It’s not just the breathtaking view from Colorado’s Stanley Hotel that sends shivers down your spine. The legendary ghosts rumored to wander the halls and haunt the rooms of the stately lodging also manage to give visitors a chill or two.

When I heard that the elegant white accommodation overlooking Estes Park from its hillside perch offered a ghost tour, I was intrigued and decided to call ahead for a reservation. After all, the setting inspired guest Stephen King to pen “The Shining,” and, in fact, “The Shining” TV mini-series was filmed here.

A Stanley Steamer motor car takes center stage in the lobby—F.O. Stanley, the vehicle’s inventor, used his spiffy steam cars to transport wealthy guests to this grand hotel that he opened in 1909. Our guide began the tour with a story about Mrs. Wilson, a chambermaid for room 217 in the early 1900s. Poor Mrs. Wilson lit a lamp that, unknown to her, had its gas line open for testing—she miraculously survived the massive explosion, with Mr. Stanley overseeing her recuperation.

It is said that dear, departed Mrs. Wilson continues to take care of her guests in room 217 today, and apparently, she doesn’t approve of all of them—while some come back to the room to discover their suitcases unpacked and their clothes neatly organized, others have arrived to find their possessions strewn carelessly about the room.

Occupants of room 217 have reported such anomalies as an apparition of a woman coming out of the wall and the TV mysteriously turning itself on and off. According to our guide, actor Jim Carrey reputedly stayed in the room for only 3 hours before bolting out of the hotel without a word, never to return. One wonders if he encountered Mrs. Wilson. Incidentally, other famous inhabitants of 217 include Stephen King, Teddy Roosevelt and the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown.

Next, we entered the Music Room, where Mrs. Stanley loved to spend her days playing the grand piano displayed within. Occasionally, guests and staff members at the Stanley claim to hear piano music coming from the room, but the lilting tune evidently stops as soon as someone crosses the threshold to peer inside. You guessed it—no one is at the keyboard.

The Pinon Room, where gentlemen passed their time smoking, drinking and gambling, also has its share of hauntingly amusing ghosts. The smell of cigar smoke is said to permeate the air even though there are no lit stogies around, and a shadow supposedly has been spied pacing back and forth across a large wall mirror. (The story is that the pacing shadow may represent a gambler distraught over his losses.) The click of billiard balls breaking is a spirit-induced sound that some have attested to experiencing in the adjacent Billiards Room.

A cornucopia of otherworldly encounters has been reported on the 4th floor. Guests have asserted that their feet have been playfully tickled at night and lights have flickered on and off while they were in the shower. Many insist they hear kids playing and running down the hall, only to step out of their rooms and see nothing—the paranormal explanation is that this is the floor where children and their nannies stayed when F.O. entertained summer guests. Brave souls book Room 401, considered the most haunted room in the hotel. A heavy perfume scent has been known to permeate the air, while the closet door reputedly opens, closes and latches itself—without the help of human hands.

Throughout the tour, our guide provided historical tidbits and trivia related to “The Shining” in addition to the fascinating litany of ghost stories. If you’re planning a trip to Estes Park or adjacent Rocky Mountain National Park, a visit with the Stanley Hotel’s resident ghosts could make your adventure all that more intriguing.  

For more details and directions for the Stanley Hotel Ghost Tour, click on the map.