Haunted Stanley Hotel - Estes Park, Colorado

The world famous Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is well known for hosting many of the rich and famous who want to get away into the mountains for a while.  The hotel is also the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining.  However, it is not the actual hotel in the movie which was filmed at Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood, Oregon. Even though the inspiration was fictional, the Stanley hotel is very haunted!

The haunted Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado was the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining and it is actually haunted by many ghosts.

The year was 1903 when Freelan Stanley and his wife Flora moved to Estes Park, Colorado.  He stayed there to take in the clear mountain air of the Rocky Mountains because he was suffering from tuberculosis.  The Stanley name may sound familiar because Freelan Stanley was the inventor of the Stanley Steamer automobile.  Freelan's health improved and he like the area, so he decided to stay.  In the process, he made many improvements to the town and wanted to give visitors to the town lush accommodations to stay at so he began construction in 1907 on what would become The Stanley Hotel.  When it was completed, he shuttled guests to the hotel via his Stanley Steamer automobiles which was a first for a hotel to do so. 

The Stanley Hotel is haunted by many ghosts include the founders, a housekeeper, a thief and phantom children who run and play in the hallways.

Ghost of Ms. Wilson

Many of the guests were greeted with the services of Ms. Elizabeth Wilson the head housekeeper of the hotel.  Ms. Wilson encountered a nearly fatal accident in 1911 when a gas lighting system which exploded, throwing her to the level below severely injuring her.  Today that area of the hotel is Room 217 and is thought to be haunted by the ghost of Ms. Wilson. Staff had reported that the linens in the room had been changed before they had a chance to do so.  This is the room that Stephen King chose to stay in while he spent the night in the nearly deserted hotel. It is said that he was wandering the maze of hallways and had gotten lost.  It was from this stay over that he got the inspiration for The Shining. 

The apparition of a woman in early 20th century maid attire has been seen wandering the hallways and she also haunts other parts of the hotel.  Many believe this is the dedicated head housekeeper Ms. Wilson carrying on her excellent service in the afterlife.

The Phantom Thief

One particular room at The Stanley Hotel is thought to be haunted by a thief.  Some guests say they have awoken in the night to find a stranger standing in their room and sometimes over their beds.  He would then disappear into the closet. Many say that personal affects such as jewelry have actually turned up missing after a night in the room with no other possible place to lose it.  Other guests have reported furniture in the room moving about on it's own including the bed, with eyewitness still in it!

The lobby of the Stanley Hotel is said to be haunted by the hotel founder Freelan Stanley, inventor of the Stanley Steamer automobile. One is actually on display in the lobby.

Ghost of Freelan Stanley

The apparition of a man dressed in stately turn of the century gentleman's attire has been seen walking the lobby area of The Stanley Hotel.  That is where one of his vintage Stanley Steamer automobiles is kept. He has also been seen in the billiard room, perhaps taking in a game or two to pass his time in the netherworld.

Ghost of Flora Stanley

Flora Stanley loved to play the piano.  So much so that her husband bought her a Steinway Grand Piano which she played to her heart's content.  Many of the staff and visitor alike have heard the resonating sound of a piano being played within the hotel.  The sounds seem to come from the ballroom.  However, when anyone has ever entered the ballroom to investigate, the piano music stops immediately.  It is thought that this is the spirit of Flora Stanley enjoying her piano still.

The ballroom of the Stanley Hotel is thought to be haunted by the spirit of Flora Stanley who liked to play the piano.  You can still hear her tunes echoing through the halls of the Stanley Hotel to this day.

Phantom Children in the Hall

One of the most compelling hautings within The Stanley Hotel is the children in the hall.  Staff and guests have often heard the sounds of children giggling and playing outside of the rooms in the hallways.  However, when the doors to the room are opened and the hallway checked out, nothing is there and the sounds are gone.  Paranormal investigators at the hotel have even heard this phenomenon, the sounds of children running through the hallways upstairs when there wasn't even a single child staying at the hotel!  This is probably the closest haunting that was actually in Stephen King's book The Shining. 


The ghosts of The Stanley Hotel will welcome you if you choose to venture there.  You can hear all about the hauntings with complete ghost tours of the famous hotel.  Without a doubt, The Stanley Hotel is one of the most haunted hotels in America if not the world!


Location:

40°23'0"N 105°31'6"W

333 Wonderview Avenue
Estes Park, CO 80517
info@stanleyhotel.com
www.stanleyhotel.com 

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References:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stanley_Hotel
http://www.stanleyhotel.com/about/haunted-history#sthash.DaMPXdHj.dpuf
http://voices.yahoo.com/haunted-stanley-hotel-estes-park-co-575868.html?cat=37

The Girl in the Polka Dot Dress - The Haunted Von Mindel Hotel - Schulenburg, Texas

Some fifteen years after the Von Minden Hotel was built, a bizarre story would unfold and leave the hotel in a paranormal state and is a favorite stop over for ghost hunters. Other incidents would occur the to solidify the Von Minden Hotel's status as one of the most haunted places in Texas if not the United States. 

The Von Minden Hotel in Schulenburg, Texas is said to be haunted by "the girl in the polka dot dress".

A young soldier who had been overseas during World War II was severely injured when he was shot down.  He returned home and moved into the Von Minden until he could get settled down. He had been out of contact for quite while when he was shot down and was finally able to collect his mail and catch up on the news.  As he poured through the letters he paid most attention to those from his girlfriend.  However, sadly the news in the letters turned sour as one of them announced her intent to break up with him.  Devastated by the news, it is said that he through himself out of the window, falling three stories to his death below.  

Tragically though, rumors have it that the letters were some how mixed in order and his girl, having heard of his return and still in love with him, went to visit him at the hotel. She searched the hotel asking where she could find her love. Upon hearing the news, she was heartbroken and found it hard to believe that he was dead.  She wandered around the hotel in her polka dot dress still searching for her lost love. Over the years, many have seen a girl wearing a polka dot dress wandering around the hotel, asking questions as if she were searching for someone or something.

Many who have stayed at the Von Minden have also had strange experiences in and around room 23 where years after the first incident, a rail worker was staying there.  He suddenly fell ill and died trying to get out of the room.  Hotel workers could not get the door open to recover his body as it was blocking the door.  They had to send someone through a window to clear the doorway and retrieve the man's body.  Rumors are that strange, unexplained events have taken place in the room and surrounding areas. Door knobs turning, unexplained noises, and footsteps from unseen people. These events are believed to be attributed to this poor man's ghost wandering around the area where he spent the last few hours of his life.

The man who built the hotel, Gerhardt Von Minden, spent a lot of time devoted to the upkeep of his hotel and his family spent time with him there as a result.  His daughter included.  She spent so much of her time there playing and in general, living.  To this day some say they see a apparition of a woman and a man in the theater portion of the hotel.  Many believe that this is Von Minden's daughter and her husband, still enjoying the hotel in the afterlife.

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The Whispering Painting of theTeller House - Central City, Colorado

In the late 1800s, Central City, Colorado was a bustling business center being the world's largest supplier of gold in the world with its local gold mines.   In 1872, lawyer Henry Teller and his brother built the Teller House which was known as one of the finest hotels west of the Mississippi River.  

The 'Face on the Barroom Floor' painting on the floor of the Teller House Central City, Colorado

There is an unsigned painting on the floor of the hotel's barroom dubbed by many as the "Face on the Barroom Floor."  In 1934 the opera house commissioned artist Herndon Davis to do a series of paintings to help revive the cultural mecca.  During his stay in Central City, Davis stayed in the nearby Teller House.  Some claim that the painting is the work of Davis.  Supposedly he scratched out a painting of his wife on the barroom floor in a drunken stupor after being fired from the opera house.  Whether true or not, it is said that he kept this a secret and was only revealed in his will after his death in 1962.

The Teller House in Central City, Colorado

  However, popular legends state that a miner in a distraught state after his wife passed away, sprawled on the floor and painted a picture of her, whispering and speaking softly to the painting as he worked through the night and into the early morning and on for days as if he were having a conversation with his wife.  After completing the painting, he fell unconscious never to wake again.  They say that to this day on the anniversary of his death, you can hear the whispered conversation between he and his wife coming from the painting on the barroom floor.

The 'Face on the Barroom Floor' painting on the floor of the Teller House Central City, Colorado

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