Status: Unverified — the ghost stories are folklore and visitor anecdotes; no investigation has produced evidence that settles anything.
Credit: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress (Highsmith Archive) · Licence: Public domain (no known copyright restrictions) · Source
The Stanley Hotel was built by Freelan Oscar Stanley, co-founder of the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, and opened on July 4, 1909 as a resort and a health retreat on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Its haunted reputation grew mostly in the 1970s, after Stephen King stayed there and the building became the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in his 1977 novel The Shining. Guests and staff have long told stories of footsteps, music from empty rooms, and the sound of children, and Room 217 is the best-known room. A 1911 gas explosion that injured a hotel housekeeper is often retold as the start of the ghost stories, though the contemporary newspaper reports disagree even on her name.
The hotel now leans into its reputation with ghost tours and overnight stays. Treat the stories as local legend: they are entertaining and widely repeated, but they are not documented evidence.
Sources: Wikipedia: The Stanley Hotel · The Stanley Hotel (official site)
📍 See this case on the map. Were you there, or can you explain it? Add a verification note below — notes are read by a person before they appear.
Leave a Reply