Film Theory: How IT Explains The Secret Of The Shining

4. None Of The Overlook Haunting Is Imaginary

So what evidence is there in The Shining that there genuinely is something physical behind the haunting? Some readings of the text draw a direct parallel between Jack's mental condition and the Overlook's powers - as if it is his lost grip on reality that manifests as the hotel's ghosts.

But any reading that fundamentally relies on a solely psychological explanation (or a supernatural analysis that says Jack WILLS evil visions into being) misses the fact that a purely physical entity has to be behind the attack on Danny in Room 237.

Everything else could be explained as being Jack's doing or a simple haunting, but the fact that Danny emerges from Room 237 with a bruised neck confirms something physical attacked him. There was a tangible force there to attack him. An It removed from his father's influence.

And then there's the fact that a spectre of Grady opens a locked door for Jack. Ghosts can do a lot of things, but mastering locks isn't one, even in Stephen King's world. Again, something physical explains that.

3. The Storms

It's a smaller point, but it's interesting that It's arrival coincides in Derry with a huge storm while the Torrance's arrival at the Overlook is also met with a catastrophic snow storm. It's almost as if the inclement weather isn't only designed to isolate victims but also ominously reflects the volatile situation coming along with the arrival of the malevolent force.

In both stories, the weather is a portent of doom, as if Nature itself is reacting to It's hunger for fear.

So how doesn't It win against Danny Torrance as it doesn't against the Loser's Club?