Penn State Altoona faculty explore ‘The Shining’ in new podcast episode

ALTOONA, Pa. - Penn State Altoona faculty members Brian Onishi, associate professor of philosophy, and Jeff Stoyanoff, assistant professor of English and of women's, gender and sexuality studies, have released a new episode of their "Horror Joy" podcast. The hosts' latest episode kicks off a mini series on haunted and haunting houses with a discussion about Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's "The Shining" and the Overlook Hotel as a possibly sentient space.

Onishi and Stoyanoff ask whether the hotel merely contains ghosts or actively amplifies violence, racism, sexism, and repetition. They critique the "Indian burial ground" trope, discuss Grady's claims that Jack has "always been" the caretaker, the final photograph's time-loop implications, and scholarship on hereditary or cyclical violence.

The hosts emphasize the film's maze motifs (hedge maze, carpets, corridors) and consider the steadicam and "autonomous camera" as intensifying dread, while noting Dick Hallorann's disposability and ending with "joy" found in the film's craft and unsettling images.

The full episode can be accessed on podcast providers or on Red Circle.