The Shining analysis - part 23: The poisoning of Jack Torrance

Above left and right: Wendy does all of the meal preparation and serving in the movie; she is putting some form of mercury in a heated liquid Jack is drinking.


Recall that earlier in the analysis, we said that Wendy is poisoning Jack with mercury. To determine what form(s) of mercury Jack has been ingesting and/or inhaling, let us first list some of the possible symptoms of mercury poisoning, then examine Jack's behavior to see if he is suffering any of these symptoms.

a. Among other symptoms, poisoning with elemental mercury (by breathing it in) can cause insomnia, irritability, mood swings, and lowered cognitive functioning.[a] Exposure to elemental mercury can also cause vivid dreams and hallucinations.[b]
b. The symptoms of poisoning by inorganic mercury compounds, such as mercurous chloride (aka calomel), can include irritability, insomnia, loss of strength in the legs, and a metallic taste in the mouth.[c]
c. Some of the possible symptoms of poisoning by organic mercury compounds, such as methylmercury, are lack of coordination of movements, impairment of speech, and impairment of walking.[d]

Above left: Jack experiences hallucinations while at the Overlook, for example, he 'sees' Lloyd the bartender, as well as glasses and containers filled with alcohol. Above right: Jack also experiences vivid dreams - recall that he falls asleep at his writing desk, then when Wendy, hearing his screams, wakes him up, he tells her about a horrible dream he had in which he murdered her and Danny and then cut them up into pieces.

Recall that Jack is somewhat irritable and sarcastic during the Torrance family's drive to the Overlook - this is evident from his facial expression and tone of voice, when he comments on the fact that Danny learned about cannibalism by watching television.


Jack also experiences mood swings while at the hotel, for example, he becomes extremely upset when Wendy disturbs him while he's writing (see below left screencap), yet he is calm and collected while speaking with Danny in the Torrance bedroom (below right screencap). During this latter scene, Jack tells Danny that he is unable to sleep, indicating that he is suffering from insomnia.

At certain points, Jack experiences lowered cognitive functioning, for example, his state of total confusion (see screencap at left) when Wendy accuses him of having choked Danny.

Above left: Jack suffers from lack of coordination while driving to the hotel for his interview, as indicated by the fact that he has strayed into the oncoming traffic lane after exiting a tunnel (click image to enlarge). Wendy had already started poisoning Jack with mercury prior to his interview trip. Above right: Jack senses some kind of unusual taste in his mouth, as suggested when he opens his mouth wide and sticks his tongue all the way out, while looking in a mirror, in the scene in which Wendy is serving him breakfast.

While shouting out for Danny while chasing him in the hedge maze, Jack exhibits slurred speech, which is a form of impaired speech.

Above left: Jack suffers from impairment in walking during the maze chase, to an extent that cannot be accounted for solely by his leg injury (recall that he injured himself when he fell down the stairs, after being hit by Wendy with a bat). Above right: After Danny has escaped from the maze and he and Wendy have left in Hallorann's snowcat, Jack sits down in the snow to rest, even though he doesn't sound like he's completely out of breath. This indicates that Jack is experiencing weakness in his legs.

We see from Jacks's behavior as described above, that he must be taking into his body all three forms of mercury (elemental, inorganic compound, and organic compound). Noting that Wendy has a very light facial complexion (see screencap at left), it must be the case that she's using a skin lightening cream or lotion, some brands of which (at least at the time) used calomel (mercurous chloride) as an ingredient. Wendy has been putting some of this lotion in Jack's drink (by implication, she was using a kind of lotion that was at least partially soluble, in a heated liquid such as hot coffee or tea, and it must not have had any prominent taste or odor once dissolved). The presence of the dissolved calomel-containing lotion in one or more liquids Jack was consuming, resulted in his ingestion of mercurous chloride, the second type of mercury listed above. Furthermore, excess elemental mercury, in the lotion itself and/or that resulting from the partial breakdown of the mercurous chloride when it dissolved into solution, accounts for the elemental mercury Jack was inhaling (as a vapor from heated liquid). And, methylmercury can form when mercuric choloride interacts with some kinds of bacteria, at least one of which must have been in the local water supply or in another liquid, such as coffee creamer, that Jack was ingesting. The mercuric chloride was another product of the breakdown of the mercurous chloride in solution (in addition to the elemental mercury).

As stated, that Jack was taking into his body all three forms of mercury, accounts for his symptoms. Alcohol withdrawal was not a factor in any of these symptoms, because symptoms of alcohol withdrawal last for, at most, up to a few weeks after a person stops drinking, and it has been longer than this since Jack himself quit drinking. Since the two bar scenes only comprised hallucinations Jack was experiencing (due to the mercury poisoning), Jack did not actually consume any alcohol while at the Overlook.


a. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Health Effects of Exposure to Mercury - Elemental (Metallic) Mercury Effects".
b. Rustagi, N. and Singh, R. Mercury and health care. National Institutes of Health - Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2010 Aug; 14(2): 45–48. [Article]
c. Weldon, M.M., Smolinski, M.S., Maroufi, A., Hasty, B.W., Gilliss, D.L., Boulanger, L.L., Balluz, L.S., Dutton, R.J. Mercury poisoning associated with a Mexican beauty cream. National Institutes of Health - Western Journal of Medicine. West J Med. 2000 Jul; 173(1): 15–18. [Article].
d. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Health Effects of Exposure to Mercury - Methylmercury Effects".