of psychic abilities. They start to feel the evil in the hotel, then see ghosts.
Jack begins to lose his mind.
This is a super read. I actually have read this book 3 or 4 times over the years, and watched the movie and tv miniseries. If you have seen the movie, you should still read the book. It follows mostly but with a few differences that make it better (especially the ending).
Whether or not you believe in ghosts or that a place can hold onto people or events that have happened there, this story is still very suspenseful and disturbing. I can see Jack as a man who breaks under the pressure of his life and loses his mind. Then begins to imagine strange happenings within the hotel.
This is one of King's best novels (and possibly ne of the most talked about).

SALEM'S LOT
by Stephen King
5 stars

It's 1980 and I am 11 years old. I was always an avid reader since the age of 5. You would rarely see me without a book in hand. I went to the library, and for the first time was allowed to pick a book all by myself. Nobody restricting my choice.
My mother tried to dissuade me, "This is too grown-up for you. You won't be able to sleep. It will scare you!"
Well, she was right. I wasn't able to sleep, because I couldn't put the book down. It did scare the bejesus out of me, but I loved every second of it. I have been a King fan ever since. I buy and read everything he writes {most books more than once over the years}.
Salem's Lot is a quiet little town until two gentlemen, Straker and Barlow, move into the big scary house on the hill.
Ben Mears, a writer, returns to town hoping to get inspirationn for a new book. He gets alot more than that went people start dying and disappearing. Then return at night as vampires.
Vivid descriptions, wonderful characters, and a fear filled plot.