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| photo: Olivia Lewis | UCD Advocate |
This was the most read article at talkstephenking.com this year, with almost 70,000 views. Thanks Dumb and Dumber To.
$15 will buy you a tour of the Stanley Hotel, the inspiration behind Stephen King's novel The Shining. Kubrick didn't use the hotel as his filming location, but mini-series director Mick Garris did. The creepy spooks aren't just the stuff of novels and movies, seems some people actually believe the old place is haunted.
Advocate "In Focus" editor, Lindsay Maynard, took the tour and wrote a very nice article. It seems this time of year there are always a pile of stories about the Stanley Hotel. Maynard's is a lot more fun than most! She wholeheartedly embraces the spooky elements. In fact, she says the hotel is deemed one of the "most haunted." Not most haunted in America. . . just "most haunted." I assume she means in the world! Yikes.
HERE is the article, titled "Tour Estes Park's most haunted hotel."
Maynard has an interesting story about Jim Carrey, who stayed in room 217 -- but not for an entire night! Seems a few hours after checking in, he left the room and "never returned." Why? Seems he's never said a word about it. Could it be that the woman in the tub bothered him? She was so very pretty! Or perhaps the two dead girls made it hard to settle down. I dunno.
About King's visit, Maynard writes, "While stuck in the mountains, King and his wife begged the innkeeper to let them stay for the night. They were the only guests to occupy the hotel and they stayed in Room 217, where they experienced uneasy tension throughout their visit. Seven days later, the outline for The Shining was created."
I'd never heard that they "begged the innkeeper to let them stay for the night." Sounds familiar, though.
Some interesting facts gleaned from the article:
- Ghost Hunters has visited the hotel nine times!
- Travel Chanel's "Ghost Adventures" has also paid their respects.
- 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. Maynard says that she is known to appear from time to time and even put away clothes for guests. Nice ghosty.
- On the fourth floor, there is sometimes the sound of unseen children playing.
The ghosts were not bothering him... until they started talking about the quality of his early work and general selection of movies.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny! , david
ReplyDeleteWhat's amazing is that (she lived), and was given a job at the hotel for life. Maynard says that she is known to appear from time to time and even put away clothes for guests. (Nice ghosty.)
ReplyDeleteWTF !!! kinda makes nosense
She is dead. It's actually very clear if you read the article
Delete"She was given a job at the hotel for life"
DeleteMeaning she died because of the explosion.
I recently stayed in room 217. The story from the tour and the workers (i asked to see if the story was cosistent) was that survived and worked well into old age. After passing she returned to the only job sge knew. If she likes you she will unpack your bags and turn down the bed. If she does not like you she places your stuff by the door. Mine was moved by thr door but the bed was turned down... mixed signals ;-)
ReplyDeleteI ended up sleeping real well and felt oddly comfortable in the room.
Worth a trip just to check it off the list.
"The gas didn't have an odor in that time period," said Freitas, "so she couldn't smell anything. As soon as she entered the room, there was an instant explosion." The massive blast destroyed about 10% of the nearly 70,000 square-foot hotel, it's entire west wing. "It was a compression explosion," Freitas explained, "so it actually put out its own fire, otherwise it would have burned down the hotel because it is mostly wood, a timber-frame structure." The force of the explosion sent Wilson crashing into the MacGregor Dining Room located directly under Room 217. She suffered two broken ankles, but recovered from her injuries. Stanley paid her all her medical bills and after she recuperated, Wilson was made head chambermaid and worked at the hotel until her death in the 1950s. After her death, she purportedly began to haunt the room, sometimes by folding guests' clothing and putting them away. If an unmarried couple is occupying the room, Freitas said, the very proper Mrs. Wilson's ghost may climb into bed with them and try to force them apart.
ReplyDelete