 | |
| Lorraine Massey | |
| Aliases: | Woman in Room 217 Woman in Room 237 |
| Continuity: | The Shining |
| Notability: | Antagonist |
| Type: | Ghost |
| Gender: | Female |
| Location: | Room 217/Room 237, Overlook Hotel, Colorado |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Died: | 1970s |
| First: | The Shining |
| Actor: | Lia Beldam Billie Gibson Cynthia Garris |
Lorraine Massey is a fictional ghost and a secondary antagonist featured in The Shining franchise. She first appeared in the 1977 novel The Shining by author Stephen King, where she was identified by name. A version of Lorraine Massey appeared in the 1980 The Shining feature film directed by Stanley Kubrick. She was not identified by name, and was played by two different actresses. The younger version of Massey was played by Lia Beldam and the older, rotting version of Massey was played by Billie Gibson. Lorraine Massey also appeared in the 1997 television movie version of The Shining by director Mick Garris. She was played by Garris' wife in the film, Cynthia Garris. Garris played both the living version of Massey in flashback scenes, and the rotting version of Massey as a ghost in present day scenes.
Biography[]
Lorraine Massey was a guest at the Overlook Hotel who stayed in Room 237. She was married to a lawyer, but came to the Overlook to conduct her extramarital affairs. Lorraine was known for seducing young men, usually bellhops, into her room and having sex with them. [1]
One summer when Lorraine visited the hotel, she was seen cavorting about with a younger college student. After three days however, the student took off. For whatever reason, this greatly affected Lorraine. She committed suicide in the bathtub of her room by slitting her wrists. Her spirit became one of the many ghosts known to inhabit the hotel from that point onward.
Young Danny Torrance saw the ghost of an aged and rotting Lorraine Massey creeping after him in Room 237. His father, Jack Torrance, later saw a younger, more attractive version of Massey in the same room and was seduced by her. [2]
Some time after Jack's demise at the hotel, the angry spirit of Lorraine Massey still sought to dominate Danny Torrance. Like the rest of the spirits from the hotel, they wanted to feed off his psychic energy. Danny's mentor with the shining, Dick Hallorann taught Danny a psychic defense trick wherein he could trap ghosts such as Lorraine Massey inside of a mental lock-box. [3]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Lorraine Massey was created by author Stephen King.
- In the Stanley Kubrick film, Danny Torrance saw the woman in room 237 as a rotting old hag. In the Mick Garris mini-series, Danny saw the woman in room 217 as youthful, but dead and rotting in a bathtub.
- In the Stanley Kubrick film, the character is identified as both "young woman in bath" and "old woman in bath".
- Playing the part of Lorraine Massey in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is the only known acting work for actress Lia Beldam.
- Playing the part of Lorraine Massey in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is the only known acting work for actress Billie Gibson.
- Cynthia Garris, who played Lorraine Massey in the TV mini-series is the wife of director Mick Garris.