I have always loved The Shining.

Granted, I saw the movie first and fell in love. It was the idea of a hotel that comes to life in the desolate isolation of winter, preying on a fragile family unit – a father who was white-knuckling sobriety and dealing with the humiliation of a big comedown in his career, a codependent mother with a tattered self-esteem after years on the receiving end of spousal abuse, and a little boy coping with his dysfunctional parents as well as a supernatural talent. Cutting these three people off from the rest of the world would be a recipe for disaster of the kind that could unfortunately show up in any headline anywhere. But add in the terrors that lurk in the Overlook hotel?

For me, what’s not to love?

I read the book later and didn’t love it as much as the film. Naturally the book’s author, Stephen King, felt the opposite, eventually coming to hate director Stanley Kubrick’s take to the point that King created a competing mini-series that was much truer to the source material, but which unlike the film, disappeared into obscurity. I think it was because the backstory which was detailed in the novel blurred many lines that were drawn clearly in the movie – good and evil, personal demons versus real ones, and a completely different ending that, though a bit “happier,” didn’t seem as satisfyingly final as Kubrick’s.

If you’ve read King’s non-fiction tome On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft then you know where King got the idea for The Shining. In 1974, King, his wife, Tabitha, and 2-year-old son (today a famous author in his own right, Joe Hill) arrived at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, on the night before it was set to close for the season.

The Whiskey Bar at the Stanley Hotel

They found themselves nearly alone in the massive, eerily empty hotel. By his own admission, King was deep into his addictions at the time, and after seeing Tabitha and Joe to bed, went wandering around the Stanley in search of a drink. King eventually found the bartender named Grady (see what he did there?) who was locking up the bar in preparation for the off-season, but poured King drinks into the wee hours while telling stories of the hotel’s history.

When King finally staggered to bed, he had a series of vivid and disturbing dreams about young Joe running down the hotel’s long, empty corridors, being chased by a fire hose that had come to life. Hungover in the morning, King began to piece together the elements of The Shining: a haunted hotel, a troubled family, and the psychological terror that would define the book. He shares in On Writing that he wrote much of The Shining in a state of almost feverish inspiration, drawing heavily on the haunting, isolated experience at the Stanley, which he christened the Overlook Hotel in his novel.

Stairway from lobby to 2nd floor

The Stanley Hotel dates back to the early 1900s and there have been stories of it being haunted since well before King’s stay in 1974. Founded by Freelan Oscar Stanley, who co-invented the Stanley Steamer automobile, Stanley and his wife Flora visited Estes Park due to his health issues (tuberculosis). The area’s fresh mountain air and serene landscape significantly improved Stanley’s health, and he fell in love with Estes Park. Determined to help develop the town, he envisioned a luxury hotel that would cater to wealthy visitors. In 1909, he opened the Stanley Hotel, designed in the Georgian Revival style with lavish rooms, electric lights, telephones, and a hydraulic elevator — luxuries that were uncommon in the area at the time.

Initially, the hotel operated as a seasonal resort, opening from June to September, and became a destination for the affluent. Its reputation for luxury helped establish Estes Park as a vacation destination, and Stanley went on to invest in the town’s infrastructure, including power, water, and sewage systems.

In 1911, just two years after the hotel opened, there was a significant gas explosion which occurred in Room 217, one of the hotel’s suites. If the room number seems familiar, it is the room in which the King family stayed, and which appears prominently in the book.

Room 217

During a storm, power was lost, so staff went from room to room lighting acetylene gas lamps. Unfortunately, a gas leak in Room 217 led to a massive explosion, seriously injuring Elizabeth Wilson, the hotel’s head housekeeper. She fell through the floor into the dining room below but miraculously survived. F.O. Stanley took care of her medical expenses and even paid for her recovery.

Elizabeth eventually returned to her duties at the Stanley and remained working until her death in the 1950s. Her spirit is said to still “look after” the hotel, especially in Room 217, where the explosion took place. Guests and staff alike have claimed to experience unexplained phenomena in the room, such as objects moving or the feeling of an unseen presence, which many attribute to Elizabeth’s lasting connection to the hotel.

In addition to Elizabeth, there are several other ghosts said to haunt the Stanley. F.O. Stanley himself is believed to linger in the hotel, particularly in the lobby and the Billiards Room. Visitors and staff have reported seeing his figure dressed in formal attire, watching over the hotel he loved and worked so hard to establish.

Stanley’s wife, Flora, is said to haunt the Music Room, where she loved to play the piano. Guests and staff have reported hearing unexplained piano music coming from the room, even though no one is playing. Some claim to see her apparition seated at the piano or sense her presence near it.

The hotel’s fourth floor is often noted as one of its most haunted areas. Originally, this floor housed nannies, children, and staff. Visitors report hearing children laughing, running down the halls, or even bouncing balls, although no children are present. Rooms 401 and 428 are especially known for unexplained activity, with guests sometimes reporting the feeling of being watched or touched.

Needless to say, visiting the Stanley has always been high on my list of things I wanted to do. I got the chance in 2021 while visiting Boulder, CO and it was then I learned about the Stanley’s annual Halloween party: The Shining Ball.

Last week, after booking a room nearly 2 years in advance, and hunching over the refresh button of my phone on the day tickets went on sale, I finally stayed at the Stanley in room 304 and attended The Shining Ball — which also happened to be the 50th anniversary year of King’s stay in room 217 in 1974.

As a visitor to the hotel in 2021, I took a tour where I learned about the history I have described here and had a chance to visit room 217 which happened to be unoccupied that day. However, the guest floors were otherwise off limits unless you were staying, so I was very excited to actually check into the Stanley. On that tour we also learned that several spaces in the hotel’s public areas had been remodeled to be used for The Shining miniseries which King produced in 1997 and was filmed at the Stanley. Kubrick’s movie Overlook was actually the Timberline Lodge in Mount Hood, OR with the rest of the film shot at Elstree Studios in the UK.

Mr. Goth Chick and I arrived at the Stanley on Friday night, after a somewhat harrowing after-dark drive through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains from the Denver Airport to Estes Park. We checked into room 304 (which is important later) and immediately went to the bar in search of Lloyd the bartender. The atmosphere in The Whiskey Bar was very reminiscent of the movie location where Lloyd serves Jack, and we passed a wonderful evening drinking… what else? Redrums.

The Shining Ball took place on Saturday night in one of the other buildings on the Stanley property called The Concert Hall which is a large event space. Throughout the night there were two DJs and a live band as well as several bars and a photo booth. Of course, it was a costume party with guests paying tribute to a variety of King’s characters in addition to those from The Shining. We, along with several other couples, paid tribute to the partygoers shown in the final photograph at the end of the movie version, depicting guests from a July 4th ball at the Overlook in 1921. The highlight of the evening was seeing all the incredible costumes and the creative ideas the guests came up with for paying tribute to the King’s works.

Our costume inspiration

Alas, no food was served at the event. Quite a few cocktails and several hours later we were back at the main hotel in search of something to soak up the adult beverages, while posing for many photos for other guests along the way. By midnight the party was over and the Stanley was very quiet as all the other venues closed at 11pm.

Around 2 am I woke up to the sound of someone running very heavy-footed up and down the hallway above us on the fourth floor. Somewhat still under the influence, I laid awake for several minutes wondering if it would stop, which it didn’t. I briefly thought about calling the front desk before putting on my robe and grabbing the room key. The stairway was only one door down from our room and I went up to the fourth floor, certain I was going to catch some drunken idiots giggling their way up and down the hallway.

Of course, when I got there… nothing.

Me and Mr. GC in room 304

I actually stood in the hallway with rooms 401 and 403 on my right and rooms 402 and 404 on my left, directly above our room, for several minutes and nothing. Realizing I had a massive headache coming on, I went back downstairs and popped a couple aspirin before crawling back in bed. No sooner had I laid back down than the running feet started again. This time Mr. Goth Chick mumbled, “Who the heck is running?” before turning over and going back to sleep.

The Overlook kids making sure I had material to write about this week… I guess.

The happiest of Halloweens to the entire Black Gate family.