Spend Halloween at the Overlook Hotel

You can read my article here.


Alas, I still haven't made it out there.  One of these days, man; one of these days.




*Originally published on 11/6/09



I'm a big Stephen King fan. I even signed up to become the Stephen King Examiner. One of my favorite books, bothy by King and in general is The Shining. I've read the book three times and it's just as enjoyable every time I pick it up. The menacing Overlook hotel becomes a character in its own right. You may not know this, though you probably do, but the Overlook was actually based on a real hotel.

That hotel was called the Stanley Hotel. It's a mountain resort in Colorado. King himself vacationed there with his wife early in his career. He and his wife arrived to find that the hotel was about to close for the season, so they had the entire hotel to themselves.

King isn't the only celebrity to stay at the hotel though. Former president Theodore Roosevelt, John Philip Sousa and even the Emperor and Empress of Japan also rented out rooms at one time or another. Having Stephen King as a guest is impressive enough, but that's some good company to keep.

While the hotel wasn't used in the Kubrick film, it was used in the later TV miniseries version to make it even more authentic.

What's really cool is that the hotel is said to be haunted in real life. People have reported to have seen figures in their rooms and others have heard a piano playing when there was no one in the ballroom to play it. As a big paranormal enthusiast, I think that's awesome.

I myself, plan to make a trip out there at some point to do a vlog for Examiner. It seems like a fun trip regardless. As far as paranormal investigations go, I've been beaten to the punch. The Ghost hunters did an investigation into the hotel in one episode. While they were able to rationally explain some of the phenomenon, others remained unexplained, more specifically the ones that occurred in the ballroom.

The hotel has embraced its hauntings and used it to draw in more tourism. They even offer a tour of all the ghostly history including talking about King's presence at the hotel.

It also has a plethora of amenities like free wi-fi, delivery of your morning paper, room service, a spa, and a gym. While there's plenty to keep you busy outside of your room, they also have 42 inch flat screens for those times you just want to kick back and relax with some television.

Their main website offers some photos of both the exterior and interior and it looks like a really nice hotel. Even if you don't care about the supposed hauntings or Stephen King, the resort seems like a prime way to vacation in style.

They offer a variety of rooms depending on what you need. They even have 4 room villas available for booking. There are 138 total so there is plenty of space.

If you plan to make a trip out there during Halloween, you'll want to book really early. Apparently, they are already booked for Halloween 2010. It's surprising and yet, not surprising at the same time. You don't need to go on Halloween as it makes for a great vacation either way, but given it's history, Halloween seems like the best time to make the trip.

They even offer to do weddings, that's pretty cool.

If you're planning to make a trip out to Colorado, you should check out the Stanley Hotel as it offers an experience few other hotels can.