Stephen King Fan Offers Killer Shining Tribute

Sat., Jan. 10, 2009 5:58 PM PST by Erik Pedersen

Warner Bros. Pictures

And by killer, we mean that literally.

Artist Phil Buehler, a self-described fan of Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick, has created his own take on the novel by Jack Torrance, the writer driven into madness and unsafe axe handling in The Shining.

As seen in the film version, the Torrance manuscript consists entirely of the words "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Attempts to edit the writer—played memorably by Jack Nicholson—don't end well for the other occupants of the Overlook Hotel, the haunted inn that inspires the work and related mayhem.

Until now, however, that repetitive tome had only made Torrance bonkers. Now, with Buehler's inspiration, the rest of us will get the chance to be driven insane.

Buehler created an 80-page version that uses typographical and design tricks to transform the work into an art piece, available online.

"The idea has probably been marinating for years, because I loved the movie and the Stephen King book," the artist gushed on to The Guardian. "I thought, 'If he continues to get crazier, what would those pages look like?'"

And now you know.

Get it before the critics—or perhaps King's lawyers—hack it to pieces.