Hotel from“ The Shining” catches fire in Oregon
Local fire departments controlled the blaze, which started on the roof and attic, before it could consume the Timberline Lodge.
One of the most iconic haunted hotels in America almost burned down on Thursday night. The roof and attic of Oregon's Timberline Lodge, which was used by director Stanley Kubrick to stand in for the Overlook Hotel in his 1980 film adaptation of The Shining, caught fire — but thankfully the blaze was brought under control before it could spread to the rest of the building.
"The fire at Timberline Lodge was declared under control at 11:12 p.m. [local time]," the Clackamas Fire District's official account tweeted at local time Thursday night, along with photos of the building. "The fire was kept to the roof & part of the attic, & didn’t spread any further. Crews are clearing the scene. The U.S. Forest Service will be conducting the investigation with the help of federal resources."
The fire at Timberline Lodge was declared under control at 11:12 p.m. The fire was kept to the roof & part of the attic, & didn’t spread any further. Crews are clearing the scene. The U.S. Forest Service will be conducting the investigation with the help of federal resources. pic.twitter.com/IRoTpyB0WV
— Clackamas Fire (@clackamasfire) April 19, 2024
Both the book and movie versions of The Shining are set at the Overlook Hotel, a luxury mountain getaway that has hosted presidents and other dignitaries over the years, but is cursed by its own history — the ghosts of past residents haunt it and can psychically possess newcomers.
Jack Torrance (memorably played by Jack Nicholson in the film) is a writer who takes a job overseeing the hotel during its wintry off-season, both so that he'll have all the time he needs to write and so that he and his family can escape the site of his alcoholism and domestic abuse at home. Unfortunately, the hotel spirits infect Jack, reigniting his old addictions and turning him against his family.
Interestingly, fire plays a significant role in Stephen King's original novel The Shining, but not Kubrick's film. The book ends with the hotel exploding in a fiery inferno, while in the movie Jack freezes to death in an icy labyrinth and the hotel remains intact. It was one of many things that Kubrick and King disagreed about; the author is still dissatisfied with the director's interpretation, and even helmed his own TV miniseries adaptation in 1997.
Kubrick presents the Overlook in a somewhat surreal way, though. The 2012 documentary Room 237 detailed various fan theories and out-there interpretations of the film. One element it highlighted was a disconnect between how big the hotel seems to be on the outside versus the inside.
Rest assured, the Timberline Lodge remains standing if you ever want to see the Overlook Hotel for yourself. According to tweets from local reporters and people on the scene, the damage appears to be limited.
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