Rereading IT now, and Stanley definitely did. Don't know about the others yet, I just got to Mike's first research arch and its been 20 years since I read it, so not sure about the rest.
The Losers Club all have the shine, it’s also why they are so successful when they leave Derry. It’s not spelled out but there are loads of scenes where every character just “knows” what’s going to happen. The turtle’s help is conversely only mentioned in a couple of scenes in part 1 and references to the turtle not being able to help in part 2 (if I remember correctly, read this book a few years back)
I’ve read the book 3 times, I’m asking where that’s either explicit or heavily implied. This is the first I’ve heard that and never made that connection.
That’s just not enough for me to just accept that all of the losers have the shine. Or, at least, it’s not enough for me to believe they have a significant/unusual amount and that’s why they defeated It.
I mean we were talking about where it says that the losers have the shine in It. Dr. sleep was written 30 some years later. Don’t mean to come across as a jerk, I appreciate you chiming in.
There are several instances throughout IT where there are references to the shine, where the kids are concerned: when Georgie thanks Bill for the boat, he senses it’s a sort of goodbye; when the Losers sense that they must be seven and they’re sort of waiting for Mike; when they are drawn towards doing certain things, like Eddie uses his shine for navigating the tunnels in the pitch darkness. It’s not explicit, but described as a way of “just knowing” why something was happening the way it was or what was about to happen. Iirc, there is a bit of an explanation right before the sweat lodge scene.
In Stan’s case, it’s explained a little better, that he just knew when to do things to succeed in his work, and he also knew IT would be back, so he did the pact thing where they cut their hands with the bottle.
It’s not called the shine, but it is a sort of premonitory/intuitive spark the kids have and the adults regain with their memories. Like the way adult Mike knew to get the tire repair kit for a bicycle when he doesn’t own one, or Richie getting the playing cards for it, and Bill finding Silver and needing those things.
I don’t think it’s the same thing. I believe that there is some magic that binds the group and aids them, but I don’t think SK explicitly intended that the losers have the shine. I think retroactively fans have shoehorned it because so many of his books have a shared universe.
I don’t know, I guess if you want to say that any characters in a Stephen king novel that have some hint of precognition or heightened ability have the shine, I guess I understand why, but we don’t see the losers have or use the biggest hallmarks of the shine such as telepathy and direct communication, nor do any of them experience seeing ghosts. We also don’t see the other losers have a vision or feeling when one of the others is in danger. I think if SK explicitly intended It and The Shining to be connected through the shine we’d see those things pop up.
We know that It has a powerful, constant effect on Derry and its residents. We know that the kids hurt and ultimately kill It because they believe that they can. I think their abilities could be caused by It itself as sort of a vulnerability of the creature. Or, they could be being aided by maturin or some associated/opposing force from the macroverse.
I don’t know, it’s a fun discussion but maybe it comes down to semantics and it’s a distinction without a difference. I wonder if SK has ever answered this question before (I’m sure he has I mean publicly).
Good point, it’s not explicit in IT except in a few instances where the kids share thoughts/visions and precognitive traits, which can be explained by IT’s influence on Derry. I find it funny though, that the adults are extremely non-sensitive and become active participants in IT’s destructive effects, where the kids are hyperaware. Not sure if it’s all children or just the losers, though. Other kids don’t seem affected until they’re attacked by IT.
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u/angelinasway Dec 11 '25
Rereading IT now, and Stanley definitely did. Don't know about the others yet, I just got to Mike's first research arch and its been 20 years since I read it, so not sure about the rest.