Richard "Dick" Hallorann is the deuteragonist in the The Shining franchise. He was a man who had the rare "Shining" ability, an ability he had also shared with his grandmother. He drove a Plymouth Fury.
Biography[]
The Shining (book)[]
Background[]
Not much was known of Dick's early life, except that he likely was born in New Hampshire in January of 1918. Dick lived with his parents but was often visited his paternal grandmother, Rose Hallorann, who shares Dick's Shine, and her brother, Andy. Dick refers to them as "White Grandma" and "Black Grandpa" respectively (due to the color of their souls, not their skin color). Black Grandpa would routinely mentally, physically, and sexually abuse Dick. These abuses were kept secret and suspicions were allayed, because Black Grandpa had threatened Dick with a fairytale child-snatcher, Charlie Manx, so Dick never told his parents or White Grandma, and Black Grandpa had promised his fortune as a coffin-maker to Dick's family. He would also put a smashed cigarette in Dick’s food. However, after he dies, Black Grandpa leaves his fortune to a black orphanage in Alabama instead. Dick then has several Shining encounters with his Black Grandpa's naked and sexualized spirit, which beckons Dick to fornicate with him. Dick to tell his White Grandma about these apparitions, she having already discovered Black Grandpa's abuses after his death. She teaches him how to "lock" bad shines like Black Grandpa into a mental lockbox and hold conversations without either of them moving their mouths. In his tweens, he and his brother found a huge of wasps north from their farm. His brother had a rocket, lighted it, and threw it at the wasps. Dick and Carl then ran away.
When he was 12, he joined the US Army and was eventually assigned to be a cook for Easy Company, a New Hampshire-based unit. Dick Hallorann parlayed his cooking skills for the rest of his life. During his time, he was a member of the African-American army nightclub in Derry, Maine called "The Black Spot", which was burned down by the Legion of White Decency in 1930. Dick's Shining allowed him to save the lives of several other clubgoers, including Mike Hanlon's father. After escaping the inferno, William and Dick witnesses the men in sheets running away. When a member of the Legion of Decency falls he is picked up by Pennywise in the form a giant bird with balloons on its wings, and flown away. In 1955, he was in West Germany still serving in the army when he had a vision where he saw his brother, Carl Hallorann, killed in a train accident in Georgia, a guy asks if he’s okay. He’s not. Later, Dick calls his mom asking if his brother is okay (though knowing what happened).
In 1974, he would get a job at the Overlook Hotel, eventually becoming their head chef.
Main Events[]
Dick was first introduced in The Shining, he is 59, turning 60, in which he worked as a cook at the Overlook Hotel. When Jack gets the job as winter caretaker, he takes Wendy and Danny Torrance with him. The Torrance’s first meet Hallorann when they arrive at the hotel for the winter. When meeting them, the Torrance’s get a tour around the kitchen by him. After the tour in the kitchen and a little chat, Dick takes Danny outside to help him with his bags, while Ullman takes the adults for a tour around the rest of the hotel. Like Danny, Hallorann can “shine,” or sense people’s thoughts and emotions, although his powers aren’t as strong as Danny’s. After getting the luggage in the trunk, Hallorann tells Danny to use the most of his shine, which breaks his cars headlight. Hallorann tells Danny that he and his grandmother could shine too, and his brother’s accident. It is Hallorann who warns Danny about the Overlook Hotel. He tells Danny that people who shine see terrible things in the hotel, like pictures in a book, but he doesn’t think the images can hurt Danny. Hallorann knows better than to leave Danny in the hotel “shining like he does,” so he tells Danny to give him a call if he gets into trouble—Danny’s shine is so strong that he can send Hallorann telepathic messages all the way from Colorado to Florida.
While in Florida, Hallorann begins to have premonitions of Danny and Wendy’s death, and he is inexplicably compelled to draft a will and get his affairs in order. On December 1st, he receives a frantic shout for help from Danny which causes him to almost hit two people, after doing his job and meeting people like Frank Masterton, Baedeck, and makes a will with McIver. Hallorann doesn’t want to go back to the Overlook. Dick trys to catch a flight after calling off work. He has trouble, but eventually gets there. When on the plane, he meets a women with a stern expression and silently reads a book, talking very little. When a person doesn’t show up to his flight, the flight is delayed until the morning, in which the passengers have stay spend the night at the airport. At midnight, he tries to call the police in Colorado to help but they don’t believe him. At 7:20 in the morning, he’s gets on and they go. When the plane experiences a rough landing, and a female passenger begins to scream that the plane is crashing, the sour-faced woman softens. She tells Hallorann everything will be alright and invites him for a drink when they land. Hallorann declines. He passes her at luggage claim, where she flashes him the peace sign and shines at him, sending him mental well wishes and positive vibes. After leaving the airport, he rents a car with the help of a stranger. He is stopped but continues his way. Later in the afternoon (around two) when driving, Hallorann loses control of his rental car when he passes Howard Cottrell’s plow on a snowy road on the way to the Overlook Hotel and buries his car in the snow. Howard pulls Hallorann’s car out of the snow with his plow truck, and even offers Hallorann his mittens so Hallorann doesn’t freeze to death the next time he gets stuck. Hallorann tells Howard that he must get to the Overlook Hotel because a family is in danger, and even though Howard knows there isn’t anyway Hallorann can know that, Howard believes him. Howard “gets feelins,” he tells Hallorann. When Hallorann says he gets feelings, too, Howard says he already knows. Howard tells Hallorann to see Larry Durkin in Sidewinder about a snowmobile and to drop his name for a special rate. Four hours later during the drive, Dick gets worried that Danny was already killed. Later, he arrives to Durkin’s station to rent a snowmobile. Durkin is suspicious of him; however, when Hallorann mentions Howard Cottrell’s name, Durkin changes his mind. He rents Hallorann a snowmobile and gives Hallorann his heavy parka and a ski-mask. He leaves and worries if he can get to the Overlook on time to save Danny.
When he finally gets back to the hotel safely, he gets out of the snowmobile and is attacked by the hedges. He runs to the snowmobile to grab the gas can but gets his left leg gets slashed at by the hedge lion which causes him to scream and then his butt. He gets the gas can freed and pours it on the hedge, causing it to get even more angry and runs toward Hallorann, causing Dick to fall. He grabs his lighter he bought in 1954 and lights the hedge on fire, and his arm but he manages to puts the flame out. After walking back to the snowmobile, he tries to get inside but he can’t find his keys to the gate so he has to squish through it. Jack hears this and walks to the entrance of the hotel and hides in the elevator. Dick gets out of the snowmobile and walks up the stairs and enters the Overlook. He shouts for Danny and notices blood from the fight Jack and Wendy had earlier. He gets worried that he’s too late but still follows the blood trail which leads him to the caretakers apartment. Jack appears behind him and swings the mallet at Hallorann, once, twice. The second blow shatters his teeth on the left side of his jaw. Jack leaves him for dead. Later, Wendy discovers the body of Hallorann, but notices he’s alive. She tries to wake him up, in which he eventually does. He and Wendy knows that Jack has found Danny. Hallorann says to Wendy that they have to go the third-floor to save Danny but Wendy thinks they shouldn’t. They run. Hallorann and Wendy find Danny. Danny says they have to get out of the hotel because it’s going to explode. Danny runs to get clothes. Hallorann agrees and asks about Jack. Wendy tells him Jack is dead, she doubts she can make it but Hallorann assures her she can. Danny comes back with clothes. Hallorann noticed through his shine that they only have a minute to get out. He then pick up Wendy and grabs Danny and haul butt. They run out of the hotel just before the boiler explodes. He notices the hedge animals between the porch and the snowmobile. The three of them are sent flying off the porch after the blast from the explosion. He lands safely and watches the hotel burn, gleefully. He also notices the hedges burning, all besides the bunny. Danny calls out for him so he walks towards them. He makes sure they’re okay before lifting them to the snowmobile. Danny reminds him to take the gas can. Hallorann tells them that he’ll drive to get blankets from the shed. They get there. Hallorann grabs the blankets. He also notices the roque set, the Overlook spirit tries to possess him into killing Wendy and Danny, but shakes it off and comes out, no longer scaring Danny. They leave, free from the Overlook.
After the ordeal, he with Danny and Wendy are summering at a resort in Maine where Hallorann now works at. He talks to Wendy and then is comforting Danny over the loss of his father and how to deal with hard times while teaching him to fish in the ocean. Wendy later joins in and the three of them sit together. Dick remained close to the remaining Torrances until well into Danny's teenage years.
IT (book)[]
In IT, Dick is mentioned as an Army cook and member of the African-American army nightclub in Derry, Maine called "The Black Spot", which was burned down by the Legion of White Decency (the Maine equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan) in 1930. Dick's Shining allowed him to save the lives of several other clubgoers, including Mike Hanlon's father. After escaping the inferno, William and Dick witnesses the men in sheets running away. When a member of the Legion of Decency falls, Pennywise in the form a giant bird with balloons across on its wings hovers over the crowd and grabs the dude, flying away.
Pearl (book)[]
Dick appears briefly in Tabitha King's novel Pearl, where he works with Pearl Dickinson as a chef at a restaurant in Key West. Pearl remembers Dick as an incredible cook who enjoyed stepping out with a number of good-looking women.
Doctor Sleep (book)[]
Background[]
One early morning in March of 1981, Dick is called by Wendy Torrance at the beginning of the novel to come and comfort Danny, four years after their shared encounter at the Overlook Hotel. Danny awakens in the middle of the night to pee and encounters Mrs. Massey, the woman from Room 217 at the Overlook, rotted and bloated sitting on his toilet. After a warning from Danny and seeing evidence of Mrs. Massey in the bathroom, Wendy calls Dick to assist. When he arrives around five in the afternoon with a present, he and Danny arrive to the nearest beach. He and him sit on a bench and asks Danny if he remembers how they met and then his bad childhood, key information, his grandma teaches him how to "lock" bad shines like his Black Grandpa into a mental lockbox. Dick passes this knowledge down to Danny in the form of a physical lockbox after getting in the car, to help him conceptualize locking away Mrs. Massey after chatting about her. He takes him home. A week later, Danny traps her.
Two years later on Thanksgiving Eve, Danny sees Horace Derwent, another Overlook spirit, but is unsuccessful in locking him up after an encounter with him. He then calls Dick asking how many lockboxes he can have in his head. Dick says as much as he needs, chuckling saying he hasn’t only needed to do it with his Grandpa. Danny then asks if ghosts die in lockboxes. Dick replies, “Do you care?” and ends the call. Two months later on New Year’s Eve, Danny successfully locks Derwent up.
Main Events[]
Decades after this meeting, Danny Torrance once again seeks the help of Hallorann in protecting Abra Stone from the clutches of the True Knot cult, only to discover that Dick died all the way back on January 19, 1999 by a heart attack. Nevertheless, Hallorann manages to speak to Dan one last time from beyond the grave by briefly possessing the body of the late Eleanor Ouellette. Dick tells Dan that he and his friends have to save Abra from the True Knot.
The Shining (film)[]
Background[]
Main Events[]
Doctor Sleep (film)[]
The Shining (miniseries)[]
Background[]
Not much was known of Dick's early life, except that he likely was born in New Hampshire. As a little boy he mentioned, he could hold conversations with his paternal grandmother without either of them moving their lips. Grandma, Rose Hallorann, who shares Dick's Shine, and her brother, Andy. Dick refers to them as "White Grandma" and "Black Grandpa" respectively (due to the color of their souls, not their skin color). Black Grandpa would routinely mentally, physically and sexually abuse Dick. These abuses were kept secret and suspicions were allayed, because Black Grandpa had threatened Dick with a fairytale child-snatcher, Charlie Manx, so Dick never told his parents or White Grandma, and Black Grandpa had promised his fortune as a coffin-maker to Dick's family. However, after he dies, Black Grandpa leaves his fortune to a black orphanage in Alabama instead. Dick then has several Shining encounters with his Black Grandpa's naked and sexualized spirit, which beckons Dick to fornicate with him. Dick to tell his White Grandma about these apparitions, she having already discovered Black Grandpa's abuses after his death. She teaches him how to "lock" bad shines like Black Grandpa into a mental lockbox. In his tweens, he and his brother found a huge of wasps north from their farm. His brother had a rocket, lighted it, and threw it at the wasps. Dick and Carl then ran away.
When he was a young adult, he joined the US Army and was eventually assigned to be a cook for Easy Company, a New Hampshire-based unit. Dick Hallorann parlayed his cooking skills for the rest of his life. During his time, he was a member of the African-American army nightclub in Derry, Maine called "The Black Spot", which was burned down by the Legion of White Decency soon after he joined. Dick's Shining allowed him to save the lives of several other clubgoers, including Mike Hanlon's father. When he was in West Germany due to still being in the army, he was in the kitchen, he had a vision where he saw his brother, Carl Hallorann, killed in a train accident in Georgia. After experiencing his vision, a KP holding a potato and a peeler asking “Are you okay, Sarge?”. Dick tells him no and that his brother died. Later, Dick calls him mom asking how his brother died (though knowing what happened).
Later, he would get a job at the Overlook Hotel, eventually becoming their head chef.
Main Events[]
After Jack Torrance gets the job for winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel. He is to show the Torrance’s around the hotel, along with Pete Watson.
Death[]
The Shining (film)[]
As he walks through the reception area, Jack Torrance, now psychotically insane, appeares before him with an axe. He swings the axe into Hallorann's chest, killing him.
Appearances[]
- The Shining (book)
- The Shining (film)
- The Shining (miniseries)
- IT (book)
- Pearl
- Doctor Sleep (book)
- Doctor Sleep (film)
Trivia[]
- His death won Golden Chainsaw on the Kill Count of The Shining (1980) by Dead Meat, along with Jack Torrance.
- In the book, Dick doesn’t die.
- He is notable for being one of the only sane adults able to see Pennywise in one of its varying forms.
- Despite being a minor character in It, his appearance was as a flashback character that took place before the events of The Shining, it's overall likely that It is connected to The Shining, along with other novels, like Misery and Billy Summers.
| Characters | |
| Main | Jack Torrance • Wendy Torrance • Danny Torrance • Stuart Ullman • Dick Hallorann |
| Minor | Albert Shockley • Bill Watson • Delbert Grady • Doctor • Grady Twins • Horace M. Derwent • Jack's Mother • Lorraine Massey • Mark Torrance • Robert Townley Watson • Roger • Suzie • Tony • List of characters in The Shining (book) |
| Doctor Sleep | Abra Stone • Concetta Reynolds • Lucy Stone • Sandy Reynolds |
| Other | Andrew Pomeroy (Misery) |
| Category:Characters | |