HAUNTED: The Stanley Hotel

When the Stanley Hotel opened in 1909, it was a playground for the rich, with its high end electric lights, a grand ballroom, and an unbeatable view of the Rockies. By 1974, though, the magic had worn off. That is, until author Stephen King spent one night in the hotel and woke up with the idea for The Shining. Afterward, people called it one of the most haunted locations in America. Not because of King’s novel, but because of the numerous ghost sightings that have happened there over the decades.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Traditional home security only alerts you after a break-in, and that's too late. SimpliSafe is changing that.

• 0:06Speaker 01

  Stop. This is SimpliSafe. Police are on the way.

• 0:09Speaker 00

  We don't just alert, we help stop crime before it starts. Plans starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 60% off your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com/truecrime. SimpliSafe, ahead of crime in real time. Outdoor deterrence plans start at $49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com/licenses for alarm license information.

• 0:32Speaker 02

  There's something about a great hotel that stays with you long after you check out. I've stayed in so many wonderful hotels over the years. The crisp sheets, room service and bed, the feeling of being on vacation and taking a break from the real world. Most of us have a hotel memory like that. Maybe you slept better than you had in years in a plush, king-size bed. Or maybe you couldn't sleep at all.

• 0:58Yvette Gentile?

  Some of us have stayed in places that felt a bit off, like something just wasn't right about that hotel. A history, a vibe, a story that sat with you and embedded deep into your subconscious. But there's one hotel that's known for exactly that sort of thing. In fact, it's part of the attraction. It's a grand, white building at the edge of the Rocky Mountains called the Stanley Hotel. Perched at 7,500 feet, it's the last stop before the wilderness swallows everything. Stephen King checked in one autumn evening in 1974. After one spine-chilling night,

• 1:42Yvette Gentile?

  he was inspired to write his infamous novel, The Shining. The Stanley Hotel has been standing since 1909, and almost everyone who stays there leaves with the same feeling, that something isn't quite right there. And even when they think they're alone, someone is watching. I'm Yvette Gentile.

• 2:08Speaker 02

  And I'm her sister, Rasha Pecoraro. This is So Supernatural.

• 2:44Speaker 02

  Tucked away about two hours outside of Denver is a small town called Estes Park, Colorado. To get there, you have to drive up a winding mountain road on the edge of a cliff. If you have a fear of heights, all I can say is, do not look out the window. The downtown area is packed with old historic buildings, and the whole community is surrounded by dense, thick woods. It's a place right out of a storybook, but not the kind with a happily-ever-after ending. Instead, it feels more like a foreboding cautionary tale. And at the center of it all sits the landmark Estes Park is famous for, the century-old Stanley Hotel.

• 3:28Speaker 02

  It sits on a rocky overlook looming over the town, and it's said to be one of the most haunted destinations in the entire country.

• 3:39Yvette Gentile?

  The hotel is named after its founder, Freeland Oscar Stanley, or as people called him back then, F.O. Stanley. He was born in 1849 in Kingfield, Maine, and from a very young age, Freeland was a natural businessman and entrepreneur. Freeland was jack-of-all-trades, as was his twin brother Francis. They were good at chemistry, engineering, marketing, you name it, they could make it happen. In 1858, when the twins were just nine years old, they began refining maple syrup into sugar and then selling it around town. The next year, they opened another business, building and selling violins. When Freeland was an adult,

• 4:24Yvette Gentile?

  he built a solid career as a photographer. That is, until a fire in his studio forced him to change gears. Afterward, he partnered with his brother again. Francis had invented a chemical process that made photos easier to develop, and Freeland helped him sell and market it. They eventually sold that process to Kodak and made a nice profit. But it didn't stop with cameras. Freeland and Francis then went on to develop an early steam-powered car called the Stanley Steamer. It was one of the fastest vehicles on the road at the time. It would go on to set the world land speed record, clocking in at over 127 miles per hour.

• 5:09Yvette Gentile?

  But as gasoline engines evolved and became cheaper to produce, the steamers slowly lost momentum. Still, the Stanley Brothers had invented something pretty extraordinary. And for the two men who started their careers out making maple syrup and violins, they'd come a long way.

• 5:28Speaker 02

  But in 1903, when Freeland was 54 years old, he faced a major setback. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis, a bacterial infection that usually affects the lungs. Back then, tuberculosis was the second deadliest disease in the world, and Freeland's outlook wasn't good. His doctors said the best remedy was to move to another part of the country, somewhere with lots of fresh air and not a lot of pollution. So Freeland and his wife packed all their things and settled in Estes Park, Colorado. It's unclear why he picked that area in particular. Some sources said he believed he was going to die and just wanted to be somewhere beautiful.

• 6:10Speaker 02

  And back then, it was even smaller and more remote than it is today. In fact, it barely even counted as a town at all. Almost no one lived there full-time, but it was exactly what Freeland needed. After moving there, he made a complete recovery.

• 6:26Yvette Gentile?

  That's right, it took him about a full summer to get better. By 1905, he was 56 years old and back on his feet. And Freeland now had a new business proposal. He wanted to build a hotel in Estes Park, and he wanted to market it as a health resort. The idea was to encourage wealthy people from the East Coast to come to Colorado to recover from their illnesses. Plus, the hotel would be the height of luxury, a vacation destination for the world's wealthiest travelers who paid top dollar for a five-star experience. But Freeland had to spend a lot of time and money to make that dream a reality.

• 7:09Yvette Gentile?

  First, he wanted his hotel to have electric lights, which back then were considered state-of-the-art. Only about 5% of Americans, the richest of the rich, had electric bulbs in their homes. Problem was, the town of Estes Park wasn't wired for electricity. Instead, in 1905, Freeland had to buy a parcel of land along a local river, and he built a power plant right there. Not only did it generate electricity for his future hotel, it powered the whole town. Freeland let Estes Park residents use his energy for free. Can you guys imagine? For free. He also had electric lights installed along every city street.

• 7:53Yvette Gentile?

  Two years later, in 1907, the power plant was up and running, and 58-year-old Freeland began construction on what would be known as the Stanley Hotel.

• 8:05Speaker 02

  It had about 88 guest rooms spread across three floors. The fourth floor had apartments for the hotel's staff to live in. The Stanley was going to need lots of housekeepers, chefs, landscapers, maintenance workers, bellhops, and front desk clerks. Freeland expected all of his staff to live on the property where they'd be available for their guests anytime, day or night. The Stanley also had a network of tunnels built underneath it. That way, if an employee needed to get from one side of the building to the other, they could make the journey without ever being spotted by guests. This only added to the magical feeling at the Stanley Hotel. If you asked for fresh towels or ordered room service,

• 8:48Speaker 02

  a staff member would appear almost out of nowhere with exactly what you needed. If a guest wanted to take a drive through the mountains, they could book a car at the Stanley's front desk. Or they could throw lavish parties in one of the multiple onsite ballrooms. The restaurants used electric stoves, which were high-tech for the early 1900s. And many of the guest rooms came with their own bathrooms and telephones, both of which were a huge perk at the time. Most Americans still used outhouses and didn't have phones at all. Every room also had those fancy electric lights. But Freeland wanted to make sure people could still see if the power went out for any reason. So a few years later,

• 9:31Speaker 02

  he made sure each room also had a set of gas lamps, all of which were connected to an off-site generator. He literally thought of everything for his hotel.

• 9:42Yvette Gentile?

  The Stanley Hotel opened its doors for the first time on June 22, 1909. But the first guests weren't international travelers or wealthy socialites. They were 150 pharmacists. Remember, the Stanley Hotel was supposed to be a health resort. So it made sense that the grand opening would focus on the supposed medical benefits of Colorado's fresh mountain air, and that Freeland, the marketing pro, would specifically cater to people who worked in the healthcare industry. It worked. The hotel became famous. Over time, it would host guests like Titanic survivor, the unsinkable Molly Brown,

• 10:26Yvette Gentile?

  composer John Philip Sousa, President Theodore Roosevelt, and the Emperor and Empress of Japan. But things weren't smooth sailing once the doors opened. In fact, the Stanley Hotel was only in operation for a few weeks when things hit a snag.

• 10:49Speaker 00

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• 11:20Speaker 04

  Hi, I'm Ashley Flowers.

• 11:22Speaker 05

  And I'm Britt. And if you're on the edge of your seat, listening to this show, Crime Junkie needs to be your next listen.

• 11:27Speaker 04

  Every Monday, I dive into a new true crime case that our reporting team has been on the ground looking into. From lesser-known disappearances to the most chilling cases hitting the headlines. And I'm gonna walk you through it the way I tell my best friend, because, well, that's what I'm doing.

• 11:43Speaker 05

  Yeah, that's me. And I'm right there with you as we listen together, react to every wild detail, and of course, I ask all the questions.

• 11:51Speaker 04

  And I'm gonna have the answers, because we have case files, we're talking to detectives and family members, and we're gonna stay focused on the facts.

• 11:58Speaker 05

  So if you're not already listening to Crime Junkie, what are you waiting for? There are over 300 episodes available right now.

• 12:04Speaker 04

  And you can listen to new episodes of Crime Junkie every Monday, wherever you get your podcasts.

• 12:16Yvette Gentile?

  On June 22nd, 1909, the Stanley Hotel had its grand opening. About two weeks after that, on July 7th, its 60-year-old founder and owner, Freeland Oscar Stanley, was hard at work again. That day, he was installing a gas generator near the laundry room. And once it was set up, he turned it on to test it. Right away, it began releasing toxic fumes, and within a few minutes, Freeland passed out. Luckily, someone got him away from the gas and into fresh air. He recovered without any major complications, but it was a very close call.

• 12:57Speaker 02

  Just two years later, there was another major problem with the gas generators, and this one was a lot more serious. It happened on June 25th, 1911. The electric plant was having some kind of issue that day, so they contacted the hotel to let them know the power could go out at any moment. The managers decided to power up the backup generators. Then they sent staff members to light the gas lamps in every single room. That way, if the power did go out, the guests wouldn't be sitting around in the dark. One of those staff members was a housekeeper named Elizabeth Wilson. She went through the hotel, room by room, lighting the lamps. Then she got to room 217 on the second floor.

• 13:40Speaker 02

  She lit a match just like she had in every other room, but before she could ignite the lamp, a giant orange fireball erupted right in front of her.

• 13:51Yvette Gentile?

  Room 217 had a gas leak in it, one nobody had noticed before. Elizabeth had accidentally set off an explosion. The blast was powerful enough to shatter windows all across the ground floor. Doors were blown off their hinges. The bathtub in room 217 soared into the air and then crashed back down again. The floor beneath Elizabeth collapsed. She fell to a lower level of the hotel and was later found lying in a pile of rubble. Both of her ankles had been broken, and she was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. And according to some reports, two other hotel employees were injured in the blast, too. I mean, thankfully, nobody was killed.

• 14:35Yvette Gentile?

  Elizabeth spent some time in a coma, but she did eventually make a full recovery. And once she was well enough to work again, guess what? She went right back to the Stanley Hotel. Elizabeth was rewarded for her loyalty with a promotion to head chambermaid, and for the next 40 years or so, she kept working at the Stanley, pretty much until she passed away in 1950. Some sources even said she had a heart attack in room 217, where her accident happened. But after Elizabeth passed, strange things began happening at the hotel.

• 15:13Speaker 02

  Some people said Elizabeth's spirit stayed in room 217 long after her death. And it seemed like she was still trying to do her job, even in the afterlife. To this day, her ghost has been said to tidy up the room whenever it gets a little messy. She'll unpack people's bags and fold their clothes nicely so they don't get wrinkled. One couple who stayed in room 217 said they woke up to find all the sheets and blankets tucked tightly around them, as if she had made the bed with them still inside. That might sound far-fetched, but there are plenty of people who stay in room 217 and feel a presence there.

• 15:54Speaker 02

  Overall, they say that presence seems to be friendly, with a few notable exceptions. Apparently, when Elizabeth was alive, she had very strong feelings about unmarried couples sleeping together. And her spirit is said to get a bit aggressive if anyone goes against her beliefs. Some unwed couples have claimed to wake up in the middle of the night to the feeling of hands on their body. An invisible figure will push the couple further and further apart until they're not touching at all. And some single men who have stayed in the room say they've woken up to find their bags out in the hallway, almost like Elizabeth's ghost is saying, "Hey, it's time to leave. You are not bringing any partners back here, my friend."

• 16:40Yvette Gentile?

  This totally reminds me of something that I heard about Jim Carrey when he was filming the movie Dumb and Dumber. He actually stayed at the Stanley Hotel and was in that room, and he left probably within an hour of checking in. So I wonder if Elizabeth's ghost got to him.

• 16:58Speaker 02

  She may have, and I heard a rumor that he has never even talked about it, right?

• 17:04Yvette Gentile?

  Yeah, he won't say what happened at all. According to gossip, her ghost isn't the only one still working at the hotel after their death. There are also stories of another employee known as Paul, but his last name has been lost to history. It's unclear when he lived or died, but the legend says he used to work as a handyman at the Stanley. One day, he had a severe heart attack during one of his shifts. His coworkers carried him into a car and raced to the nearest hospital, but before they could get there, Paul died. Even after his passing, reports say Paul came back and got right back to work.

• 17:45Yvette Gentile?

  One time, a construction worker was using a sander at the hotel when they sensed his presence. Then unseen hands nudged the worker to adjust the way they were standing, like he wanted to make sure that they were doing things just right. During Paul's lifetime, the Stanley apparently had an 11:00 PM curfew. Guests could party in the ballrooms, dine in the restaurant, and chat in the lobby before then, but at the stroke of 11:00, they all had to go back to their rooms or leave the hotel. Today, the curfew is no longer in effect, but it seems like Paul never got the memo.

• 18:27Yvette Gentile?

  Many guests report being in the common areas after 11:00, only to hear a disembodied man's voice saying, "Get out." But there is one ghost who seemingly wants to keep the party going, and that's the spirit of Freeland Stanley himself.

• 18:47Speaker 02

  By the 1930s, Freeland was splitting his time between Estes Park, Colorado, and Newton, Massachusetts, where his extended family lived. On October 2nd, 1940, he was in Newton when he suffered from heart failure. He passed away at the age of 90. Even though he died on the opposite side of the country, his spirit was frequently spotted in the Stanley Hotel after his death. In the lobby, guests and staff would often glance at the mirrors hanging on the walls, but instead of seeing their own reflections, they'd see Freeland's face looking right back at them. To this day, travelers will check in at reception, only to later realize the front

• 19:29Speaker 02

  desk clerk was none other than Freeland Stanley himself. He's also been spotted in the hotel's common areas, especially in the billiards room and the bar. Those rooms have pianos in them, and his wife loved playing them. These days, her ghost is said to make beautiful music while Freeland greets guests and makes small talk.

• 19:52Yvette Gentile?

  Unfortunately, it seems like the hotel went a bit downhill after the Stanley's deaths. By 1974, the place was no longer considered fancy or luxurious. It was rundown and old. Features like electricity and telephones weren't big draws anymore. Every decent hotel offered those, so the Stanley wasn't drawing in as many tourists or making a whole lot of money. Things were looking pretty grim, but that winter, a horror author decided to spend a night at the Stanley Hotel. His name was Stephen King.

• 20:30Speaker 02

  He was from Portland, Maine. Incidentally, the same state where Freeland Oscar Stanley had been born and raised. At the time, Stephen was already an established novelist. He had two books out and he wanted to write a third. But Stephen was suffering from serious writer's block. He and his wife hoped a change of scenery would spark his imagination. So they planned a vacation and left the kids with a sitter. They went to Estes Park and checked into the Stanley Hotel. However, the Stanley was about to close for the winter just one day after Stephen checked in. There just wasn't enough business to justify staying open through Colorado's coldest months. So this place was completely empty when Stephen and his wife arrived.

• 21:15Speaker 02

  They were the only guests there that night, and only one housekeeper and one bartender were working. When they went to dinner in the Stanley's restaurant, only one table had been set. And after they were done eating, the couple began wandering through these maze-like hallways. It was completely silent, almost like there wasn't another soul in there with them that night. Or so they thought. Eventually, they got back to their room, number 217, the same room where the gas explosion had once ignited. Whether or not he knew that story about Elizabeth is unclear. But by the time Stephen went to bed, he had a really creepy feeling about this place,

• 22:00Speaker 02

  which manifested that night into a terrible nightmare. In it, his three-year-old son was running through the hallways of the Stanley Hotel. He was screaming. He was being chased by a fire hose that had come to life, and it was trying to strangle him. Stephen woke up from the bad dream in a cold sweat, and right after he opened his eyes, he realized he had the perfect idea for his next novel. It's about a family that stays at an old historic hotel over the winter. It's closed to the public for the season, but they're going to handle any maintenance needs that come up. Except while they're isolated at the facility, they discover it's haunted.

• 22:43Speaker 02

  Three years later, in 1977, Stephen published his book titled "The Shining." It rose to the top of the bestseller charts and helped Stephen King become a household name. Three years after that, in 1980, the novel was adapted into a feature film directed by legendary director Stanley Kubrick. The movie is a cult classic. I mean, we all know that I am scared of horror movies, but even I have seen "The Shining." Fun Hollywood fact, Yvette, do you know where they filmed the movie?

• 23:20Yvette Gentile?

  Actually, I do, Rasha. It was filmed at Timberline in Oregon. And you know why I know that? Because that is the first place that I ever learned to ski. They filmed all the exterior shots there, but the interior shots, I'm sure they filmed on set. So yeah, fun fact for y'all.

• 23:39Speaker 02

  Yes. Well, between the success of the book and the movie, the Stanley Hotel became famous again in the late 70s and early 80s. It began attracting new customers who brought it back to life. Now, management could afford to invest millions of dollars into renovations, and the Stanley Hotel returned to its former glory. But this time, it wasn't pharmacists or presidents checking in. Ghost hunters and thrill seekers from all across the world were looking to book a stay, most of them hoping to experience something supernatural. And sure enough, many people saw, heard, and sensed things they couldn't explain. Some guests even captured spirits on film.

• 24:29Speaker 00

  Traditional home security only alerts you after a break-in, and that's too late. SimpliSafe is changing that. Stop. This is SimpliSafe. Police are on the way. We don't just alert, we help stop crime before it starts. Plans starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 60% off your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com/truecrime. SimpliSafe, ahead of crime in real time.

• 24:54Speaker 01

  Outdoor deterrence plans start at $49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com/licenses for alarm license information.

• 25:00Speaker 04

  Hi, I'm Ashley Flowers.

• 25:02Speaker 05

  And I'm Britt. And if you're on the edge of your seat listening to this show, Crime Junkie needs to be your next listen.

• 25:08Speaker 04

  Every Monday, I dive into a new true crime case that our reporting team has been on the ground looking into. From lesser-known disappearances to the most chilling cases hitting the headlines. And I'm gonna walk you through it the way I tell my best friend, because, well, that's what I'm doing.

• 25:23Speaker 05

  Yeah, that's me. And I'm right there with you as we listen together, react to every wild detail, and of course, I ask all the questions.

• 25:31Speaker 04

  And I'm gonna have the answers, because we have case files. We're talking to detectives and family members, and we're gonna stay focused on the facts.

• 25:39Speaker 05

  So if you're not already listening to Crime Junkie, what are you waiting for? There are over 300 episodes available right now.

• 25:45Speaker 04

  And you can listen to new episodes of Crime Junkie every Monday, wherever you get your podcasts.

• 25:55Speaker 02

  In the early 2020s, a woman named Rachel Thomas worked as a tour supervisor at the Stanley Hotel. It had been over 40 years since Stephen King's stay on the property. Since then, the hotel had been completely renovated and restored. But in an interview with ABC News, Rachel assured a reporter that the ghosts hadn't gone anywhere. The Stanley was still incredibly haunted. Rachel said that ever since she got this job, weird things had been happening to her. She'd hear voices talking to her even if there was no one around. Sometimes, when she was alone, she'd feel hands touching her. And often, when she went to the hotel's top floor, she became physically ill.

• 26:41Speaker 02

  The fourth floor is considered the most haunted part of the Stanley Hotel. And as we mentioned before, the staff lived on the floor when the hotel first opened. Nobody lives there now. The fourth floor has been since converted into more guest rooms. But visitors often claim they've seen children running up and down the hallways and playing. Other times, they'll hear laughter and shouting, except there's no one there, or at least no one they can see. There are also stories of a little boy who can be spotted peering around a corner as visitors walk the halls. Everyone seems to think he's the spirit of a child who lived at the Stanley long ago. Maybe he was the son of an employee.

• 27:25Speaker 02

  Sometimes guests leave out candy as gifts for those ghosts. And according to several witness accounts, the candy tends to move on its own when the room or hallways seem to be empty. Plus, people who stay on the fourth floor sometimes see strangers in their rooms. These ghosts are often dressed in clothes that look like they're from the 1800s. But it's not just rumors and hearsay. There are a few people over the years who've reportedly captured these ghosts on camera. In the spring of 2026, a man named Henry Yu visited Estes Park, Colorado from Houston.

• 28:06Speaker 02

  Henry loves stories about ghosts and the supernatural, which is why he booked a room at the Stanley. He'd never seen a spirit before and didn't actually expect to spot one now, but he liked the idea of staying in a haunted hotel. Throughout his stay, he took lots of pictures of the historic architecture and antique furniture. Henry didn't like having strangers in the backgrounds of his photos, who he intentionally waited for each room to be empty before he'd snap a pic. Then one morning, while going through his phone, he came across an image of the hotel's grand staircase. And he spotted something he hadn't noticed earlier, a figure standing at the very top of the steps.

• 28:48Speaker 02

  The image is a bit grainy and dark, so it's hard to make out much, but it seems to be a woman in a long, black dress. Henry knew for a fact that the woman hadn't been there earlier. He'd been so careful to ensure there weren't any strangers in any of his photos, which is why he immediately posted this particular photo on his Facebook. And he wrote a caption saying, quote, "By golly, I think I may have captured a hashtag ghost at hashtag Stanley Hotel, hashtag Estes Park." Well, needless to say, the post went viral. Eventually, a professional ghost hunter named Kevin Sampran saw Henry's photo, and he spotted something that Henry had missed.

• 29:33Speaker 02

  If you zoom way in and look very carefully, you'll spot a second figure just to the left of the woman in black. Based on the small size of the second figure, it could be a child.

• 29:46Yvette Gentile?

  And we looked at this photo, and you could definitely see it, right, Rasha?

• 29:51Speaker 05

  I could actually only see the woman, to be honest.

• 29:55Speaker 05

  I kept looking. I'm like, I think maybe I can see a little shadow that might be a kid, but I definitely see the woman.

• 30:01Yvette Gentile?

  Yeah, the woman is clear as day in it, and that there's an image. I could see like an outline of the little child. Well, that's not the only ghost photo that's been taken at the Stanley. We came across another image shared on Reddit in 2024. And this one really got under our skin. The poster said their mother, who we're gonna call Marie, had recently stayed at the hotel. At one point during her visit, Marie stepped into an empty hallway and took a bunch of pictures within a couple of seconds. Marie didn't look at her new pictures right away, but later on, she went through her camera roll. The first image of the hallway was exactly what she expected. She saw an endless row of doors,

• 30:45Yvette Gentile?

  red and gold carpeting, bright lights, I mean, basically nothing unusual. But the second photo had a dark figure in it. The person was standing at the far end of the hallway. It looked like someone had just rounded a corner or stepped out of their room. Except Marie had been taking photos in rapid succession. If someone had walked into the frame, she would have gotten a picture of them coming around the corner or walking out of the room. Instead, the figure was perfectly centered and standing still, as though they'd appeared there in an instant. Marie zoomed in to get a closer look at the figure, and they seemed to be wearing a fancy old dress,

• 31:28Yvette Gentile?

  like something from the late 1800s or early 1900s.

• 31:33Speaker 02

  The Stanley Hotel has been dubbed Disneyland for ghosts for exactly this reason. And just like the real Disneyland, the Stanley seems to attract guests and souls from all across the world, including spirits of people who have never lived, worked, or died at the hotel. No one knows why they seem to be drawn to this hotel, but one anonymous blogger with the U.S. Ghost Adventures website had a theory. They said that for reasons we don't fully understand, ghosts seem to appear in areas with lots of electricity. And since the Stanley Hotel was the first in the Western United States to have electric power,

• 32:14Speaker 02

  it might have pulled spirits toward it when it first opened. Perhaps this transformed it into some kind of spectral hub.

• 32:23Yvette Gentile?

  There's another theory that comes from a journalist named Brittany Anis. She believes the ghost sightings are more common in areas with large concentrations of limestone and quartz. Some paranormal investigators say these minerals work almost like spiritual batteries. They store energy and draw unsettled spirits towards them. This is notable because the ground under Estes Park is full of quartz and limestone. Plus, you remember the underground tunnels we mentioned earlier in this episode? Well, those tunnels are also lined with limestone and quartz, and they're supposedly very spiritually active. When people go on ghost tours,

• 33:06Yvette Gentile?

  they often feel inexplicable winds in the caverns. It's also common for visitors to smell freshly baked bread. It's said the spirit of a long-departed baker is in the caverns, creating the scent. However, many paranormal investigators point to another possibility, that the spirits are attracted to a portal inside the hotel's walls, one that's been dubbed "The Vortex."

• 33:35Speaker 02

  It's said to be right at the top of the grand staircase. There are two mirrors on opposite walls facing each other, and many paranormal researchers say you should never hang mirrors across from one another like this. It can create a portal, and ghosts can travel through those mirrors to other realities. Legend says that when the Stanley's decorators put up those mirrors, they accidentally opened a doorway to hell itself. And to this day, the vortex is highly active. Some estimate that hundreds of spirits travel through it on a regular basis. Multiple guests have even seen entities

• 34:17Speaker 02

  climbing in and out of those very same mirrors.

• 34:22Yvette Gentile?

  But there are a lot of skeptics who say there's a logical explanation for the sightings at the Stanley Hotel, like they're all imaginary. Many people come to the Stanley expecting to see spirits and strange things. The idea is they get so excited and scared that they trick themselves into thinking they're seeing something supernatural. It's also worth mentioning that the Stanley Hotel has really leaned into their haunted reputation. They know a lot of guests come just to see ghosts, and they do what they can to make the building seem extra spooky. There's a screen that's set up just outside of the hotel's tour office, and it cycles through photos of alleged ghosts,

• 35:07Yvette Gentile?

  all of which were taken at the hotel or on its grounds. If you turn on the TV in any of the Stanley's rooms, you'll find one channel that plays "The Shining" on a loop 24/7. And remember Room 217, where Stephen King stayed in 1974? Well, that is now completely themed around the horror author. The bookshelves are loaded with all of his novels. In theory, you can stay there overnight, but 217 is the most popular room in the Stanley. And if you wanna stay there, you'll have to contact the hotel's manager and ask to be added to a waitlist. Whenever they have an opening, I mean,

• 35:50Yvette Gentile?

  which may be months or years later, they'll call you and let you know. Talk about a waitlist. Rasha, you wanna go? You wanna get on the waitlist?

• 36:00Speaker 02

  Thank you, but no. Not unless we have like a whole film crew with us, and it's a extra special, so supernatural episode.

• 36:07Yvette Gentile?

  Well, maybe we might just make that happen.

• 36:10Speaker 02

  Well, haunted or not, the hotel is an American icon today. It's a piece of pop culture and a celebrated historical site. It's outlasted the people who built it, the era that shaped it, and every rational explanation thrown at it. Call it the power of the past or a literal portal to hell. Whatever it is, something makes the Stanley Hotel a mystical place to be. Does that mean we're willing to spend a night inside? Not necessarily. But we can appreciate the mystery from a safe distance. Maybe that's what makes the Stanley Hotel so fascinating.

• 36:54Speaker 02

  It feels haunted not just by spirits, but by the energy, emotions, and stories that were left behind.

• 37:13Yvette Gentile?

  This is So Supernatural, an AudioChuck original produced by Crime House. You can connect with us on Instagram at So Supernatural Pod and visit our website at so-supernaturalpodcast.com. Join Rasha and me next Friday for an all-new episode.

• 37:33Yvette Gentile?

  I think Chuck would approve.

• 37:39Speaker 06

  When the nights grow longer, the shadows start to stir, and that can only mean one thing. Full Body Chills is back. This season, step inside original tales where every doorway leads somewhere darker, every stranger carries a secret, and nothing is ever quite what it seems. Each story takes you somewhere new, but be careful. You never know what might follow you home. So gather round, listen close, and stream Full Body Chills wherever you get your podcasts.