The Big Picture

• Stephen King was inspired to write The Shining after he had strange encounters at The Stanley Hotel.
• Rumors of the hotel being haunted existed before The Shining's release, but reports of paranormal activity escalated to new heights after the release of the movie.
• The ghost of chambermaid Elizabeth Wilson and other spirits are said to haunt the hotel, with paranormal activities often reported by guests and staff.

Stephen King has a knack for creating the perfect, eerie setting for his novels, so much so that the setting often feels like a character on its own. One of the most famous examples is The Shining and its setting of the Overlook Hotel. During a stay in The Stanley Hotel in Boulder, Colorado, King had a series of strange encounters that inspired him to write The Shining and set it in a haunted hotel reminiscent of The Stanley. In fact, when King set out to make his own miniseries of The Shining, The Stanley Hotel was used a filming location, bringing the story back to its roots.

Since the release of the novel and the subsequent film, rumors have continuously been spread claiming that the Stanley Hotel is haunted, with people still showing up to this day to find out firsthand. A lot of horror films tend to garner speculation when they film in or are inspired by real-life locations, but The Shining took this to new heights. The question is, is any of it true?

What Was Stephen King's Inspiration for the Overlook Hotel?

To fully understand where the mystery begins we have to go back to the beginning, 1974 specifically, when King was just beginning what would eventually become The Shining and was struggling to write it. At the time, the novel had the working title of "Darkshine" and was set in an amusement park, however, he wasn’t satisfied with the setting or the story itself. It was meant to follow a psychic boy in an amusement park, but he abandoned the idea — that is until he and his wife Tabitha checked into the Stanley Hotel while in Boulder. They only stayed one night, but that one night would change everything.

At the time of their stay, the hotel was shutting down for the winter season, meaning most of its guests were checking out. King roamed the quiet halls that night and went down to the hotel bar where he met the bartender named Grady. And when he finally went back to his room (room 217, which is naturally the hotel's most requested room to this day), his mind was abuzz with ideas and inspiration. From the remoteness of the hotel’s location to the large, almost disorientingly so, size, and the emptiness of its many rooms, King says that by the time he went to bed that night, the entire story was firmly planted in his mind. That night, King says he dreamed of his three-year-old son running around the halls of the hotel, eyes wide and screaming as he was chased by a fire hose.

“I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed,” He said. “I got up, lit a cigarette, sat in a chair looking out the window at the Rockies, and by the time the cigarette was done, I had the bones of the book firmly set in my mind.”

Is the Stanley Hotel Really Haunted?

The Stanley Hotel first opened back in 1909, and guests were blown away by the fact that, even though it was surrounded by woods, it still managed to have electricity, modern bathrooms, maids, cooking staff, and even telephones, according to the hotel's wesbite. For years, the hotel was seen as an idyllic mountain getaway, but by the 1970s the hotel fell into disrepair and was facing demolishment. That is until The Shining was released and rejuvenated the hotel’s business. But interestingly enough, its reputation for hosting the spooky and scary goes back far earlier than The Shining’s influence, to just two years after the hotel first opened its doors.

After a flood in the valley, the hotel’s power went out for the first time, so gas lanterns were installed in each room to provide the guests with light. But a leak caused a buildup of gas in none other than room 217. A chambermaid named Elizabeth Wilson entered the room with a lit candle, setting off an explosion which she miraculously survived despite being launched from the room down to the dining hall on the first floor. She returned to work at the hotel in 1913 and remained an employee until 1950, and according to guests of the hotel and even the staff, her spirit still lurks in room 217. According to guests though, her spirit isn’t a scary one but rather a helpful one, they claim they’d wake up in the morning to organized suitcases and a tidy room. However, it has been said that she isn't a fan of unmarried couples sharing a bed, with some guests recounting feeling a cold presence between them while they sleep.

Who Are the Ghosts That Supposedly Haunt the Stanley Hotel?

But it isn’t just Wilson’s spirit that supposedly haunts the hotel, as many believe Mr. Stanley (who passed in 1940) can still be seen around the hotel, with his most prominent locations being in the bar or billiard room. His wife Flora is also said to be found playing the piano at night. Guests who stay on the fourth floor have also made note of hearing children’s laughter in the hall but found it empty when they looked. In fact, the entire fourth floor is said to be the most active, with room 428 having the most encounters. There are heavy footsteps heard, furniture is rearranged as its occupants sleep, and some guests have even claimed to see a cowboy sitting at the end of their bed. The hotel has even been the focus of paranormal investigation shows such as Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures.

As if that wasn’t creepy enough, the hotel also hosts a series of underground tunnels and a pet cemetery. The tunnels were used for the staff of the hotel to easily travel from the hotel’s amenities to the guest’s rooms without being seen, as back in that time it was seen as unprofessional for staff to be seen by guests. And as for the pet cemetery? Many of the hotel’s staff’s pets have been laid to rest there, with a golden retriever named Cassie said to still haunt the place, bringing newspapers and scratching at doors to be let in.

So if you’ve ever wondered if the Stanley Hotel is haunted, the answer seems to be a resounding yes — with both guests and staff having confirmed paranormal sightings around the hotel. Though it may just be something you’ll have to see for yourself if you’re still not a believer.

The Shining is available to stream on Apple TV in the U.S.

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