10 Facts About the Real-Life Hotel That Inspired "The Shining"

In September 1974, Stephen King and his wife, Tabby, spent a night at The Stanley Hotel (room 217, to be exact) and were the only guests on the entire property. That night, King had a nightmare about his 3-year-old son running and screaming through the hotel's corridors being chased by a fire hose. According to King's website, he woke up "sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed." By the time he got up and finished a cigarette, he had the entire premise of the book mapped out in his head.

In 1903, the inventor of the steam-powered car, Freelan Oscar Stanley, became afflicted with tuberculosis. The most recommended treatment was fresh, dry air and sunlight, so Stanley naturally headed to the Rocky Mountains with his wife, Flora. As his health improved dramatically, he decided to turn Estes Park into a resort town for people looking to regain their health and for the elite of the East Coast just looking to relax in the mountains. And just like that, The Stanley Hotel was born.

When The Stanley Hotel opened in 1909, it was known to be one of the few hotels in the world to be completely powered by modern electricity. However, because the property was so isolated, they had to install an auxiliary gas lighting system that exploded in 1911. Part of the hotel was wrecked, injuring eight people and hurling hotel maid Elizabeth Wilson from the second to the first floor, breaking both of her ankles. The interesting part? She was hurled down from room 217 — the same room King and his wife stayed in.

King mostly relied on fictional inspiration and did not have an experience with the spirit world at The Stanley Hotel, but reports of paranormal activity at the property started in 1911, right after the explosion. The hotel now offers a Spirited Night Tour that takes you to the dark edges of the hotel, during which you can hear more of the hotel's paranormal stories.

Although The Stanley Hotel founder and his wife died in 1940 and 1939, respectively, they never seem to have truly gone away, at least according to several hotel visitors. Freelan's ghost has reportedly been seen hovering behind employees at the reception desk, and Flora can still be heard playing the piano in the hotel's music room.

Apart from sightings of the hotel's founders, every single room in the hotel has experienced a spooky, sinister event. Reports include clothes being mysteriously unpacked, lights going on and off, and objects moving on their own. Guests have even reported hearing children's laughter or the sound of someone running down the halls on the famously "spirited" fourth floor. The Stanley Hotel employees assure guests that their ghosts are "happy ghosts," but that's certainly open to interpretation.

Because of its fame as a haunted resort, The Stanley Hotel offers the opportunity to book specific rooms on the "active" fourth floor. What does it mean by "active," you ask? Guests have most frequently reported paranormal activity there, particularly in rooms 401, 407, and 428. Another "spirited room" (and the most requested on the property) is the Stephen King Suite 217. Fun fact: the hotel estimates that the 217 number plate on the door gets stolen once a week. (At least possible perpetrators can blame it on a ghost?)

Although "The Shining" is a critically lauded film with a performance by Jack Nicholson that will go down in history, King wasn't happy with the way Stanley Kubrick directed the movie version of his book. He particularly took issue with Kubrick's decision not to film at The Stanley Hotel, which inspired the story. Kubrick made the decision to film in Hertfordshire, England, with some scenes in Montana and Oregon, since The Stanley lacked sufficient snow and electricity. Still, King was not pleased with the final product of the film and made it clear in several interviews. The exterior of the hotel shown in the film is actually Timberline Lodge in Mt. Hood, OR.

After being so dissatisfied with Kubrick's film, King decided to write and produce a television adaptation of "The Shining" in 1997. This time, it was filmed at The Stanley Hotel, which was always King's wish. However, modern critics' consensus is that the TV version pales in comparison to Kubrick's now-classic film.

With ghosts, moving objects, and a paranormal past, The Stanley Hotel was just missing one thing: the hedge maze that appears in the movie's famous chase scene. To celebrate 20 years of owning The Stanley Hotel, John W. Cullen decided to build the maze for his spirit-hunting guests — or visitors in the mood for an intense game of hide-and-seek.