SPECTRALWhat happened here
Freelan Oscar Stanley, who made his fortune with his twin brother and is best remembered for the Stanley Steamer car, came to Estes Park in 1903 to recover from tuberculosis. He built the hotel for wealthy summer visitors, and it opened in 1909 with electricity throughout, a luxury in the mountains at the time.
In late September 1974 Stephen King and his wife Tabitha checked in on the night before the hotel closed for the winter, and found themselves almost the only guests. King wandered the empty corridors, dreamed that his young son was being chased down them, and woke with the outline of The Shining. They were staying in Room 217.
The legends
Room 217 is said to be visited by Elizabeth Wilson, a chambermaid who was hurt in a gas explosion there in 1911; guests report their clothes being folded and their luggage unpacked. Flora Stanley, Freelan's wife, is said to play the piano in the Music Room at night.
The fourth floor, where staff and visiting children once stayed, is known for footsteps, giggling and children running in empty halls, and F.O. Stanley himself is said to appear in the lobby and the billiard room he loved.
Fact or legend?
Elizabeth Wilson was real, and she survived the explosion and went on working at the hotel for years. The Stanley embraces its reputation, with ghost tours and Room 217 still bookable. Stanley Kubrick's film was shot elsewhere, but the 1997 TV miniseries of The Shining was filmed at the Stanley itself.
Visiting
The Stanley is a working hotel open all year, with daytime history tours and evening ghost tours that are open to non-guests. Book Room 217 well ahead.
