In October 1974, Stephen King and his wife spent a cold and troubled night in an old hotel at the foot of the Colorado Rockies. With a harsh winter about to roll in, the Stanley Grand Heritage Hotel was closing for the season, meaning that King and his Wife were the only guests. With endless empty corridors and minimal staff, King started to form a story. That night, staying in room 217, King suffered from a troubled nightmare that would change everything.
“I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming. He was being chased by a fire-hose. I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed. I got up, lit a cigarette, sat in a chair looking out the window at the Rockies, and by the time the cigarette was done, I had the bones of the book firmly set in my mind.”
Being the inspiration for the Shining, the Stanley Hotel has never shied away from it’s spooky connections, holding ghost tours and paranormal events. In recent years, the hotel has become home of the Stanley Film Festival, which is about to get a $24 million expansion, becoming the Stanley Film Center. The Denver Business Journal have reported that the hotel would become the world’s first horror themed museum, 43,000-square-foot celebrating the history of horror. The museum would include
Multiple indoor and outdoor entertainment venues, including a 500-seat auditorium; a 30,000-square-foot interactive museum and discovery center that would feature rotating exhibits; a 3,000 square-foot soundstage; classrooms and workshop spaces; and post-production and editing suites.
However, at this stage, they are just raising funds to get the project up and running. If it does get funded, it could become a huge hit, especially considering the hotel’s history.