10 Horror Movie Endings That Made You Say WHAT?!

1. The Shining

Evil Dead
Warner Bros.

In The Shining, struggling author, Jack Torrance, agrees to a caretaking position at the Overlook Hotel, unaware that it's haunted. Moving in with his wife, Wendy, and his son, Danny, Jack feels like this a perfect opportunity for him to finish his book.

But after the spirits of the hotel prey on Jack's vices, he goes insane, and tries to murder his family. Luckily, Wendy and Danny lose Jack in a blizzard and escape. Unable to find his way back to the hotel, Jack freezes to death.

Just as everything looks like it's wrapping up, we cut to the hotel's interior, where the camera zooms in on a picture of party at the Overlook, with Jack Torrance in the bottom centre. The camera slowly pans down, showing the picture was taken in 1921, 59 years after the events in the movie.

According to the director, Stanley Kubrick, this picture proves Jack is the reincarnation of the hotel's caretaker, which was referenced by Grady's ghost earlier. However, many people have rejected this explanation to devise their own theory, most commonly, that Jack's essence has been absorbed into the Overlook hotel. Whatever you believe, there is no question that The Shining has one of the biggest WTF endings in the history of cinema.

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Contributor

James Egan has written 80 books including 1000 Facts about Superheroes Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about TV Shows Vol. 1-3 Twitter - @jameswzegan85