While the Stanley Hotel in beautiful Estes Park, Colorado may be famous for its old world charm it is also famous as Stephen King’s inspiration for The Shining. King and his wife stayed the night in room 217 and the Stanley became the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in the book. When we decided to take a trip to Estes Park a few years ago I knew I had to do the Ghost Tour that the Stanley offers and if I ever get back to that gorgeous part of the US I would love to stay at the hotel for a night or two.
Before my visit, I had no idea just how haunted the hotel was. There are numerous reports of visitors feeling the spiritual energy of previous guests and employees, as well as the hotel founders F.O. and Flora Stanley. Eerily, people often claim to hear someone (Flora Stanley, perhaps) playing the piano and hosting extravagant parties in the empty ballroom. The Stanley is known for being one of the most haunted hotels in the country.
According to the hotel’s
Stephen King’s account of his stay at the Stanley can be found on his official website here. He recalls that he and his wife were the only guests at the Stanley as it was about to close for the winter. He found the empty corridors of the hotel the perfect setting for a ghost story. After having a dream of his son being chased through the corridors of the hotel King awoke in a sweat about to fall out of bed. That was it. The idea for The Shining was forming in his mind immediately and the rest is pop culture history.
The Night Spirits Tour offered at the Stanley is $28 a perso for non-guests and $25 for hotel guests. It lasts about 75 minutes and is not recommended for children under 10. I have to say that this tour was totally worth $28! I’ve been on a lot of ghost tours and I’ve never seen things
I apologize for the poor quality of these photos. These were taken way before I ever even considered starting a blog AND I lost the majority of my photos thanks to a desktop crash. Hopefully, one day I will get back to the Stanley and I can get better photos.
If you don’t believe in ghosts then don’t read any further.
The Mr doesn’t believe in ghosts and did not come to this tour with me (big shout out to my Mom, Dad and Sister for joining me on the tour). We had several encounters while on this tour. We had a door close in a room that we were all in. We got a photo of the ghost cat that hangs out in the basement of the hotel. We heard some audible sounds using an app we could download on our phones. And we also got a ton of orbs in most of our photos. My sister even got a photo of the infamous ghost cat that hangs out in the basement!
Even if you don’t believe in ghosts or you think the entire thing (and ghost tours in general) was staged just to stay relevant (ahem, looking at you, Mr) the Stanley Hotel is gorgeous and worth a visit or if you are lucky enough a stay. If ghost tours aren’t your thing the Stanley also offers a history tour and a family history tour. I would love to go back to take the history tour of the beautiful hotel.
Have you done the night spirit tour at the Stanley Hotel? Did you have any encounters?
Do you believe in ghosts? Let me know!
I have no affiliation with the Stanley Hotel and paid for my own tours, I just really enjoyed the Night Spirit Tour and wanted to share my experience.
