By Kathy Murray
Stephen King is perhaps the most celebrated horror-fiction writer ever. CARRIE, CUJO and THE DEAD ZONE number among some of his most popular works. But if King is to be remembered for one book, it has to be for THE SHINING, the story of a psychic boy, his patient mother andhis father Jack, a mandriven mad by a mix of isolation and the meddling of the spirits who inhabit the hotel under the charge of the family for the winter.It’s a great book that was made into a great 1980 Kubrick film starring Jack Nicholson. It’s not entirely fictional though…
INSPIRATION
It’s called the Overlook Hotel in the book and the movie,but the location that inspired Stephen King is actually called the Stanley Hotel, located in Estes Park, Colorado. The Stanley Hotel opened for business in 1909. Flash forward about 70 years and imagine Stephen King checking in anddreaming up one of the scariest stories ever. Unfortunately, deathkeeps some of its otherpatrons from checking out.
KIDS AT PLAY
You’ll find many children in the hotel – even when there are no living ones on the property. They can be heard runningin thehalls, and the noise has even driven some guests toleave early. Often this takes place on the fourth floor, although they have been known to play invarious other places throughout the hotel. It’s said that Stephen King actually saw one of these children and heard the young boy crying out for his nanny.
THE STANLEYS
The fourth floor is also the eternal homeof original property owner Lord Dunraven. He has been seen on more than one occasion staring out a bathroom window, standing, or perhaps hovering right over a sink. He likes to turn the lights on and off in the room, but will stop if you ask him to. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley also made appearances, the former wandering around the first floor, the latter playingthe hotel’s grandpiano.Pressure can be seen pushing the keys down, but stops whenanyone gets too close.
VARIOUS HAUNTINGS
The spirits also like to play with the elevators, mostly at night when guests are of course trying to sleep. Thereare toomany reports of footsteps, apparitions and opening and closing doors to count, but perhaps most interestingly, imprints of bodies have been left on the beds, even when no one has sleptin thoseroomsfor several nights. The hotel produces EVPs and ghost photos galore, including one of what appears to bean extremely tall, transparent and distorted man standing outside the building.
BRING YOUR CAMERA
If you ever visit the Stanley Hotel, sleep tight – and leave the lights on!