Bike & Hike 2008--Day 2--First Half

We woke up early on Saturday and headed toward Estes Park, Colorado home of the Stanley Hotel. What's so special about the Stanley Hotel you ask? Well, it just so happens to be Stephen King's inspiration for his 3rd book, The Shining. The original owner, F. O. Stanley was quite the inventor. He created the Stanley Steamer automobile as well as the metal protractor that every kid uses in school, among other school supplies. There is an original Stanley Steamer in the lobby of the hotel. Fun Fact: Jay Leno owns two Stanley Steamers and we've actually seen him driving it around Los Angeles! Here's the photo from the hotel and one we took of Leno in LA:



The hotel is trying to get Leno to bring his Stanley Steamer for the 100th anniversary of the hotel next year.

We spent the morning on a tour through this haunted hotel listening to a very dorky tour guide for almost 2 hours. You could tell he was very into what he was talking about and enjoyed giving the tours, he was just a bit awkward. At any rate, we heard a couple good ghost stories.

Room 217 is considered the Stephen King room, one of the nicest rooms in the hotel. This is the room where King and his wife stayed the night he was inspired to write The Shining. This room is also haunted by one of Stanley's employees. She was involved in a horrific accident in Room 217 and Stanley paid her medical expenses to recuperate and she continued on as head of housekeeping for nearly 40 years. It's said that her ghost haunts room 217 today.



As we sat and listened to her story. All of sudden I got a cold shiver down my back. Hmmm.....was there a ghost sitting next to me in the empty space between me and Allison?




The other room to acknowledge is room 401, known today as the bridal suite, but in the past it was the nanny lounge. Lord Dunraven is thought to haunt this room. He was quite the ladies man and flirt. Apparently many ladies have been "goosed" by a ghost while in the room. Hmmm.... One good story about room 401: A newlywed couple was staying in there. The bride put her ring on the bathroom sink. The next morning it was gone when she went to retrieve it. They had staff and plumbers up there tearing the bathroom apart looking for it. It was no where to be seen. Two days later, the couple woke up to find a "man" standing at the foot of their bed holding her ring. CREEPY!

Ever heard of the show Ghosthunters? Well, apparently the Stanley Hotel is a favorite spot of theirs. They have filmed there several times and keep coming back. Here are some links to segments of the Ghosthunters show about the Stanley Hotel in case anyone is interested:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

We took TONS of pictures while on the tour and no ghostly orbs appear in any of them. However, there is a weird reflection in the picture where I thought a ghost was sitting next to me. But then again, that could have just been the fingerprint on Erin J's camera lens. :-)


So if you're ever in Estes Park and want to stay in a haunted hotel, try booking 6 months or more ahead of time and ask for room 217 or 401. If the door to 217 is rattling or making a tapping sound. Beware! It could be a little old couple who comes to the hotel every couple months to stay in Room 217. They get their kicks out of making "ghostly" noises and then quick opening the door and scaring the living daylights out of people.