Now a middle-aged man, Dan struggles with the trauma of his childhood winter at the Overlook Hotel. He drifts across the country taking odd jobs and drinking heavily to mute his telepathic shining abilities. He eventually settles in Frazier, New Hampshire, where he finds work as an orderly at the Helen Rivington House hospice. Here he earns the nickname Doctor Sleep for his gentle talent in helping terminal patients pass on peacefully. He seeks recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous to confront his profound feelings of shame and stop repeating his father's destructive patterns.

A bright and curious young girl from New Hampshire whose telepathic shining abilities are significantly more powerful than Dan's. Her supernatural talents bewilder her parents and manifest physically, such as causing spoons to hang from the ceiling during a birthday party. After telepathically witnessing a horrific crime, she develops a fierce determination to seek justice against those who prey on children.

The exceptionally beautiful and sadistic leader of the True Knot. She commands a nomadic group of ancient, vampiric beings who travel the American highways in recreational vehicles. She sustains her prolonged youth by hunting children who possess the shining and extracting their psychic essence, which she calls steam. She is entirely ruthless in her pursuit of survival and tires of the constant travel required to sustain her followers.

The trusted family physician to the Stone family. He is a dedicated, rational man of science who advises Dave and Lucy to treat Abra normally despite her oddities. His skeptical worldview shifts after Dan Torrance uses supernatural insight to locate his misplaced watch, eventually leading him to become a crucial asset in protecting Abra.

Abra's protective and practical father. He is frequently bewildered by the strange phenomena surrounding his daughter, preferring to ignore the supernatural implications of flying spoons and phantom piano music. When undeniable threats emerge, his devotion to his family overrides his skepticism.

An affable, older man living in New Hampshire who helps maintain the Teenytown miniature village attraction. He possesses a mild version of the shining, which acts as an unconscious magnet drawing him and Dan together. He integrates Dan into the local community and stands by him when supernatural dangers threaten their town.

Dan's Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor and an administrator in Frazier. Having overcome his own struggles with addiction, he recognizes Dan's fragile state and provides him with employment at the hospice under strict, non-negotiable recovery guidelines.

The former cook at the Overlook Hotel who originally taught young Dan about the shining. Even in death, his early lessons about constructing mental lockboxes serve as vital survival tools. He continues to find ways to guide Dan from beyond the physical world.

A Harvard-educated lawyer who serves as Rose the Hat's partner and second-in-command within the True Knot. He manages the logistical and strategic elements of the group's nomadic existence, utilizing vast hidden wealth to keep the convoy moving undetected.

Dan's mother, who survived the traumatic winter at the Overlook Hotel. She suffers from lingering back injuries and lives off a small settlement, dedicating her remaining years to providing a safe, quiet life for her son before her eventual passing.

Dan's deceased father, whose history of violent alcoholism casts a long shadow over Dan's adulthood. Dan's deepest terror is repeating Jack's destructive cycle, making Jack's memory a constant cautionary presence as Dan battles his own addictions.

Abra's caring mother. She frequently worries about her daughter's inexplicable night terrors and supernatural talents, trying to provide a normal upbringing while struggling to understand phenomena she cannot fully comprehend.

Lucy's grandmother and Abra's great-grandmother. An elderly published poet who recognizes the signs of the shining in her lineage early on. She eventually enters hospice care as she battles terminal pancreatic cancer.

A young woman who develops a hypnotic ability to make people fall asleep instantly following a traumatic childhood. She initially uses this skill to rob men before Rose the Hat recruits her into the True Knot, where she adopts the nickname Snakebite Andi.

A young boy possessing a mild form of the shining. His abduction by the True Knot serves as the inciting incident for Abra's fierce crusade against the vampiric group.

A young woman Dan meets during his aimless, heavy-drinking years. She subsists largely on food stamps and struggles with her own chaotic life. Dan's shameful theft of her money becomes a haunting memory that fuels his later desire for redemption.

Deenie's neglected toddler. Dan's failure to intervene when he finds the boy playing near a pile of cocaine represents one of Dan's most profound moral failings and a central piece of his ongoing trauma.

Dan's childhood imaginary friend and supernatural guide, who manifests as a physical embodiment of the shining. Still appearing as a child, he later bridges the psychic gap between Dan and Abra, assisting the young girl with her own emerging powers.

An antagonistic and insensitive orderly at the Helen Rivington House hospice. He casually mocks Dan with the nickname Doctor Sleep, and his rough treatment of terminal patients leads to a volatile physical confrontation between the two men.