The Stanley Hotel - Estes, Colorado
The Stanley Hotel opened in 1909, catering to the rich and famous such as Theodore Roosevelt, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, John Philip Sousa, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, and a variety of Hollywood personalities. Stephen King stayed here for five months while he wrote “The Shining.†Although the hotel doesn’t look nearly as imposing as the one in the original movie, it has its share of ghosts.
F.O. Stanley likes to haunt the lobby and billard rooms, which were his favorite places when he was alive. His wife, Flora, continues to play her piano in the ballroom. Room 407 is allegedly haunted by Lord Dunraven, who owned the land prior to the Stanleys.
Room 418 is the most active with children’s spirits. Stephen King reported seeing a child on the second floor, calling for his nanny. Rooms 217 and 401 are also active.
One might think that all these spirits roaming the hallways and haunting rooms would chase away the hotel’s business. Quite the opposite has happened. Their benign nature entertains guests and staff alike.
Visit the Stanley Hotel website to see some spectactular winter photos, download a tourist brochure, or make reservations.
My daughter and her husband around 1999, and their daughter then 2 years old stayed on the 2nd floor with her mother in law and two sister inlaws. They said they got hardly no sleep at all because of hearing a ball bounce down the hallway and children running up and down the hallway. Also they heard the elevator going up and down and people getting off and on it. At the time only one other couple was staying on their same floor with NO children. My daughter said she really felt strangely. The other also felt strange but not like she did. We had a haunted house one time and for some reason the ghosts really picked on her so she knew the feeling. But the next morning having breakfast, all of a sudden she started choking for no reason.,.
I and my other daughter are going to come up within the next month or two for the tour and hopefully get to stay there for a night or two in the spring.. I really would like to be there.
My boyfriend and I just last night actually, November 12th 2007 went up there and he refused to get out of the car so I went into the hotel only, ON the right was a room said Library. I heard that was once the billiard room. I proceeded to go in there looking for someone to ask about the tours and no one was around and all of a sudden I got sooooo cold. I stopped in my tracks and got a real erie feeling and went back outside. I am still cold….
Awesome Hotel, the looks of it from the outside and the inside what I did see was so beautiful. Old looking but beautiful. I felt comfortable in the lobby part. Like I belonged there. I hope it never goes away. Just driving up to Estes Park that is the first thing you see staring back at you. It is like it talks.
Thank you
By Jacklyn Kelly on November 13th, 2007 at 2:44 pm