The Stanley Hotel, Estes Park: Room 217, Stephen King and the 1911 Explosion

The building and its history are well documented, including its National Register listing in 1977. The 1911 explosion in Room 217 was reported in newspapers at the time, though they disagree on the injured chambermaid's name and how many people were hurt.

The ghost stories are a different matter. Skeptoid's 2022 search of Google Books and the Library of Congress found no source calling the Stanley haunted before The Shining. Most of the stories, from F.O. and Flora Stanley to children on the fourth floor, come from the hotel's tours and room pages, with no named witness. The few named accounts come from a TV investigator and a tour supervisor.

Room 217

On June 25, 1911, an acetylene gas explosion in Room 217 injured a chambermaid, who broke both ankles. Newspapers at the time disagree on her name (Elizabeth Wilson, Elizabeth Lambert or Lizzie Leitenbergher) and on how many people were hurt. The hotel says guests in 217 find their luggage unpacked and shoes lined up, and that the maid disapproves of unmarried couples sharing the bed. No guest is named.

Stephen King's night

In late September 1974, Stephen King and his wife Tabitha stayed one night as the hotel's only guests, just before it closed for the season. King's own site says the visit inspired The Shining. The hotel says he stayed in Room 217, but King's account gives no room number.

The Stanleys

F.O. Stanley is said to appear in the billiard room and bar, and his wife Flora to play the piano in the music room. These stories appear only in modern ghost writing, with no named witness.

The Concert Hall and the fourth floor

Tour guides tell of "Lucy", a girl said to haunt the Concert Hall, and "Paul", a former handyman. No record of either has been found. Guests report children laughing and running on the fourth floor; a tour supervisor, Rachael Thomas, has described feeling suddenly ill there.

Ghost Hunters

The TV series Ghost Hunters investigated the Stanley in 2006. The hotel says Grant Wilson saw a small table rise in the room now sold as "Grant's Spirited Grand King."

Before The Shining

Skeptoid searched books and the Library of Congress and found no mention of the Stanley being haunted before 1977. The ghost stories may be younger than the novel.

F.O. Stanley

Freelan Oscar Stanley, co-inventor of the Stanley Steamer car, came to Estes Park in 1903 for his tuberculosis. Construction of his hotel began in October 1907, to his own Georgian Revival design, and it opened on June 22, 1909, with 88 rooms. The Manor House followed around 1910.

Later owners

Stanley sold the hotel in 1926, took it back at a foreclosure sale in 1929, and sold it to Roe Emery, who added private baths and painted it white in 1935. After Stanley's death in 1940 it passed through several owners and two bankruptcies; Grand Heritage Hotel Group bought it in 1995 for $3.1 million and built the hedge maze in 2015.

Landmarks and The Shining

The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, the year The Shining was published, and the Stanley Hotel District followed in 1985. Kubrick filmed his 1980 version elsewhere, but the 1997 TV miniseries was shot at the Stanley. In May 2025 the hotel was sold to a public-private partnership, with Sage Hospitality running it; an expansion is under way through 2028.