FAQ

1408 is based on a short story by American horror novelist Stephen King. King created it for his nonfiction book On Writing (2002) as an example of how to edit a rough draft. The story appears in that book in incomplete form. The complete story is published in his collection Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales (2002).

"We've Only Just Begun", a 1970 hit written by Roger Nichols (music) and Paul Williams (lyrics) and performed by The Carpenters. Once, often sung at weddings, this was the second time it was used in a horror film. The first time was in the movie In the Mouth of Madness (1994).

Mike Enslin: "Let's 'Encyclopedia Brown' this bitch." Enslin is referring to the fictional boy detective and hero of a series of children's books by Donald J. Sobol.

One theory is that it was Mr. Olin. Doing exactly what Enslin suspected... trying to scare Enslin and convince him to stay in another room in order to write about the hotel in his book and give it a bit of free promotion. However, this plan backfired for Olin when he found that Enslin was not easily convinced and insisted on staying in the room.

Another theory is that it could have been the room itself, somehow knowing that Mr. Olin was preventing anyone from staying in the room long enough to let them be killed. It sent the post card to Enslin figuring he'd be skeptical enough to not be afraid to stay in the room.

Yes. There's a "Theatrical Release" and a "Director's Cut." The main difference between the two is in the endings. In the theatrical release, Mike Enslin is rescued. In the director's cut, he dies. Both versions have circulated widely, creating confusion among people who discuss the film. The DC runs approx. 12 minutes longer than the theatrical version.