Six Rooms and THE SHINING

Two Tales Of Demented Dwellings

Published in September of 2021 by Cemetery Gates Media, Six Rooms by Gemma Amor reminded me of the movie THE SHINING (1980). Coincidentally, the film is an adaptation of the Stephen King novel. I have read the book, but am more familiar with the movie, having seen it more times than I can count. My thoughts and comparisons will be tied to the movie which differs slightly from the book. THE SHINING place at the Overlook Hotel where Jack Torrance has taken the job as caretaker for the off season, living at the hotel with his wife and son. The family, mostly father and son, have several encounters with ghosts that haunt the hotel. Encouraged by the previous caretaker’s ghost, Jack becomes violent and attacks his wife and son.

Before I start describing Six Rooms story or plot, I’d like to take a moment to point out the beautiful cover art.

Yes, I judge books by their cover and the drawing done by Chad Wehrle sold me on the book before I even knew what it was about. Set in the Sunshire Chateau, the novel follows a tour group as they are led through the Chateau by their less than welcoming tour guide.  The Chateau was home to businessman Charles Lester III, built as gross display of his wealth.

A mashup of various styles described as “an exercise in grandeur for grandeur’s sake, as if the architect had been simply told to ‘make it look expensive’.” The Chateau has become the premier tourist attraction for the town of Lestershire because of the rumors of ghosts, scandals, and hidden treasure.

The book is split into six sections corresponding to the rooms visited by the tour group. As we are guided through the rooms, we learn bit about Charles Lester and his legacy, including his supposed suicide following financial disaster. We also meet Ned, the Chateau’s antique book specialist. Through him we have our first ghostly encounter and learn the true sordid details of past events. Through a series of flashbacks initiated by characters physical contact with specific items in each room, we learn the real events leading to Charles death.

The most obvious similarity between THE SHINING and Six Rooms is they are basically both haunted house stories. But in both the ghosts are not an immediate threat to the visitors. Instead, there seems to be a much larger force at work, as if the building has a will of its own. This malicious force is possibly the result of the built-up negative energy of past horrific events.

The ghosts are usually victims themselves trapped on the property because of their violent and tragic deaths. They end up being a tool used to torment visitors.

In both the book and the movie, the minds of the visitors are invaded and warped by this unknown force. In the movie, we see it mostly affecting one character, Jack Torrance, leading to the attacks on his wife and son.

In Amor’s book, the Chateau seems to have a much more powerful effect on its guests. We see it affecting several characters within only hours. There are few survivors of the tour and even they are deeply affected by their experience.

They also both share similar set of characters: a family of three.

While not the only characters present in the Chateau, the book focuses a lot on the family. There are also a lot of similarities between the two families. Particularly, the mother and father characters both fit into a specific archetype and the family dynamic plays out very much the same.

The fathers are controlling, aggressive and not very nice, even before they are affected by the negative energy of the location. The mothers are both very meek and submissive. They also seem very anxious about the welfare of their son.

Overall, if you really read into the setting of each story, there’s an underlying theme of the corrupting power of money and greed. As symbols of wealth and status, both locations are opulent, well-maintained, and luxurious.

They are full of light and portray a life of comfort concealing the horrific history. This makes them even more chilling than your typical haunted house, which is most often depicted as dark, abandoned or in disrepair with a well-known history of gruesome events.