What Is “The Shine”? A Guide to the Shining Power in King's Multiverse

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Film Analysis Expert Klarissa Beckstead explains different examples of the shining in Stephen King's works

Co-authored by Klarissa Beckstead and Amber Crain

Last Updated: February 16, 2026 Fact Checked

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What is the “Shine”?

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How the Shine Manifests

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Origins

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Characters

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Is it good or evil?

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Video

If you’re a horror fan in any shape or form, you’ve probably heard of Stephen King’s The Shining (and many other King books, for that matter). But what actually is the Shining ability that he refers to in the novel? “The Shine” is actually a layered concept that’s been used across several of King's novels and short stories. In this article, we’ll explain what “the Shining” really is, how these amazing powers manifest, and which Stephen King characters have it. And, since we’re doing a deep dive here, there are definitely some spoilers ahead!

What is the shining power?

Film Analysis Expert Klarissa Beckstead says "the shine" describes a variety of psychic powers appearing in Stephen King's stories. In Carrie, it manifests itself as telepathy, while in The Shining, it allows Danny to speak to his younger self. Doctor Sleep establishes that the shine can be depleted or even stolen.

Section 1 of 5:

What is the “Shine”?

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“The Shine” refers to a variety of telepathic and clairvoyant abilities. In Stephen King’s The Shining—as well as in many other novels and short stories—characters with “the Shine” possess supernatural powers. However, those powers aren’t always the same. “The Shine” can take many different forms, usually telepathic or clairvoyant in some way.^{[1]
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- In The Shining, Danny and Halloran’s "Shine" gave them psychic abilities; they could communicate over long distances (such as when Danny sent out a call for help) and even sense things that had happened (or would happen).
- However, King has used different forms of the “Shine,” or “Shining,” throughout many of his books, and some characters (like Carrie White of Abra Stone) can do different things with their Shine.
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The Shine can pass from generation to generation. As Dick Halloran explains to Danny in The Shining, having “the Shine” can be a family trait. According to Halloran, his grandmother also had the Shine, and they would have telepathic conversations together without speaking aloud. Similarly, Abra Stone’s great-grandmother in Doctor Sleep also had the Shine.^{[2]
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- It’s suggested that Danny’s parents, Jack and Wendy, also had a bit of the Shine about them, but Danny’s Shine was much stronger.
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“The Shining” has different names throughout King’s multiverse. Characters in numerous novels and short stories possess abilities that fit within the definition of the Shine, but it’s not always called that. Carrie White’s powers in Carrie aren’t really given a specific name, for instance, while in The Dark Tower, psychic abilities are known as “the Touch.”
- Thus, names like the Touch and the Shine are often used interchangeably.

Section 2 of 5:

Different “Shining” Powers, Explained

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The Shine is incredibly versatile. As we’ve already established, the Shine takes many forms and mainly manifests as some type of psychic power. In The Shining, Danny Torrance is not only about to communicate telepathically, but also speak with an older version of himself disguised as an imaginary friend named Tony (or, more accurately, speak to his past self from the future as Tony). Other powers granted by the Shining include:^{[3]
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- Telekinesis (in Carrie and Doctor Sleep)
- Pyrokinesis (in Firestarter)
- Astral projection (in Doctor Sleep)
- Psychometry (in Doctor Sleep)
- Precognition (in The Dark Tower)
- Mind control (in Firestarter)
- Dream-walking (in Dreamcatcher)
- Speaking to the dead (in Pet Sematary and The Shining)
- Healing (in The Green Mile)
- Resurrection of the dead (in The Green Mile)

Section 3 of 5:

The Origins of the Shine

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The Shining is introduced in Stephen King’s novel of the same name. However, the Shine existed before that—Carrie was King’s debut novel in 1974, and Carrie White does indeed have psychic powers. Still, it was in The Shining (1977) that King gave these psychic abilities a name and more fleshed-out lore, setting the stage for many more characters and stories in the years to come.^{[4]
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- So, Carrie White is technically the first Stephen King character to have the Shine; Danny Torrance and Dick Hallorann are simply the first characters to call it the Shine.
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The true origins of the Shine haven’t fully been explored. What we do know is that, within King’s novels, the Shining has existed for a very long time—possibly as long as humans have been around. Dick Hallorann speculates on this, claiming that the psychic vampires of the True Knot existed from the early days of human history. So, in King’s dense and layered multiverse, humanity and the Shine have always been connected.
- In The Dark Tower series, the universe’s creator is revealed to be a godlike entity named Gan. So, it’s possible the Shine even existed beginning with the creation of the universe!^{[5]
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The Shine is most likely a limited power that some are born with. Characters like Carrie and Danny Torrance are born with the Shine, and hone their powers as they age. Furthermore, in Doctor Sleep, it’s established that people with the Shine have a certain amount of “steam,” which is a type of psychic vapor that gets released upon dying painfully. The amount of steam someone has reflects the strength of their Shine; the more they use, the more their strength depletes.
- For instance, the True Knot in Doctor Sleep are psychic vampires, feeding on Shine users and taking all of their “steam.”^{[6]
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- While many King characters are born with the Shine, some discover or “activate” it later in life due to traumatic circumstances.
  - For example, Johnny Smith from The Dead Zone gets psychic abilities after sustaining brain damage in a car accident.

Section 4 of 5:

Which Stephen King characters have the Shine?

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In “The Shining,” it’s established that anyone can have the Shine. In fact, Hallorann speculates that everyone may have a little bit of Shine in them, and it simply manifests in greater degrees for some people. Regardless, there’s a long list of Stephen King characters who do, in fact, have the Shine (or some sort of unnamed psychic power that matches the Shine’s description). They include:
- Danny Torrance - One of the main characters in The Shining, Danny is a young boy who can read minds, communicate telepathically, and experience visions and premonitions.
- Dick Hallorann - The chef at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining, Hallorann is the one who explains the Shine to Danny. He also answers Danny’s telepathic call for help later.
- Abra Stone - As strong as Danny Torrance’s Shine is, Doctor Sleep establishes that Abra’s is even stronger. She has psychic abilities, including telekinesis and telepathy. She can also touch objects to see into the past, present, and future.
- Mother Abigail - In The Stand, Mother Abigail is a psychic beacon of sorts whose Shine attracts survivors of the plague. She believes herself chosen by God—and that everyone has a touch of the Shine in them.
- Johnny Smith - Smith is a character from The Dead Zone who wakes from a 5-year coma to discover that he has the power of clairvoyance and experiences precognitive visions.
- Charlie McGee - In Firestarter, The McGee family’s daughter, capable of pyrokinesis (controlling fire) as well as precognition. The entire McGee family is gifted; Charlie’s mother, Victoria, can read minds, while her father, Andy, has a form of mind control.
- Carrie White - The protagonist of Carrie, who has telekinetic powers and uses them to get revenge on the bullies and abusers who tormented her.
- Jake Chambers - From The Dark Tower series, Jake Chambers is a gunslinger with “the Touch,” a psychic ability allowing him to perceive emotions, detect lies, and sense oncoming danger.
- The Loser’s Club - In IT, the entire Loser’s Club has a bit of the Shine—although Bill Denbrough is the one who actually communicates psychically with the other club members and IT during the Ritual of Chüd.
- Louis Creed - From Pet Sematary, a character with psychic abilities who is able to speak to his deceased student, Victor Pascow.
- John Coffey - A character with incredible healing abilities as well as heightened empathy and sensitivity in The Green Mile.
- Mike Noonan - A widowed writer in Bag of Bones who experiences intense dreams and visions.
- Ted Brautigan - Ted Brautigan has psychic powers and is a powerful telepath capable of boosting the powers of other psychics. Brautigan is a character in King’s story "Low Men in Yellow Coats,” which appears in the collection Hearts in Atlantis.
- The Overlook Hotel - In The Shining, the Overlook Hotel itself is a character of sorts, with its own awareness, capable of possessing people (like it does to Jack Torrance and, years earlier, Delbert Grady).

Section 5 of 5:

Is the Shine good or evil?

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Ultimately, it’s more about how the Shine is used than the Shine itself. For instance, Carrie White’s telekinesis isn’t inherently evil, but in a moment of extreme anger and embarrassment, she lashes out and ends up killing hundreds with it. Thus, the Shine isn’t associated with a specific sense of morality; rather, the characters capable of Shining have done good and evil things with their powers.