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The Haunted Stanley Hotel

by KarenKay

Last updated: 09/30/2011
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The Spooky Hotel that Inspired "The Shining"

If a hotel is creepy enough to raise the hair on the back of Stephen King's neck, you can bet it's got to be a scary place! Even though King's novel "The Shining" is fiction, the inspiration for the book is a very real place.

Now there are real ghost stories about the Stanley Hotel which are based on true fact. This lens explores some of those, as well as celebrates the story of "The Shining" and the incredibly frightening film based on the novel. Jack Nicholson was perfectly cast as the caretaker who lets the place scare him nutty.

Just be careful you do not fall victim to his same fate!

Beware the ghosts of The Stanley Hotel!

Who was Stanley?

Ever heard of the "Stanley Steamer"?

Francis and Freelan Stanley, identical twins, were inventors whose main claim to fame was the Stanley Steamer - an automobile powered by steam. Theirs was the first car to make it to the top of Mount Washington, in 1899. They were overcome by gas powered automobiles soon after. Freelan Stanley sufferred much of his life from Tuberculosis. He spent summers recuperating in Estes Park, Colorado, where he opened the Stanley Hotel.

It is Mr Freelan Stanley and his wife Flora's ghost who are the most famous haunts of the Stanley hotel still. Perhaps it was the time they spent there while resting from his illness, and dreaming up the grand hotel, that keeps them there for eternity... but they are said to be friendly ghosts - playing piano and hanging around the hotel lobby.

Caught on Film

The Actual Ghosts?

Stanley Hotel Ghost Tour - Room 217: by WriterDude | video info

111 ratings | 78,759 views

automatically generated by YouTube

Recent Musing

An inspiring place to write about

Just ask Stephen King!

Fraser: Great to be home after long flight: Los Angeles Kings forward Colin Fraser is playing in his second Stanley Cup Final. Fraser, who won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, is providing NHL.com with a player's perspective on the battle for hockey's Holy Grail.
Fright night: 2 more of the world's most haunted hotels: By Grant Olsen, ksl.com Contributor SALT LAKE CITY ? ?How could you possibly forget about the Stanley Hotel?? That was the primary message I got as I read through the reader comments to my recent article listing the three most haunted hotels in the ...
Cool flicks to take sting out of summer's heat: ìThe Shiningî (1980): Stanley Kubrickís adaptation of the Stephen King novel (which King famously didnít much care for) finds Jack Nicholson and family staying the winter at the Overlook Hotel, which is closed off to visitors.
Lewis shoots 65 again to tie tournament record: Jeff Carter scored at 13:42 in overtime and the Los Angeles Kings moved within two wins of their first NHL title with a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night. The Los Angeles Kings are headed back to ...

Did you take these?

Even every day photos of the place seem spooky!

The Hauntings

Are mostly from the former servants' quarters

The 4th floor of the hotel is the one which seems to have the most paranormal activity. This is where the servants lived in the early days of the hotel. The main presence there seems to be of children playing. Who these children were is unclear, but in the story woven by King, they are the children of the caretaker who went insane.

Room 407 is said to be haunted by Lord Dunraven, Windham Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl. Lord Dunraven owned the property the Stanley was built on before it was purchased by Mr Stanley. Lord Dunraven hoped to keep his holdings in Estes park for an exclusive game preserve for himself and his English friends. Some controversy over his claiming 15,000 acres of what is now Rocky Mountain National Park might have led to his bitterness, and could account for his haunting the hotel who stole his thunder. His own "English Hotel" built before the Stanley, burned to the ground in 1911.

(side note: Noticed during research that the Stanleys were connected to the Marriots through the steam engine, and the Windhams through Lord Dunraven - both names highly regarded to this day with hotels.... coincidence? Or could it be that jealous and angry souls lurk around the hotel to try to frighten would be investors away?)

Come on in! Don't mind the ghosts.....

Ghosts Will Follow You Down

Going down the staircase, beware of the spirits who like to follow you down. Don't let them trip you up!

Ghosts in the Mirror

The billiards room is a popular hangout for ghosts at the Stanley Hotel - but they can only be seen in the mirror!

Other Haunted Landmarks

Ghosts apparently like to have a place to stay. Here are some more of their favorite "haunts"

Are you brave enough

to stay at the Stanley Hotel?

If you stayed at the hotel, would you keep the lights on? Tell us just how brave you are!

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The Ghost of room 401

The room that used to be the Nanny's lounge is the most haunted of the hotel. There is a ghost of a man who especially likes to open and close doors.

Perhaps the fact that this was the Nanny's lounge is why we hear so much about the children on the 4th floor?

The Haunted Concert Hall

The Ghosts of "Lucy" and "Paul"

Lucy was a teenager who ran away from her parents after an argument, and Paul was a maintenance man who died here while shoveling snow. After more than 100 years in existence, the hotel grounds has many stories of ghosts and hauntings, not limited to the hotel itself.

The Latest on the Stanley

What Goes on These Days

The Hotel is a thriving, lively place today! I wonder how many of the guests experience paranormal activity or Ghostly apparitions?

Fraser: Great to be home after long flight: Los Angeles Kings forward Colin Fraser is playing in his second Stanley Cup Final. Fraser, who won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, is providing NHL.com with a player's perspective on the battle for hockey's Holy Grail.
Fright night: 2 more of the world's most haunted hotels: By Grant Olsen, ksl.com Contributor SALT LAKE CITY ? ?How could you possibly forget about the Stanley Hotel?? That was the primary message I got as I read through the reader comments to my recent article listing the three most haunted hotels in the ...

The Shining

Never watch alone

It is now a classic, but still, a horror story scarier than any typical scary movie out there. Imagine yourself living a bitter cold winter at the huge Stanley Hotel, by yourself, with all those ghosts.....

The Shining (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Amazon Price: $8.91 (as of 06/04/2012)

You might go crazy too!

Dick Hallorann

It's just that, you know, some places are like people. Some "shine" and some don't. I guess you could say the Overlook Hotel here has somethin' almost like "shining."

That's some Scary Stuff!

From the Hotel and "The Shining"

Scenes and trailers

from "The Shining"

The Shining Trailer: by frodoman16 | video info

2,354 ratings | 1,660,640 views