Stephen King: 10 Most Powerful Characters That Can Shine

Legendary horror author Stephen King has created a number of connected literary worlds that have introduced a number of powerful characters with psionic or paranormal abilities that first received an explanation in King’s third book The Shining, which revealed a number of people with hidden talents that were all connected by the “shine.”

There isn’t a definitive listing of characters who can shine, as the terminology used between different powered people reference similar abilities like the “Touch” or leave them unreferenced completely. However, given the similarities between characters’ powers in the connected continuity of the King books, King fans can still explore some of the most powerful characters that can shine, tooa.

10 The Losers Club From IT Were Gathered Together By Fate And Experienced Psychic Visions

Stephen King’s IT introduced readers to The Losers Club, a group of children who were the only line of defense against the supernatural threat of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. The Losers Club may not be the most obvious characters who can shine, though the non-specific abilities exhibited by those who can shine are also present at times within the Losers.

Whether it is through the psychic connection that they sometimes exhibit or the willed weaponry used in their battle with Pennywise, The Losers Club stands out as overlooked but powerful characters who can shine.

9 Roland Deschain’s Ka-Tet Include Alain Johns And Jake Chambers Who Had The Touch

Much like The Losers Club that appeared in IT, Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series has assembled its own group of powerful characters that became known as the Ka-Tet of Roland Deschain, the Gunslinger of All-World.

Characters like Alain Johns and Jake Chambers are both gifted with the touch which is a psionic ability that is similar to Earth’s shining. However, it’s the “Ka” that appears in fantasy-based stories like The Dark Tower that brings Roland Deschain together with his touch-powered Ka-tet through fate.

8 Johnny Smith Had Clairvoyant And Precognitive Visions That Helped Him Save The World

The various abilities tapped by those who can shine often include precognitive flashes and visions that give those connected to Ka or the shine advance warning of the future, or insight into the deepest secrets hidden within someone’s psyche. The Dead Zone introduced the character of Johnny Smith, who was able to tap into these abilities after he suffered a head injury as a child.

When Johnny awoke from a coma later in life, he saw clairvoyant and precognitive visions of people and events when he touched them, which allowed him to stop a serial killer and save the world from possible nuclear destruction at the cost of his own life.

7 Mother Abigail Used Her Shine To Gather Survivors Of Captain Trips In The Stand

The Stand featured another group brought together by fate as two groups of survivors formed together following the extermination of the majority of the planet’s population due to a global pandemic known as Captain Trips.

While Randall Flagg/The Man in Black gathered his evil army, the forces of good rallied under a woman named Mother Abigail. Abigail’s strong psychic abilities (which she herself referred to as the shine) were able to not only connect the survivors together for their ultimate battle but also hold off the psychic attacks and invasions of Flagg before her death.

6 Rose The Hat And The True Knot Were Immortal Psionic “Vampires” Who Fed On The Shine

Stephen King’s 2013 novel Doctor Sleep served as the sequel to his hit novel The Shining and was also adapted into a live-action film that further blended the events of the novel with the previous Stanley Kubrick adaptation. Doctor Sleep introduced the powerful psychic known as Rose the Hat and her family in the True Knot, a group of immortal energy vampires.

They fed and sustained themselves on the life force/”steam” they collected from the deaths of children who shined that they hunted around the world. The True Knot’s members each had a psychic specialty, though only a few of them were able to track down others who shined like Rose the Hat.

5 Charlie McGee Was A Powerful Pyrokinetic Whose Shine Was Unlocked By Experimental Drugs

Readers were recently introduced to a new wave of young telekinetics and telepaths in Stephen King’s 2019 novel The Institute. They were being experimented on in order to help stop threats viewed by precogs like Johnny Smith; 1980’s Firestarter introduced an earlier version of this premise with The Shop and the McGee Family.

The Shop was a government organization using experimental drugs in order to activate latent psionic abilities, which resulted in the birth of young Charlie McGee. Charlie not only exhibited powerful pyrokinetic abilities but she also had precognitive visions of the future, which were passed down from her parents’ drug-induced telepathic/telekinetic shine.

4 John Coffey Had A Powerful Shine That Couldn’t Save Him From The Green Mile

Stephen King explored a number of different genres over the years, though the connective tissue of the shine can still almost always be seen in some characters, as was the case with The Green Mile series, which was later adapted into a hit movie of the same name.

The series took place in the death row section of the Cold Mountain Penitentiary and introduced the character of John Coffey, who was on death row for murders he didn’t commit. John slowly revealed a range of abilities that included psychic perception and a healing touch that could also be used to kill, which would be seen from other characters with the shine as well.

3 Danny Torrance Has Exhibited A Number Of Different Abilities In The Shining And Doctor Sleep

While it was Dick Halloran who initially taught Danny Torrance how to use the shine, Danny quickly outshone his fallen mentor as a child, and his psychic abilities only grew as he matured into adulthood. Danny first appeared in The Shining where his precognitive abilities were put to the test as his family was isolated in the haunted Overlook hotel for the winter.

Dan later returned as an adult in Doctor Sleep, where he refined his abilities and even demonstrated other shine powers like John Coffey’s ability to transfer diseased “steam”/life energy to other characters, which resulted in the death of the True Knot.

2 Abra Stone Has A Powerful Shine That Attracts The Attention Of Others Who Can Shine

When Abra Stone was born, she almost immediately established a psychic connection with Dan Torrance, and as her powers waxed and waned through childhood she began to attract the attention of the shine vampires known as the True Knot in Doctor Sleep.

Stone revealed both telepathic and telekinetic abilities that were later revealed to have come from her biological grandfather, Jack Torrance. Both Abra and Danny displayed great power, though Abra’s multitude of abilities she has already mastered along with the still untapped potential of her own shine that places her above her uncle.

1 Carrie White Massacred Her Entire Town With Her Powerful Telekinetic And Telepathic Abilities

The titular star of Stephen King’s second novel Carrie began to develop incredibly powerful telekinetic and telepathic abilities as she entered puberty. She exhibited displays of these abilities as an infant, similar to Abra’s increase in her own shine as she aged.

Carrie’s mother Margaret was a religious extremist who revealed their power was passed down among the women in their family, which she considered a curse from Satan. Carrie never saw her shine develop fully, though her powerful telekinesis was on full display when she massacred her town on prom night.

About The Author

Scoot Allan
(193 Articles Published)

Entertainment reporter, writer, and all-around geek, Scoot Allan has written for print and online media sources like Geek Magazine, GeekExchange, GrizzlyBomb, WhatCulture, RoguePlanet.tv and the Urban 30 before joining CBR, ScreenRant, GameRant and The Gamer as a staff writer. He enjoys salad but prefers french fries.

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