Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Institute.
A new Stephen King show seems to have the perfect replacements for two of his creepiest characters from a 45-year-old movie. Although many memorably creepy characters have been featured in Stephen King’s books and their TV and movie adaptations, two seem to stand out even decades later.
The characters in question are not typical villainous monsters like Pennywise from the IT franchise. Nor are they like the living dead from King’s zombie apocalyptic thriller, Cell. While the two figures are not exactly human either, what makes them truly terrifying is their eerie presence and the air of ambiguity surrounding their past in a renowned Stephen King book.
Many great Stephen King characters have been featured multiple times on both the small and big screens. When it comes to the two creepy figures, their first representation on the big screen was seemingly etched into horror history. Interestingly, however, a new show based on an acclaimed Stephen King novel attempts to present their perfect replacements.
The Institute’s Twins Greta & Gerda Are Eerily Reminiscent Of The Shining’s Grady Sisters
Stephen King’s The Institute Even Makes A Subtle Reference To The Shining
In MGM+’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Institute, twin sisters, Greta and Gerda, appear at the central facility after being abducted from their home like the other children. Although the show only portrays them as normal human characters with potential supernatural powers, they seem oddly reminiscent of the Grady sisters, who are often remembered as the twins from The Shining.
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Stephen King’s The Institute Cast & Character Guide: How They Compare To The Sci-Fi Book
MGM+’s The Institute brings Stephen King’s tale of superpowered children to television screens with an ensemble cast of recognizable faces.
Although Greta and Gerda seem slightly older than the Grady sisters from The Shining, they look very similar to them in appearance. Everything from their outfits to their mannerisms in the Stephen King adaptation echoes the haunting presence of the iconic duo from the Stanley Kubrick movie.
Interestingly, Stephen King’s original The Institute book subtly compares them to the Grady sisters from The Shining. The book explicitly mentions that the twins remind the main character, Luke, of “twins in some old horror movie.“ Even though the novel does not mention the name of the film Luke thinks about, it seems evident that Greta and Gerda remind him of the Grady sisters.
Greta’s Brutal Death Makes The Twins’ The Shining Comparisons Even Stronger
The Show Draws Parallels Between The Similar Characters’ Fates
The Shining‘s lore reveals that the Grady sisters were brutally murdered by their father, Delbert Grady, in the Overlook Hotel. Even in Stephen King’s The Institute, one of the two sisters, Greta, ends up in a fellow character’s room, where he murders her by slamming her head into the wall.
…The twins are not just similar to the Grady sisters in appearance but also end up meeting a similar tragic fate.
MGM+’s The Institute also does not drift too far from the Stephen King book with its portrayal of the two characters. Soon after introducing them in episode 4, the show walks through a disturbing sequence in which a character named Harry kills Greta by striking her on the head with a dumbbell. This shows how the twins are not just similar to the Grady sisters in appearance but also end up meeting a similar tragic fate.
