Tiffany: "1408" by Stephen King

1. Identify and briefly define important words, terms, concepts, or characters.

Mr. Olin – 1408 is presumably a haunted room in the The Dolphins Hotel on the thirteenth floor. But because of hotel customary regulations, or more specifically superstitions, the twelfth floor is followed by the fourteenth floor to avoid the bad luck of the thirteenth floor. Mr. Olin is the hotel manager of The Dolphin who takes a special interest in Mike because he realizes that Mike does not believe a single word he writes in his horrific novels. “What concerned me – what frightened me – is that I found myself reading the work of an intelligent, talented man who doesn’t believe one single thing he has written” (King 372). Mr. Olin believes that Mike’s disbelief will only make him even more vulnerable to the horrors of room 1408. He makes every attempt to convince Mike to no avail. Mr. Olin shows further concern by visiting Mike after his encounter with room 1408. “I tried to persuade him not to go in,” Mr. Olin had explain to Mike’s lawyer.

Michael (Mike) Enslin – Room 1408 is the final component to Mike’s work as a horror author. Every novel Mike has ever published was inspired by his first hand experience of spending a night in the presumed haunted area. According to Mr. Olin, Mike’s disbelief in the supernatural may have protected him from previous encounters with human supernatural encounters such as ghosts. However, the presence in room 1408 is not human. Thus, Mike’s disbelief will only cause him to be more vulnerable. Nevertheless, Mike remains consistent to his rationale even when the door of room 1408 becomes tilted at the touch of the key. Mike weighs out his fears and insecurity through aggression towards Mr. Olin who he believes is mocking him from the security office. “This is Olin’s fault. Exactly what he wants. He built you up for it, buddy. He set you up for it. Man, how he’d laugh if he could see you.” In the end, Mike comes to accept the events that took place in room 1408 and even stops Rufus Dearborn from being drawn into room 1408.

2. Summarize the main idea, theme, action, or event of the reading. Be sure to include quotation that best captures the overall feeling or mood of the reading.

“Mr. Enslin, you don’t believe. Ghosts rarely appear to those who don’t believe in them, and when they do, they are rarely seen. Why, Eugene Rilsby could have bowled his severed head all the way down the front hall of his home, and you wouldn’t have heard a thing! … But you will. You will. Because there are no ghosts in room 1408 and never have been. There’s something in there – I’ve felt it myself – but it’s not a spirit presence. In an abandoned house or an old castle keep, your unbelief may serve you as a protection. In room 1408, it will only render you more vulnerable. Don’t do it, Mr. Enslin. That’s why I waited for you tonight, to ask you, to beg you, not to do it. Of all the people on earth who don’t belong in that room, the man who wrote those cheerful, exploitative true-ghost books leads the list.”

3. Formulate a question for discussion. The question should be relatively substantial based upon a specific passage or scene from the text, and capable of sustaining a thoughtful discussion.

Do our beliefs serve the purpose of protecting, confining, or making us vulnerable? In this short story, the protagonist’s beliefs are what kept protected him, until he found himself in a situation in which these very same beliefs are what made him vulnerable. How does this story alter our thoughts?