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| “ | Perhaps they need a good talking to, if you don't mind my saying so. Perhaps a bit more. My girls, sir, they didn't care for the Overlook at first. One of them actually stole a pack of matches, and tried to burn it down. But I corrected them, sir. And when my wife tried to prevent me from doing my duty, I corrected her. | „ |
| ~ The Caretaker persuading Jack Torrance to kill his family |
The Hotel Caretaker (real name: Charles/Delbert Grady) is the main antagonist of the 1977 Stephen King novel The Shining and its 1980 film adaptation. He was once a caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, who went insane, murdered his family and committed suicide. However, his spirit is haunting the hotel and he manipulates Jack Torrance into what he did to his family.
He was portrayed by the late actors Philip Stone in the 1980 film, and Stanley Anderson in the 1997 miniseries.
History
When Jack Torrance and his family arrived at the Overlook Hotel, Wendy had taken Danny on a tour through the hotel, in which they met Dick Halloran. Meanwhile, Jack had met with the Hotel managers, and started his work as the new caretaker whilst also working on new writing as his occupation as author. However, Jack was warned by the managers who told him the story about the former caretaker who went insane, murdered his family gruesomely and committed suicide.
Right after the meeting, Jack started his work as the caretaker, Danny still meets with Dick, and Wendy is touring the hotel. However, Jack begins to see strange and horrifying visions, which means that the spirit of the former caretaker is in the hotel, and he manipulated Jack into becoming psychotic. As Jack went insane much like the former caretaker, he created some kind of imaginative friend in the form of Lloyd.
His transformation into a psychopath gone even further when he had taken a roque mallet (or the famous iconic axe in the film), and gone on a murderous rampage, with Dick's fate either being injured in the novel or killed in the film.
Jack's rampage ends once Wendy and Danny defeated him, ultimately defeating the spirit of the caretaker in the process.
Personality
The Hotel Caretaker is an extremely diabolical, evil, ruthless and most of all murderous entity. When he was once human, he was much like Jack; a formerly kind, lovely, cocky and caring father for his children, but as he went insane, he murdered his family and himself. In addition to being so murderous and so powerful entity, The Caretaker is also incredibly manipulative as he manages to turn Jack into a lunatic psychopath.
The Caretaker is nearly impossible to defeat, and the only way and the only thing that can defeat him is none other than Danny Torrance, who is possessing the titular supernatural ability of The Shining.
