1. Characters:
-Mike Enslin- investigator, mainly of supernatural and paranormal activity.
-Olin- manager of the Hotel Dolphin.
-Sam Farrell- Mike's agent.
-Kevin O'Malley- first person to occupy the room 1408 and he ended up killing himself. He was a sewing machine salesman.
-Rufus Dearborn- Singer Sewing Machine Salesman. He saves Mike's life.
-Veronique and Celeste- twin housekeepers. One cleaned room 1408 and came out with many health problems.
Terms:
-"A light turn"- (in an unoccupied room) to do some light cleaning like opening windows, dusting, change of towels, etc. (page 375)
-"Moorish"- by dictionary Moorish relates to the Moors and their culture, as well as the style of Spanish architecture. In the story the room 1408 has a Moorish aspect. (page 397)
Concepts:
-The Tape Recorder was Mike's safe blanker. It was a part of him and his recorder meant everything to him because it has gone everywhere with him. It has been through every "haunted" place that he has investigated in and it survived room 1408 as well.
-The room 1408 has endured 12 suicides in 68 years and 30 "natural deaths"
2. 1408 is a hotel room located in the Hotel Dolphin. An investigator, Mike Enslin, wants to stay the night in it and experience and see what the room has to offer. There are many rumors that circulate about this room, that it is haunted, and it has not been occupied in a very long time. Right when Mike arrives there most of his time is spent with Olin, the hotel's manager, and he does not want Mike staying there and tries to convince him otherwise. Olin knows of many stories of what happened and what has come out of room 1408. In the end Olin cannot convince this guy to reconsider his stay, and what would? Mike has stayed and written books about Haunted Houses, Haunted Graveyards, and a Haunted Castle. This hotel room that was rumored to be haunted was not going to scare him off.
The night progresses and he finally reaches the door of 1408 and "His problems with 1408 started even before he got into the room. The door was crooked. Not by a lot, but it was crooked, all right, canted just the tiniest bit to the left." (page 385) Mike continues into room 1408 and records everything he sees and that is around the room on his tape recorder. He also continues to tape whatever moves he makes or items he notices in the room.
Sure enough some spooky things start to happen around the room. The pictures in the living room were crooked and they completely changed; the people in the pictures were not the same as if someone came in and changed it but that was unlikely. If you looked at a picture in your room and then looked away and then looked back and it was a different picture there wouldn't you be completely freaked out too? I definitely would want to get out, and that is exactly what Mike tried to do. The back of the matchbook had the words, "CLOSE COVER BEFORE STRIKING. Without thinking about it- he no longer could think- Mike Enslin tore out a single match, allowing the cigarette to drop out of his mouth at the same time. He struck the match and immediately touched it to the others in the book." This action cause the whole book of matches to catch aflame and eventually his shirt and him self were on fire. Therefore, "this time when he reached the door and turned the knob, the door opened. It was as if the thing behind the bulging wall had no use for a burning man." In my opinion, the room let him out so that the fire he started could not destroy the room entirely. Outside the room was a man by the name of Rufus Dearborn who happened to be in the hall with a bucket of ice. He saved Mike's life when he came screaming out of 1408 on fire by dumping the ice on him and taking out the fire.
In the end, Mike was saved. He might of been saved from room 1408 since then his health has been going downhill. He has high blood pressure, probably from the medication for the burns, he has trouble seeing, has back problems, and his prostate has grown. Even though Mike is not in room 1408, I think that it was the effects of the room that is probably going to kill him one day.
3. Stephen King is an exceptional horror writer and I think that he did a good job with 1408 in the suspense category. Did you think 1408 was a scary horrifying reading or was it more like a psychological factor involved with this story? Feel free to give examples and ultimately why you think it was one or the other.
I also saw the movie 1408 and if anyone else has seen it I would like to know what is your comparison (compare or contrast) of the movie and the story is. They definitely lengthened the movie because 1408 is a short story.
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4 comments:
I actually think this reading contained a little bit of both. I thought it was meant to be scary because many events had taken place in room 1408. But knowing this can cause one's mind to play tricks. Like when a child is scared of the dark, they start imagining that the shadows in their bedroom, are things monstrous.
I enjoyed this story alot and had no idea how short it was (never saw the movie, but seeing they had made a movie I assumed it was a book). I associate it more with a psychological factor. It wasn't a story that makes you look twice before shutting off the lights. I feel it dealt more with the power of the mind and how it can change your perceptions.
-Ryan Maguire
I like this story and I like the movie. It's not just a piece of work to scare people. It shows something deep meaning behind it. In my personal opinion, I think in the"1408" , it trys to tell us that it is important for people to remember, to memorial , and to care things arounding their life.
From reading Stephen Kings 1408, I feel it is a little bit of both. Certain events give one an imagery of something scary. Others show how ones mind works when dealing with scary events.
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