The Island is SHINING

(not sure if this idea has been tossed around before or not, but my other half came up with an interesting theory for all you stephen king lovers out there...)

What if the island needs a Caretaker in the same way that the Overlook Hotel did in the Shining?

If you think of the hostiles...how they recruited Ben seemingly for his connection to the Island...and then Locke...who's arrival was looked upon by the others in the same way a religious group waits for a prophet...and who was almost destined it seems to be Ben's replacement...

The ancient cultures that have lived on the Island for centuries beforehand could have been fulfilling this same purpose. The same cycle of one group tending to the Island...then it somehow pulls another group in to replace those (who may have lost their way like Ben)...then it sorts through the crew (via Jacob/The Smoke Monster) and keeps who it wants.

They were never supposed to leave. The survivors of crash 815 were the replacements. Locke is the new Caretaker.

And then let's not forget the importance of the telepathic child...Danny is to the overlook what Walt is to the island.

Danny had his little backwards saying "redrum", warning of murder...

Walt also spoke backwards to Shannon, warning her "push the button...dont push the button, bad"...

To wrap it up neatly is this nice little excerpt from the wiki about the Overlook:

"The hotel is both a personality in its own right and a kind of psychic lens: it manipulates both the living and the dead for its own purposes; it also magnifies the psychic powers of any living people who reside there, giving them the power to resist its will."

Maybe this is why the others gave Walt back...he was TOO strong and was able to resist the conditioning/preparation they were submitting him to...and thus was no good to the island... (see mobisode 6 - room 23)

One final, "nail it home" similarity? There is a scene in the Shining when the Hotel is scolding Jack in the bathroom, telling him that he "still has work to do"...