The Wendy Theory is a curious internet theory that attempts to explain The Shining, a film with more than its fair share of theories. Stanley Kubrick’s seminal horror movie, based on Stephen King’s seminal horror novel, was always going to be something enduring, but even they may not have guessed how critical the story would be to horror, filmmaking, and least of all, theory-crafting. A ghost story set in a H๏τel during a brutal winter may not initially sound any more prone to theorizing than any other horror movie, but it’s captured the imagination like no other film.

From the bear man in The Shining to the Native American imagery, every piece of The Shining has been picked apart as fans and movie-geeks have attempted to unravel the disturbing and fathoms deep horror film. Such a meticulous director as Stanley Kubrick did not put anything in his movies without thinking about it, and so every clue, “mistake”, or question raised by The Shining instantly gets noted, categorized, and examined to understand how it can fit in his greater framework. The Wendy Theory has its own ideas about what’s really going on in the film.

The Wendy Theory Suggests That Wendy Is Hallucinating The Events Of The Shining

Production Mistakes And Inconsistencies Are Explained By Wendy’s Poor Memory

The Wendy Theory is a theory, likely popularized by the YouTube channel RobNavarro, that starts with the idea that Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duvall) is the real point-of-view character from which the audience is watching the film. According to the theory, Wendy is hallucinating just about everything that happens in the movie. One of the most important scenes in this theory is the first time that Wendy approaches Jack (Jack Nicholson) while he’s trying to work. In this sequence, the camera cuts back and forth between Wendy and Jack.

When it cuts to Jack, sometimes there is a chair and table behind him, while other times, they disappear. In the beginning of the scene, he also rips up the piece of paper he’s writing on, but at the end of the sequence, he returns to his typewriter and begins writing on the same page. He also is oddly relaxed with a confused look on his face, as if Wendy had just come in and done something odd. The theory states that Wendy had walked in, and imagined the entire scene, hence the continuity errors.

Wendy simply stared at Jack and left, leading to his puzzled expression. Wendy’s devolving mental state, combined with the story Jack told her about the Grady family, has combined to form a psychosis that’s convinced Wendy her husband is a monster and will murder her and her son. All the other inconsistencies in the movie, such as objects appearing and reappearing, the H๏τel hallways leading to unexpected areas, the TV not being plugged in while she watches it, and color changes throughout the movie suggest Wendy is having a hallucination and her memory is trying to fill in the scene.

According to the theory, anytime the camera is facing the back of a character, the perspective changes to Wendy’s false perception of reality. Whenever the camera faces the back of a character, there are always production designs in The Shining. The horrifying implication of this theory is that it was Wendy who went mad in the Overlook H๏τel and her husband was the victim. Either the ghosts are targeting Wendy, and they’ve succeeded, or perhaps the isolation combined with Jack’s previous abuses have twisted her mind into suffering a breakdown.

A Lot Of Evidence Points To The Wendy Theory Being Incorrect

Jack’s Story Has Always Been The Point Of The Shining

There are some issues with the Wendy Theory, of course, with the number one issue being that the theory is essentially, “it was all a dream”. At the end of The Shining, Wendy flees Jack and sees frightening and horrific images of ghosts, skeletons, and people who lived at the H๏τel. The theory suggests everything she’s seen has been a fantasy, which takes away from the horror and message of the movie. In both the movie and the book, it’s made clear that the Overlook H๏τel is alive somehow.

While “it was just a dream” theories can certainly be fun, and allow for a new perspective on an old character, they also tend to be a bit simple and hard to poke holes in, because any objection can simply be incorporated into the “dream” or “hallucination”. What’s happening in The Shining is real, Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers) says so, some places “shine” after all. Dick says this to Danny (Danny Lloyd) when Wendy can’t hear it. Again, this could be another part of her hallucination, but at that point, the movie becomes incidental if everything is just a “hallucination”.

There needs to be more to The Shining and thankfully there is. There is a grim and frighteningly real portrait of alcoholism, abuse, and regret on display in The Shining and Jack is at the center of it. He’s freed from the freezer not by Wendy but by an actual ghost. Then at the end of the movie, in plain black and white, he’s shown to have been captured. He’s another soul for the very real Overlook H๏τel. Wendy was right to be terrified.

The Shining Theorizing Has Created An Interesting Legacy For The Movie

Every Theory About The Shining Helps Prove How Deep The Film Is

While the Wendy Theory probably isn’t true, it’s part of a long legacy of The Shining theories that have all served to lengthen and cement the importance of Kubrick’s film. On its own, The Shining is one of the greatest horror movies ever, and arguably one of the best movies ever, but combined with the theories and ideas that it has elicited from fans, it’s become a staple of pop culture in a way few other “masterpiece” films have. There’s even a movie dedicated solely to The Shining theories: Room 237.

Some theories are goofy, some don’t make sense, and some offer an interesting idea that very well could have been going through Kubrick’s head while he made the film. They all represent a deep love for Kubrick’s film and a desire to understand his work on a deeper level. Every time a new theory comes out, it presents the opportunity to watch The Shining again, which is never bad. The Wendy Theory may not be true, but watching the movie through that lens can open up a whole new appreciation for The Shining.