Mysteries of the Lobby

The weird shamble creature (if that’s what it is) in the front foyer, seen first when Jack arrives, then when Ullman and Watson come to take Jack on the tour, and last when Wendy’s bringing breakfast.

Now, trying to logic my way to the right answer almost never works, and you should remember that whenever we hit one of these, but…

Things I’ve thought it is:

Indigenous art (of a windigo?) or cave painting.
A very unusual example of Bill Traylor’s art.
A Cthulhu-style image to invoke the work of HP Lovecraft, who was a huge influence on Stephen King.
An inkblot depiction of a bullfight by either Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, or Ralph Steadman. The Dali idea comes from this weird German game show that plays here later called Dalli Dalli. The Steadman idea was recently reinforced by the discovery of three pieces by Ralph Thompson (whose name is like a mashup of Ralph Steadman and Hunter S. Thompson).

Dalli Dalli means “Hurry! Hurry!” and since this appears near the very beginning, a minute after the 1/8 mark, a minute before the 1/4 mark of the film, and considering how Dalli Dalli appears a minute after the 1/3 mark, it would make good thematic sense to have this “Hurry up!” message coming near all these significant fractions. The cherry on top will be if the image bears a thematic connection. Like, if it’s a bull, that’s a no-brainer. But it could be something equally juicy.
Also, Dali met with John Lennon in 1969, at the same time as Ringo Starr was filming The Magic Christian with Peter Sellers. Sellers is referenced moments away from the middle of The Shining, as a guest performer on the Steeleye Span album Commoners Crown.

OTHER MAIN PAGES FOR SHINING ANALYSIS