Estes Park, CO and the Haunted Stanley Hotel

We wanted to get some lifetime passes to RMNP, so off we went to Estes Park and an overnight in the haunted, it is alleged, Stanley Hotel.

A little lunch and bier at the Big Horn Cafe.

Lots of elk wander the streets and meadows in and near Estes Park.

A view of the architecture of the Stanley Hotel from our room, #309. The room we were first offered was a nice corner room with 2 winders, but it seemed a mite chilly, so we opted for another room. The Stanley Hotel was opened in 1907 by the Stanley Brothers, of Stanley Steamer fame. The hotel was originally a summer playground for the rich and famous. The rich folk would stay on the first 3 floors and the nannies and kiddos would spend the summer on the 4th floor. Peeps staying on the 4th floor these days report the sounds of children running in the hallways, even when no children are present. Ghosties!

Town seen from the hotel.

The Rockies seen from the hotel.

The Stanley Hotel.

Moar vistas.

The front porch.

Rockies sunset.

2 fireplaces warm the lobby.

Comfy leather chairs, creaky wood floors, a Stanley Steamer. A homey lobby.

Fire supression, 1907 style. One of these hose attachments was featured in Stephen King's TV remake of his story "The Shining". He was inspired to write the story when he stayed in room 217 of the hotel. Mr. King made a 2nd version of the story, and set it in the hotel, because he was not satisfied with Stanley Kubrick's version of his story.

Original keys hang on the wall in the check in area.

See this door? There's quite a story here. Here we go:

I don't believe in ghosts. I worked for 21 years in a huge hospital. If there's anyplace you should see a ghost, it's in a hospital. Nope. Not me. Never saw one. There's the back story.

Today, SHE™ and I checked out of the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO and decided to take the ghosties tour of the hotel. It is reputed to be one really haunted hotel. So 12 or so of us took the tour throughout the property. Among the stories told was one about a 17 year old girl named, they think, "Sue". Back in the 1970s "Sue" was homeless in Estes Park. They think she spent some nights in a room in the basement of a condemned building on the hotel grounds, in order to escape the cold. One day, they found "Sue" dead somewhere in the area around Estes Park. Shortly thereafter, when the building was saved from condemnation, folks started reporting that the door to that room down in the basement would shut itself whenever peeps were around it. Well, today, our tour group went down into that room in the basement of what is now a renovated concert building. We stood around a few minutes, messing with that door. We noticed that it wouldn't shut itself, there were no hidden springs, etc., and that it dragged on the carpet, which seemingly would make it difficult for the door to shut itself. SHE™ and I were the last peeps to leave the room. As I walked out of the room, I was rather surprised to see THE FREEKIN' DOOR SHUT BEHIND ME! Nobody shut it. THE DOOR SHUT ITSELF. I could just imagine "Sue" saying, "And don't come back!" When SHE™ and I got caught up with the group, I told 'em guess what, the DOOR SHUT ITSELF and I saw it! They all were rather surprised and walked to the hallway to see yup, the door was shut.

There you are. My very own ghostie story. But I gotta say, "Sue" leads a very boring afterlife.

Ivory billiards in the former billiard room. Some see a shape of Mr. Stanley, wearing his bowler hat, in pictures taken here. I only see reflections of the other tour members. Dang.

Only mens could play billiards in this room. The women had to sit on that bench along the wall and watch quietly.

No reflected ghosties.

The former dining room. None of this is real wood. It was painted to look like wood for "The Shining". Looks real to me!

A staircase in the hotel that channels energy from quartz rocks in the basement below us. Actually it saps our energy walking up and down the stairs.

Room 217. The Stephen King Room. It has a history of its own. "In June, 1911, during a power outage, a chambermaid named Mrs. Wilson entered room 217 to light a candle. A gas leak caused the room to explode! What's amazing is that she lived, and was given a job at the hotel for life. She is known to appear from time to time and even to put away clothes for guests. Nice ghosty." 

Oh, also while filming "Dumb And Dumber", Jim Carrey stayed in the room. For only a few hours. He refused to stay in this room any longer. He's never said why. There are many theories involving ghosties.

http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2011/10/jim-carrey-flees-room-217.html

4th floor hallway where folks often hear ghostie children running.

Quartz-containing rock in the basement of the hotel, under that stairway mentioned earlier. This is supposedly the source of "energy" that spirals up the stairways on the floors above this rock. Umm...

A restored fridge in the basement now used as a display cabinet.

RMNP