The Stanley Hotel

The Stanley Hotel is a 138-room Georgian hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Located within sight of the Rocky Mountain National Park, the Stanley offers panoramic views of the Rockies. It was built by Freelan O. Stanley of Stanley Steamer fame and opened on July 4, 1909, catering to the rich and famous, including the Titanic survivor Margaret Brown, John Philip Sousa, Theodore Roosevelt, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, and a variety of Hollywood personalities.  The Stanley Hotel also hosted Stephen King, inspiring him to write The Shining. Contrary to information sometimes published, King was living in Boulder at the time and did not actually write the novel at the hotel. Parts of the mini-series version of The Shining were filmed there, although it was not used for Stanley Kubrick's cinematic version.  The hotel and its surrounding lands are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1903, F. O. Stanley, co-inventor of the Stanley Steamer automobile, came to Estes Park for his health. Stanley suffered from tuberculosis and came West at his doctor's suggestion. The doctor arranged for the couple to stay in a cabin in Estes Park for the summer. Immediately, they fell in love with the area and Stanley's health began to dramatically improve. Impressed by the beauty of the valley and grateful for the improvement in his health, he decided to invest his money and his future there. In 1909, he opened the elegant Stanley Hotel, a classic hostelry exemplifying the golden age of touring.

Hotel Lobby‎

After spending the summer in the cabin, Flora wanted a home like the one she had left in Maine. Their home was built about one-half mile west of where the Stanley Hotel would later be built. Today the house is a private residence.

Stanley built the hotel on land that he had purchased from the Irish Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl. Dunraven came to the area in 1872 while on a hunting trip. He built a hunting lodge, cabin, and hotel for his guests and illegally homesteaded up to 15,000 acres (61 km²) in an unsuccessful attempt to create a private hunting preserve. Dunraven was finally run out of the area after trying to swindle folks out of their land and money.

Vintage Stanley Steamer in hotel lobby

In 1907, construction started on the Stanley Hotel. Wood and rock were obtained from the nearby mountains and the hotel was built in the Georgian architectural style, which experienced a revival in the early Twentieth century. Equipped with running water, electricity, and telephones, the only amenity the hotel lacked was heat, as the hotel was designed as a summer resort.

Paranormal Claims

• A guest as reported to be shoved down the stairs of the grand staircase.
• Guests have heard strange noises and voices in their room.
• Guests have reported the feeling that they were being watched.
• Guests have reported their bed clothes being pulled off of them in the middle of the night.
• Staff members have reported hearing a party going on in the ballroom, although there is nobody in there.
• People have reported hearing the ballroom piano, but nobody is playing it.
• Guests have reported seeing an apparition of a man in a guest room, and then he turned and ran into the closet.
• A ghost is reported being responsible for stealing jewelry, watches, and luggage.
• Many have reported seeing ghosts standing in their room, and then they just disappear.
• The ghost of F.O. Stanley has been seen in the lobby, billiards room, and the bar.
• Guests have seen the keys of the piano move by themselves.
• Guests have heard children playing and running in the hallway, but nobody was there.
• Employees have reported hearing voices and conversations when nobody was around.
• Employees have reported seeing impressions in beds in rooms where no guests have stayed in for awhile.
• Guests have taken photographs of a face within the flag that is hanging in the bar.
• Many guests and investigators have taken pictures that have unexplained light orbs in them.
• Investigators have recorded EVPs throughout the entire complex.
• In room 401, women report feeling their hair being played with.
• In room 401, women report feeling an arm around their shoulders and/or waist.
• In room 401, women report feeling a hand moving up and down the back of their legs.
• In room 401, men report feeling unwelcome and the feeling of someone pressing them into the bed.
• In room 401, guests report their jewelry disappearing.
• In room 401, there are reports of the closet door opening and closing on its own.
• In room 401, Jason Hawes of TAPS (Ghost Hunters) reported having a drinking glass implode on the nightstand while he was sleeping.
• In room 401, guests report KII meter fluctuations around a chair near the closet.
• In room 407, guests have reported being "TUCKED IN".
• In room 407, a little boy reported that he was continually recovered when he kicked his cover off throughout the night. His mother reported that she had not awoken at all that night and certainly did not recover the boy.
• In room 407, guests report the feeling of someone sitting on the edge of the bed, but when lights get turned on, no one is there, though there was an indentation on the bed as if someone was sitting there.
• In room 418, guests report covers being removed from the bed at night.
• In room 418, guests report hangers moving on their own.
• In room 418, guests report lights in the bathroom turning on and off on their own.
• In room 418, a guest reported that her daughter reported being tickled by a little boy throughout the night, but she told him to stop and he did.
• In room 428, guests report a ghost cowboy appearing and pacing at the end of the bed. When asked to leave, he obeys, but first leans over female guests as if to kiss her.
• In room 428, female guests report being woken to a cowboy kissing them on the forehead.
• In room 417, guests report finding their luggage unpacked for them.
• In room 417, guests report finding their shoes having been lined up at the end of their bed.
• In room 417, guests report shadow figures that pass through the walls. (This room was part of a larger suite until the 2000's.)
• In room 1302, guests report shadow figures walking near walls of the room.
• In room 1302, guests report photos flying off the walls.
• In room 1302, Grant from TAPS (Ghost Hunter) reported a table levitating.
• In room 413, guests report seeing a man in old fashioned clothing in the corner of the room.
• In room 413, guests report being woken to the feeling of strangulation.
• At room 413's door, guests report seeing the face of a man in a blue ball floating outside of the door.
• An apparition of a women has been photographed on the stairs.

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