diff --git a/ale_linters/sh/shell.vim b/ale_linters/sh/shell.vim
index 2ea253df..07c5650c 100644
--- a/ale_linters/sh/shell.vim
+++ b/ale_linters/sh/shell.vim
@@ -10,24 +10,29 @@ let g:loaded_ale_linters_sh_shell = 1
 " This option can be changed to change the default shell when the shell
 " cannot be taken from the hashbang line.
 if !exists('g:ale_linters_sh_shell_default_shell')
-    let g:ale_linters_sh_shell_default_shell = 'bash'
+    let g:ale_linters_sh_shell_default_shell = fnamemodify($SHELL, ':t')
+
+    if g:ale_linters_sh_shell_default_shell ==# ''
+        let g:ale_linters_sh_shell_default_shell = 'bash'
+    endif
 endif
 
 function! ale_linters#sh#shell#GetExecutable(buffer)
-    let shell = g:ale_linters_sh_shell_default_shell
-
     let banglines = getbufline(a:buffer, 1)
 
     " Take the shell executable from the hashbang, if we can.
-    if len(banglines) == 1
-        let bangmatch = matchlist(banglines[0], '^#!\([^ ]\+\)')
+    if len(banglines) == 1 && banglines[0] =~# '^#!'
+        " Remove options like -e, etc.
+        let line = substitute(banglines[0], '--\?[a-zA-Z0-9]\+', '', 'g')
 
-        if len(bangmatch) > 0
-            let shell = bangmatch[1]
-        endif
+        for possible_shell in ['bash', 'tcsh', 'csh', 'zsh', 'sh']
+            if line =~# possible_shell . '\s*$'
+                return possible_shell
+            endif
+        endfor
     endif
 
-    return shell
+    return g:ale_linters_sh_shell_default_shell
 endfunction
 
 function! ale_linters#sh#shell#GetCommand(buffer)
diff --git a/doc/ale.txt b/doc/ale.txt
index 44f1c7f8..4335f1f1 100644
--- a/doc/ale.txt
+++ b/doc/ale.txt
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ CONTENTS                                                         *ale-contents*
     4.2. phpcs......................................|ale-linter-options-phpcs|
     4.3. c-gcc......................................|ale-linter-options-c-gcc|
     4.4. cpp-gcc....................................|ale-linter-options-cpp-gcc|
+    4.5. shell......................................|ale-linter-options-shell|
   5. API............................................|ale-api|
   6. Contact........................................|ale-contact|
 
@@ -287,6 +288,19 @@ Default: `'-Wall'`
 
 This variable can be changed to modify flags given to gcc.
 
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+4.5. shell                                           *ale-linter-options-shell*
+
+g:ale_linters_sh_shell_default_shell     *g:ale_linters_sh_shell_default_shell*
+
+Type: |String|
+Default: The current shell (`$SHELL`) or `'bash'` if that cannot be read.
+
+When ALE runs the linter for shells with the `-n` flag, it will attempt to
+read the shell from the shebang (`#!`) line from the shell script to
+determine the shell program to run. When this detection fails, this variable
+will be used instead.
+
 ===============================================================================
 5. API                                                                *ale-api*