10 Endings Stephen King Actually Got Right

Doctor Sleep, as the sequel to The Shining has an ending that not only suits this one novel, but the story of Dan Torrance as a whole. While the ending of the The Shining novel saw the Overlook Hotel burned to the ground, Dan still lives with the ghosts well into adulthood.

Like many of King's characters, he has grown into an alcoholic, battling his addiction with frequent relapses. His final indignity is stealing from the wallet of a lady he picks up, leaving her screaming baby unattended in her apartment.

The novel is as much the story of his crawl back to himself as it is the story of a travelling group of vampires, attacking children for hundreds of years. Mike Flanagan's adaptation is a wonderful version of the tale, though it sticks closer to a sequel of Kubrick's film that King's novel.

The ending of the novel does see a showdown on the site of the Overlook, with an apparition of Jack Torrance allowing Dan a last measure of closure. Dan, recovered through his struggles and new responsibility, builds a new life for himself, one free of the ghosts of his past.