1Stephen King wrote a script for the film.
Boris Spremo//Getty Images 2Jack Nicholson helped write a scene.
Sunset Boulevard//Getty ImagesNicholson felt a personal connection to the scene in the movie where his character erupts in fury with his wife while in the midst of writer's block. As he told The New York Times in 1986: "That scene at the typewriter - that's what I was like when I got my divorce. I was under the pressure of being a family man with a daughter and one day I accepted a job to act in a movie in the daytime and I was writing a movie at night and I'm back in my little corner and my beloved wife, Sandra, walked in on what was, unbeknownst to her, this maniac - and I told Stanley [ Kubrick ] about it and we wrote it into the scene."
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3The movie inspired conspiracy theories.
NASA//Getty ImagesAs discussed in the movie Room 237, Kubrick's film inspired several conspiracy theories, including that Kubrick made The Shining as his confession for ... helping to fake the moon landing.
4Kubrick got lost in the maze.
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5And he wasn't the only one.
YouTubeAccording to IMDB, the scene where Jack chases his son Danny through the hedges took a month to shoot, partly because crew members kept getting lost and had to use their walkie-talkies for help.
6The hedges were more "lifelike" in the book.
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7Jack Nicholson improvised "Heeere's Johnny!"
Archive Photos//Getty ImagesOne of the film's most iconic lines wasn't even in the script. Jack Nicholson ad libbed the famous Ed McMahon line from The Tonight Show while filming the scene in which his character Jack takes an ax to the bathroom door. The line worked, and it stayed in the film.
8Room 217 was changed to 237 for the movie.
Sepia Times//Getty ImagesFans of the novel may remember that some terrifying events are set in Room 217. However, at the request of the Timberline Lodge in Oregon (the exterior setting for the Overlook Hotel in the film), the room was changed to 237 in the film. This was allegedly done out of fear that future lodge guests would avoid Room 217 if it was featured in the horror movie. Since 237 doesn't exist at the Timberline, no risk there.
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9Danny Lloyd didn't know he was in a horror movie.
Michael Ochs Archives//Getty ImagesThe five-year-old boy, Danny Lloyd, who played the film's child star Danny Torrance, did not know at the time that he was filming a horror movie. For his protection, he was told they were making a drama. Lloyd didn't learn the truth until later and he didn't see the film in its entirety until he was well into his teens.
10Lloyd brought "Tony" to life with his finger.
Sunset Boulevard//Getty ImagesDespite not knowing he was creating horror, Lloyd actually improvised one of the creepiest aspects of the film: the idea to change his voice and flex his finger to animate his imaginary friend "Tony." Kubrick loved the idea and it became central to the movie.
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11'The Shining' was inspired by 'Eraserhead'.
LMPC//Getty Images 12Kubrick's secretary is responsible for a key prop in the film.
Maxiphoto//Getty ImagesThe famous scene in the movie where Shelley Duvall's character finds the pages of "writing" that Jack has been endlessly working on was brought to life courtesy of Kubrick's secretary, who had to spend months typing "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," over and over, for 500 pages. She then recreated them in five other languages for international releases.
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13Shelley Duvall lost her hair during filming.
Sunset Boulevard//Getty ImagesDuvall would later share that Kubrick was extremely hard on her during filming, and it had an impact on her health. As she's quoted in David Hughes' biography of Kubrick, "I was really in and out of ill health because the stress of the role was so great," she said. "Stanley pushed me and prodded me further than I’ve ever been pushed before. It’s the most difficult role I’ve ever had to play."
14Jack was loaded up on cheese.
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15The elevator scene took a year to film.
Photo by Joel Sharpe//Getty ImagesAny fan of the movie will recall the famous scene of the elevator doors opening and a sea of blood pouring out, but you may not know it took a year to film. While they eventually got it in three shots (unlike several other scenes that required many, many more takes before Kubrick was satisfied), each take for the elevator shot required nine days to clean up the hallway and fill the elevator with blood again and was not complete for a year.
16Sixty doors were harmed in the making of 'The Shining.'
Archive Photos//Getty ImagesSpeaking of repeated takes, the scene in which Jack Torrance slams an ax through a door and declares his famous line was filmed over the course of three days and involved the destruction of 60 doors before they got it all right.
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17Overlook Hotel was based on thousands of reference photos.
SiYi Qian//Getty ImagesThe winding and patterned interior of the Overlook was based on thousands of reference photos that Stanley Kubrick and his team gathered by photographing various American hotels. Exterior shots were taken at the Timberline Lodge in Oregon.
18The film's snow was made of salt and styrofoam.
Archive Photos//Getty ImagesAt the film's end, there is a chase through the snowy hedge maze. It makes for incredible cinema, paired with the terrifying lighting, music and movement of the scene. But as real as it appeared, and as cold as it feels to watch it, the "snow" was actually created from 900 tons of salt and crushed styrofoam.
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19The set burned down.
Murray Close//Getty ImagesA huge fire broke out toward the end of shooting, destroying several set pieces that had to be rebuilt. Ironically, the book ends with (spoiler alert) the hotel burning down, which may explain this iconic photo of Kubrick laughing at the charred set.
20Stephen King didn't like the movie.
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