The Stanley Hotel is one of the most famous hotels in the world and is home to Estes Park, Colorado, very close to the entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park.
The hotel was built by Freelan Oscar Stanley of Stanley Steamer fame and opened on July 4, 1909. It was originally a resort for upper-class residents and was home as a retreat to those suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, as Stanley himself had come down with tuberculosis in 1903 and was recommended to move to Estes Park, Colorado, to experience fresh, dry air, as that was typically the cure for TB. Stanley’s health improved a lot after moving to Colorado.
The Stanley Hotel is perhaps most known as the inspiration of Stephen King’s 1977 novel, and later 1980 movie adaption of ‘The Shining’ as well as being known as one of the most haunted places.
Construction for the Stanley Hotel began in 1907, with the main hotel and concert hall completed in 1909, and the Manor completed in 1910. The hotel was closed every winter until 1983 and Stanley himself is known to have had a huge contribution to the growth of the area of Estes Park and the creation of the Rocky Mountain National Park.
The hotel was supposedly one of the only hotels in the world at that time that was powered entirely by electricity, but in June an installation of an auxiliary gas lighting system was added due to a lack of power. On June 25, 1911, an explosion happened when gas became to leak out of a pipe.
This injured a maid and damaged the structure, however, some sources claim that 8 people were injured and that other details vary such as whether the maid fell from the second floor to the first floor, breaking both ankles in the explosion.
In 1974, famous horror writer Stephen King and his wife Tabitha spent a night at the Stanley Hotel. At the time, King was writing a book titled ‘Darkshine’ which was set in an amusement park but was not completely satisfied with the setting.
According to some, King and his wife checked into the hotel as many others were checking out for the winter months, as the hotel always closed for the winter. The Kings were the only residents in the hotel that night.
Tabitha had gone to bed, but King himself decided to roam the halls of the hotel and went down to the bar, where he had drinks served by a man named Grady. As King was returning to his room, room 217, he began to get ideas for his latest book. King then went into the bathroom and pulled back the curtain from the tub thinking, “What if somebody died here? At that moment, I knew I had a book.”
This book turned into ‘The Shining’ one of King’s most popular stories to date. The book was published in 1977 and was King’s third great success in his career, after ‘Carrie’ and ‘Salem’s Lot.’ The story is set at an isolated hotel known as the Overlook, which has recently closed for the winter, where a man and his wife and young boy move in to give him a quiet place to write his novel and be the hotel keeper for the winter months. Throughout the book, the family experiences many haunting sites and realizes they are not alone in the hotel at all.
Room 217, the room King and his wife stayed in, has been known to be haunted. King himself woke up in the middle of the night from a terrifying dream of his young son being chased in the hotel while he was staying in that room. Many believe that room 217 is haunted by Elizabeth Wilson, known as Mrs Wilson.
She was the head housekeeper that had broken both her ankles in the 1911 gas explosion as she was lighting the lanterns in room 217 when it happened. Many guests have reported that their items have been moved, luggage unpacked and lights being turned on and off not by them when staying in that room. Mrs Wilson is also old school and does not like when couples who are not married sleep in the same bed, many couples have reported feeling a cold force come between them in the bed.
The concert hall is also known for its paranormal activity. A man named Paul who is a well-known ghost at the Stanley hotel is often heard saying “get out” late at night when they are in the concert hall past 11pm. A construction worker claimed Paul nudged him while he was sanding the floors and people on tour groups have reported that Paul has flickered a flashlight for them. Flora Stanley’s ghost is also known to play the piano.
Room 401 is known to be haunted by many children, as a long time ago the entire fourth floor was where nannies, children and female employees would stay. Many guests report hearing children running around, playing and laughing. There is also a famous closet that opens and shuts on its own in room 401.
There is a cowboy who haunts room 428, appearing at the corner of the bed often, as well as the grand staircase having a ghost lingering nearby. In 2016, a guest snapped some photos of the staircase, where it appeared the apparition of a woman at the top. The person who took the photos says they did not remember seeing anyone nearby the staircase at the time the photo was taken.
Perhaps one of the most famous paranormal stories from the Stanley Hotel is what happened to actor Jim Carrey. During filming for the 1994 film “Dumb and Dumber” Carrey stayed at the hotel and requested room 217, the room in which Stephen King had stayed two decades before. During the night, something so terrifying happened that Carrey ran out of the room and refused to ever talk about what happened. To this very day, Carrey has never spoken about what happened to him in room 217, the most haunted room in the hotel.
Have you ever stayed at the Stanley Hotel? Would you dare?
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