Redrum: A Night at The Stanley Hotel!

One of America's most haunted dwellings, The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

Grady's Daughters: "Come and play with us Danny...forever and ever."

Kirk and me at the back entrance of The Stanley, also known as "The Overlook" in Stephen King's "The Shining."

Jack Torrence: "You WERE the caretaker here, Mr. Grady."

Delbert Grady: "No sir, YOU are the caretaker. You've always been the caretaker. I ought to know: I've ALWAYS been here."

(click on photo to enlarge)

Haunted History of The Stanley Hotel

Stephen King stayed at The Stanley Hotel in 1973, after the release of his novels "Carrie" and "Salem's Lot." After his stay at The Stanley, King had an idea for his third novel. During his visit, King drank heavily with the hotel's bartender, Delbert Grady. King was so intoxicated when heading back to his room, he got lost and found himself on the hotel's 4th floor. While stumbling down a long corridor, King saw two children playing with a red ball who soon disappeared into the dark abyss. Later King found out that in the early 1900's the 4th floor was reserved for wealthy children and their nannies. King spent the next few months in room 217 writing about isolation, telepathy, and spirits. He entitled it, "The Shining."

In 1980, when "The Shining" was made into a movie, Stanley Kubrick wasn't able to film at The Stanley because the town was too close to the hotel and adequate power didn't exist at the time. Kubrick used exterior shots of Timberline Lodge in Mt. Hood, Oregon. Sets of the hotel's interior were then built in England, where Kubrick also found the hedge maze.

In 1996, Stephen King remade "The Shining" into a 6 hour mini-series, which more closely followed the book. King also made sure the series was filmed exclusively at his beloved Stanley Hotel.

The Stanley Hotel has also been featured on the Sci-Fi Channel's "Ghost Hunters," where they captured footage of various paranormal activity, such as, electric voice phenomenons (EVP), orbs, and moving objects. Most of this occured in room 401, just three doors down from the room Kirk and I stayed in. Yikes!

While filming "Dumb and Dumber" Jim Carey stayed in room 217, the most requested suite in the hotel thanks to Stephen King. After only 3 hours, Carey ran down to the front desk and demanded to be moved to the Holiday Inn. The front desk clerk asked if Carey would like another room, but he insisted that he leave the hotel immediately. To this day, Jim Carey has never publically revealved what he experienced in room 217.

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