The True Story Behind 'The Shining'

Stephen King's Inspiration - The Very Haunted Stanley Hotel

MUSIC
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STILLS
Parts of Estes Park Being Evacuated Due to Fires Nearby
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Historic Hotels
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New Stendal fire hose washing plant
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New Stendal fire hose washing plant
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Denver Hanging In 1887
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BRITAIN-US-ART-CINEMA
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Theodore Roosevelt in Colorado
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Daily Camera Archives
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Daily Camera Archives
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Thurstons Billiard Hall
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ITALY-CINEMA-AUCTION-KUBRICK-FEATURE
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Photography in the 19th century
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Houdini Can Escape Anything
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Denver Post Archives
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Babies in Nursery
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On the Set of The Shinning
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Mr. F.O. Stanley in a 1913 Stanley Steamer
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View of Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood, Oregon.
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On the set of The Shining
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On the Set of "The Shining"
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On the set of The Shining
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On the Set of "The Shining"
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On the set of The Shining
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On the set of Sylvie et le Fantome
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The historic Stanley Hotel...
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1930s TIRED WOMAN...
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1940s BLONDE WOMAN...
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High society in Paris 'Day of Elegance' in Paris (a charity event). In white Cleo de Merode with her then world famous hairstyle - 1905 - Vintage property of ullstein bild
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USA - New York - Building inspector in condemned building
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Double exposure of a man on a chair, ca. 1900.
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The popular Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
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The popular Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
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The popular Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
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The popular Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
Helen H. Richardson/Getty Images
The popular Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
Helen H. Richardson/Getty Images
The popular Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
Helen H. Richardson/Getty Images
The popular Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
Helen H. Richardson/Getty Images
The popular Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
Helen H. Richardson/Getty Images
The popular Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
Helen H. Richardson/Getty Images
The popular Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
Helen H. Richardson/Getty Images
The popular Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.
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1900 photograph of the anti-tuberculosis (TB) clinic
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Tincture Amal Tuberculosis Cure
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FRANCE-US-LITERATURE-PEOPLE-KING
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Ballroom aboard Victoria
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Jack Nicholson In 'The Shining'
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Jack Nicholson In 'The Shining'
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Jack Nicholson And Joe Turkel In 'The Shining'
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ESTES ABOVE: The once pristine views in Estes Park are getting gobbled up by more and more development in this growing mountain town. This is looking from the Stanley towards Rocky Mountain National Park. Estes Park planning commission is considering prop
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1958 Steam Car Meet - California
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The Stanley Hotel in Estes Parr, Colorado, was the inspirati
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The Shining
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Man drinking a glass of beer, 23 April 1931.
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Well-to-do spectators at an open-air festival, 1920.
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Two men with female spirit, c 1920.
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Elderly couple with a young female spirit, c 1920.
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Guardian Angel
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Stanley Kubrick Exhibition At The Caermersklooster
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Silhouette Of Stan Jones
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Paris Brasserie
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[brosephmcbrosephson]

"Some guests have returned to the suite and found their laundry folded neatly and the toiletries neatly organised in the bathroom" - Have these people not been to a hotel before?

[edgarpineda]

The pricing of the room scared me the most

[Icebolt]

Hahaha, imagine the actual cleaners coming in to fold your sheets and idiots blame it on ghosts

[rockydify]

I would be a re-tucking ghost. Everyone needs blankies

[justanotherredheadattheend]

I have zero doubt that a good chunk of why King is so personally against the Kubrick version, is because Jack is him. King has said that in addition to the alcoholism, he was also disturbed by occasional feelings of real anger and resentment towards his young kids, and so the Shining is basically his personal hell.

In his version, Jack fights the Stanley harder, and ultimately needs to be killed in order for the hotel to use him to pursue his family. He’s redeemed. In Kubrick, he’s not; in fact, you can almost debate how much the hotel even needed to push. It wouldn’t surprise me if King feels a little violated by that. Kubrick basically made his deeply personal self-insert a monster, and removing most of his moral complexity.

[EyedFox]

My brother in law was an overnight security guard at the Stanley. He lasted one winter witnessing chairs move in the halls, knocking sounds, and constant radio glitches or turning off or on by themselves before he completely dipped out of Colorado.

[Andrew-qsgz]

"Would you stay at the Stanley Hotel?"
Me: no because I can't afford $500per night

[Charliefarley]

Most of the ghost just sound like old people. Being conservative, giving fashion advice and tucking you in are all very grandma things. The only ghost I don’t like is the creepy guy who touches ladies. There’s enough of those creeps who are still alive.

[ashleywickham]

Ryan and Shane need to spend a weekend here. It's truly beautiful.
Promise it's not all scary Ryan!

[oliverholmes-gunning]

"the grounds of the hotel also contain a Pet Sematary"

I assume there's also a creepy clown in the storm drain, a bucket of pig blood in the rafters, and a rabid St Bernard patrolling the car park...

[bellaghaisani]

after hearing "the question still remains", i immediately said "unsolved" 😭

[BokHog]

When we went to Colorado, I had to stop and see this hotel. They offer a "ghost" tour which we did and they walk you around the grounds sharing these stories and more over the course of 90 minutes. They took us through the service corridors too which was probably my favorite part. You don't need to spend 500 a night to enjoy this hotel. They let you roam the hotel to a degree, but ask you to not go onto the guests floors to not disturb those in their rooms. The place is massive, and the outside area are fantastic to take in. Estes Park has a few other cant miss things too, but save 3 or 4 hours for the Stanley to really enjoy it and the grounds.

[mcrtruther]

Why go to Florida when you can stay in The Stanley hotel?
My mom : “cause we aren’t effed up, Addison.”

[harinder]

A ghost giving fashion advised...dam, plus not big fan of modern fashion, i can kind relate with that kind of ghost lol

[izzysauls]

Imagine waking up to a cowboy leaning down to kiss you 👀 👀 👀

[torosmoon]

ok ghosts have always freaked me out but the tucking-in ghost in room 407 sounds so sweet 🥺

[diannaherrera]

Me: Aww the cowboy just wants a kiss...
Narrator: He was hanged for murder
Me: O_O

[TheNickSweat]

Just wanted to stop by and tell everybody to give Doctor Sleep a chance. It's an incredible film. Just make sure to watch the director's cut. Don't settle for the theatrical version. They're two completely different cuts.

[bron]

Lmao I’m just imagining the ghost at 6:13 being there like: you’re really going out in that? Darling, no 👀

[jackthepumpkinqueen]

Living in Colorado, and being a huge fan of Stephen King and the Shining. I’ve been up to the Stanley a few times. One other ghost that wasn’t mentioned was a young 16 year old girl named Lucy who froze to death in the concert hall. She was homeless and was seeking shelter from the below freezing temperatures. Unfortunately, the heat was not on in the concert hall and Lucy froze to death. She’s known to favor girls that have had a troubled past and pregnant women, nothing negative about her she seems to be a kind spirit.
There’s also a story behind the twins in the Shining. F.O Stanley’s brother, did have two young girls that have said to been seen around the property. If you ever have a chance to go up to the Stanley definitely do it. If not for the spooky aspect there’s so much history and beauty in that building and Estes Park itself.