Today’s second entry in The 2024 PopCult Gift Guide is a collection of items inspired by the carpet pattern from The Overlook Hotel, as seen in Stanley Kubrick’s adaption of Stephen King’s The Shining.
Any devout fan of the movie will get a kick out of these cool things that let you bring a little piece of the horror and madness home with you. These are all courtesy of Pop Kulture Vulture, a nifty online emporium of cult coolness that also sells stuff based on Ken Russell, Tor Johnson, The Exorcist and more high-quality terror inducements. But this entry will point you to the Overlook.
I actually have the button-up shirt, which is in low supply. I saw folks wearing this shirt with the distinctive pattern at WonderFest USA in June, and it didn’t hit me where it was from until I got to Anthony Taylor’s table (he’s the guy behind Pop Kulture Vulture and the organizer of Monsterama, which we may go to next year) and saw the hotel keychains. When the circuits in my brain all connected, I bought one on the spot (and a keychain, too).
The cool part about this shirt (which is heavy duty and high quality) is that not everybody recognizes it. Many folks will just think that it’s a particularly striking pattern…but when somebody does recognize it, it’s like an instant secret handshake.
Now, if button-up shirts aren’t your thing, you can also get this pattern on a wallet, handkerchief, shower curtains, throw blankets, face masks, aprons, socks, license plates, scarves, arm sleeves, neck ties, and more. The rabid fan of The Shining can be decked out nearly head-to-toe in Overlook Hotel swag. And as the person giving the gift, you can enable the obsession, and possibly be spared if they snap and start chasing people around with an axe.
What better way is there to celebrate the big Winter holiday than by celebrating the big Winter movie?
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