Redrum

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to make a (winding) drive up to Estes Park to visit The Stanley Hotel. You may be familiar with this historic structure from watching “The Shining”, as Stephen King was inspired by the gorgeous hotel. I was eager to visit, and I decided to take a tour, but before it started I sat at the bar and had a drink. I was delighted to see that they had a nice variety of cocktails, and even more delighted to see one of them was named “Redrum”. Though the name was cool, it seemed a little sweet for my taste, so I opted for an Old Fashioned, and I was on my way.

Ryan was the fearless guide of my night tour. He moved here from Austin, because of his love for Estes Park. He gives tours here because of his love for the supernatural. This particular tour is copyrighted and there are 10+ tours going through here daily, and they typically all sell out. Opened in 1909, and a popular destination for 110 years, the Stanley hosts 400 weddings per year. It’s safe to say that Ryan is not alone in his fascination and love of this historic property and the stories that come along with it.

The Stanleys of Maine had twin boys: Francis Edgar (FE) and Freelan Oscar (FO). Together, the twins were the co-founders of the automotive manufacturer that built the Stanley Steamer. FO met his wife Flora at The University of Maine, Farmington over their shared passion of music. FO and FE used to carve violins from planks of wood as children. FO’s fondness of music followed him throughout his entire life. Jumping ahead a bit, let’s talk about FO and Flora’s move out west. In 1903, at age 53, FO was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and was given six months to live. He and Flora, in an effort to breathe in the healing air of the Rocky Mountains, decide to move to Denver. They arrived and the doctor informed FO that he doesn’t have six months to live, he only has THREE months, as Denver was extremely polluted. So their answer to that problem was to simply move a little further west to Estes Park, where FO decided to make the most of the short remainder of his life. He fished, hiked, and hunted. Much to his surprise, his condition was reversed, and he lived to 91 years of age.

Mr. Stanley was a friend of the Carnegies, Morgans, and Rockefellers – all of them often came to visit. It was a western adult playground for wealthy families of the east, and someone said that the reason spirits linger in places is not just because they have unfinished business, but because they want to be where they enjoyed themselves more than anywhere else. Makes sense to me. The structure was originally created as a “guest house” for all of the wealthy visitors, before it morphed into a hotel later on.  

Our tour took us to several parts of the hotel. First was the Music Room- where the ladies hung out. The decor here was cream and white, with an open and airy look. When Stanley opened on July 4, 1909, John Phillip Sousa himself played the piano in this room. It is a pretty famous instrument. Sousa came back every year to tune it. This is no ordinary piano- all these years later it plays by itself when no one else is around.

The photo pictured below is the check-in desk. Often times when children get lost, they are found hovering behind the counter. There is no way to get into this area without a key. When the lost kids are questioned about how they got there, they describe a tall, well-dressed, bearded man who let them through the door. The descriptions are all consistent with that of a former night manager from many years ago who had a fondness for children, and always made sure to take care of them, leaving them in a safe place for their parents to find them.

While the music room was the room for the ladies, the gentlemen spent time across the way in the Billiards Room- a good old-fashioned man cave. There was a dental conference going on during my visit, so there were a lot of toothpaste displays and such, but it was a richly appointed room and I still could picture a fastidious game of pool going on here with some well-polished men. In fact, Harry Houdini was Mr. Stanley’s favorite opponent. As the legend goes, Molly Brown (the Titanic survivor) was kicked out of the hotel for cheering on Henry Houdini. Mr. Stanley did not appreciate his guests rooting for his opponents.

Next we made our way on to a large room with a stage, that was once where guests dined. One of the most famous ghosts of the hotel appears often in the Dining Room. The backstory is that in 1911 all of the hotel’s power went out. Elizabeth Wilson, the head housekeeper went up to Room 217 to light the gaslight, which created an explosion, and she was blasted through the floor from above, and almost died. Some of the hotel staff did CPR and tried to get her to breathe. She had a pulse and was coherent, and so they immediately took her to the local hospital.  But it did take awhile to start a Stanley Steamer, so it was not a quick and easy jaunt. While they were on the way, she slipped into a coma. She had no family except for her employers, whom she considered family: FO and Flora Stanley. She woke up in the hospital from her coma after 3 days. FO and Flora adored her, and promised to take care of her for life. After 18 months of rehab, all she really wanted was her job back. The Stanleys happily allowed her to continue working. Elizabeth worked at the hotel starting in 1951 and finally left at age 91. She died a peaceful death in her sleep. But what really spooked everyone out here? Well, Elizabeth clocked right back in to work the next morning after her death.

So one of the most interesting parts of the tour for me (and many others) was hearing about Stephen King. He and Tabatha lived in Boulder, CO for one year. In 1974 he was having writer’s block, addiction issues, and marital problems- a trifecta of bad luck. On September 30 of that year, Tabitha and he were trying to get to a cabin for a little break from their daily life, but a snowbank turned them around, as they couldn’t get up the mountain. Where was the closest hotel? Of course it was no other than The Stanley. When he came in, Mr. Lloyd Grady, one of the managers said “hey, you’re Stephen King!” The hotel was closing for the season, but Mr. Grady decided to allow them to stay and basically gave them carte blanche to wander around at their leisure. The only room with clean bedsheets was room 217, which has been reported to have more paranormal activity than any other part of the hotel. Here in this “presidential suite” is where Stephen King had some crazy dreams and was inspired to write “The Shining”. His writer’s block had ended and his classic novel was born.

Unfortunately there was a private event going on at the Concert Hall, but we did see it from afar. Ryan told us that he can get “Lucy”, the resident ghost of a homeless woman seeking shelter from the cold, to close a door on command about 75% of the time.

The last part of the tour was in the basement, where we learned about the small, narrow tunnels down below. There were also once employee dorms down here – workers could actually live here, but I sure wouldn’t want to. Too old and creepy.  The way this building was designed is known as a “free floating foundation”, which means it moves with the mountain.  Ghost hunters love this part of the hotel, because it is a paranormal vortex, of sorts. Limestone, quartz, granite, and formica have a lot of environmental “power”, if you will, so perhaps that is part of the reason the Stanley has so much paranormal energy.

My visit was interesting, spooky, and educational. I would gladly come back again and stay in Room 217. But probably not by myself, especially not after a few glasses of Redrum……