As we were passing through Estes Park, our daughter asked if we would like to drop by the hotel where The Shining took place. Since The Shining was one of our favorite Stephen King books, there was no doubt what we were going to do. I won’t tell all about the background of the hotel – you can google that- but there are a few salient facts that set the stage:
· The hotel was built by Freelan Oscar Stanley, the inventor of the steam-powered automobile – the Stanley Steamer. Stanley moved to Estes Park in 1903 on advice from his doctor to treat his pulmonary tuberculosis. He and his wife fell in love with the location which cured his tuberculosis. The hotel opened July 4, 1909, as a resort for upper-class Easterners and a health retreat for sufferers of
pulmonary tuberculosis.
· In 1974, Stephen King and his wife stayed at the Stanley in Room 217. When they arrived, hotel staff were checking out as the hotel was closing for the winter season, and they found themselves to be the only guests. That night, he woke after a vivid nightmare of his child being chased down one of the long corridors. This event served as his inspiration for The Shining. The hotel in The Shining was called the Overlook. The maze described in the Shining remains at the Stanley.
