3. The Shining
The single most frightening book Ive ever read. And then re-read. And then re-read, etc. Probably my personal favorite single book of Kings, The Shining tells the unfortunate story of the Torrance family. Jack is a struggling writer who takes a job as an off season caretaker for a hotel in the Rocky Mountains. His wife and child, Danny, take the ride with him as theyll be spending the entire winter snowbound with dear old dad. Danny has the shine meaning he can see ghosts and visions of all the hauntings that inhabit the Overlook Hotel. As winter moves in and Jack spirals into a deepening madness, Dannys visions get worse until the hotel begins to act out violently. The way the book weaves nature idealism, mental illness, marital tribulations, ghosts, ghouls, hauntings and alcoholism is virtuosity personified. To think this was Kings third published novel leaves his fame a no brainer. Very few authors can match a first three set like Kings. A novel that slowly seduces you into its world before throwing a rug over your head and beating you senseless, The Shining is an uncompromising vision of the worst of us. Oh yeah, the sequel is hitting shelves this fall. Back to the nightmare for you!