Stephen King’s most frightening ghost in The Shining, the woman in room 237, has a new origin story in Glen Mazzara’s prequel script The Overlook Hotel. Fans of The Shining book and film will recall The Woman as the ghost in the bathtub who tried to strangle young Danny Torrance. In Stanley Kubrick’s film and Stephen King’s novel, The Woman is thought to be Lorraine Massey, a guest of the Overlook hotel who killed herself. However, the script for The Overlook Hotel reveals she could be someone else entirely.
Before the development of Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining, Warner Brothers Studios wished to revisit the classic horror story by making a feature film set before the events of The Shining. During an open call set out by the studio, Glen Mazzara pitched an idea to the team about the origin of the hotel itself and how it began to claim the lives of the people who built and worked in it. His script, while deviating from The Shining book and 1980s film, kept key elements from both, which brought about the origin story of the woman in room 237.
When talking with Bloody Disgusting, Mazzara revealed the woman could be one of two characters. Sarah, the wife of Bob T. Watson, who built the hotel, or her sister Eliza. Eliza comes to the hotel to support her sister and brother-in-law in their endeavor to build the “grandest hotel the world has ever seen.” Watson drowns his wife Sarah in their bathtub and goes off to kill his son Richard, starting the process of the hotel claiming the lives of those who look after it. Eliza, having left the family prior to them dying, had assumed that they were alive and well. Upon her return to the hotel, she learns that the Overlook is under new ownership, and no one recalls her sister or the rest of her family. In her confused state, she stays in the hotel in room 217 (room 237 in Kubrick’s film). Later, as she draws a bath and lowers herself into the tub, the ghost of her sister Sarah rises from the water and drowns her.
By having both women drown in their bathtubs, it is difficult to point out which of them is the ghost that Danny Torrance encounters in The Shining. The woman could be Eliza, if fans wish to align the script with King’s novel. The woman could also be Sarah if fans wish to lean into Kubrick’s film as the main story of The Shining. Eliza is a socialite, much like the character Lorraine Massey, and dies in room 217, however, the ghost of Sarah looks and acts more like the ghost seen in the 1980s film. It is unfortunate that fans will not be able to see who the woman really is since The Overlook Hotel won't be made into a feature film. If audiences wish to read it and learn more, pieces of the script can be found online.
With The Overlook Hotel, Mazzara is able to honor both The Shining’s film and novel roots in a way that continues to intrigue audiences. If the ghost is Sarah, then the events in the 1980s film are canon events for the fans. If the ghost is Eliza, then the events in the novel are what happened in canon. By writing his script in this way, Mazzara allows audiences to choose which version of The Shining they prefer to be true. With so many possibilities for who the woman could be, fans will have to continue reading, watching, and guessing to learn her true identity.
Source: Bloody Disgusting
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