Stanley Hotel
| Location | Larimer, Colorado |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40.3825, -105.5533 |
| Access | Public - operating hotel, restaurant and paid tours |
The guests were leaving when Stephen King arrived.
In late September 1974, King and his wife, Tabitha, spent a night at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. The summer season was ending. According to King’s own account, they turned out to be the only guests, and the hotel was due to close for winter the following day.
The corridors gave him an idea before sleep gave him a story.
That night, he dreamed of his young son running through the hotel, looking back in terror at a fire hose pursuing him. King woke, lit a cigarette, and sat looking toward the Rocky Mountains. By the time he finished smoking, he had worked out the framework of the book that became The Shining.
The rest of this file is sealed. 9 more sections: what happened next, what people still report, and how to visit.
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