Anyone who enjoys the genre of horror and psychological thrillers has definitely either read or watched The Shining. This was first written as a book by the King of horror himself, Stephen King, and later was turned into Stanley Kubrick's film. Both works to this day are untouchable masterpieces. It tells the story of Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic who takes a job as the caretaker of a historic hotel during the off-season. Jack, his wife, Wendy, and their son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), move into the Overlook Hotel deep in the Colorado Rockies. Unknown to most, Danny possesses a psychic ability called, "the shining,". This gives him a glimpse of the hotel’s terrifying past. A snowstorm then forces the family to stay indoors, and they begin learning about the supernatural dangers in the hotel. The evil forces behind these dangers succeed in deteriorating Jack's sanity, and he then becomes a danger to his own family.

While most aspects of this masterpiece may be far-fetched and fictional, one crucial detail was actually based on facts: the Overlook Hotel. While it may not exist in real life, it was inspired by actual experiences Stephen King had at The Stanley Hotel. Here's the true history behind it!

Inspired by The Stanley Hotel's Infamous Haunted Room

As surprising as it may sound, the Stanley Hotel helped lay the groundwork for many plot points, including the hotel's structure in The Shining. King and his spouse stayed at the secluded Stanley Hotel in Colorado in 1974. One disturbing thing from the get-go was the fact that they were the only people staying at the hotel, because when the couple arrived, it was just before it was closing for the winter. King, being the natural-born writer of the horror genre, observed the unnerving atmosphere of a deserted hotel. When King explored the hotel, he was inspired by the spacious hallways and sense of seclusion from the entire world. His entire experience at the place immediately inspired him to write a horror tale.

Stephen King and his wife stayed in Room 217 of the Stanley Hotel, which served as the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel. Many people had reported seeing a ghost of Elizabeth Wilson, the head housekeeper, in that particular room. Wilson suffered injuries in an explosion brought on by the lighting of a lantern in 1911. Even though she didn't die because of that incident, it is believed that she is still seen wandering around the room, folding clothes, and moving suitcases. Stephen King also claims that he saw a young boy walking towards his rooms, which couldn't have been any human, as they were literally the only two people in the entire hotel. All of this collectively became the ultimate inspiration behind The Shining.

King Wrote The Shining After Having a Nightmare at The Stanley Hotel

As mentioned earlier, the entire hotel was a massive inspiration for Stephen King's novel. However, if one wants to know what actually made him pick up his pen and start writing, they will be baffled to know it wasn't any encounter with a ghost, but instead, actually having a nightmare! When he and his wife stayed in the haunted Room 217, he had a nightmare that night that a fire hose was chasing his 3-year-old son through the hotel hallways, as he ran and screamed in terror. This was so petrifying for him that he woke up feeling sweaty and just an inch from falling out of their hotel bed. While this would make any other person either leave the hotel or talk to their child, it made him light a cigarette and map out the entire premise of the whole book in his head.

Related: The Shining: Explaining the Many Fan Theories and Analysis

Initially Constructed as a Place for Tuberculosis Patients

Unfortunately, in 1903, Freelan Oscar Stanley, the man who created the steam-powered automobile, battled tuberculosis. The optimal way to proceed and get treatment was simply dry, fresh air and sunlight. Therefore, Stanley and his wife Flora naturally traveled to the Rocky Mountains. Upon seeing his health significantly and rapidly improve, he made the decision to develop Estes Park as a resort community for people seeking to regain their health, and for the East Coast's elite, who simply wanted to unwind in the mountains. And that is how the Stanley Hotel came into being. While it may sound wholesome at first, one must not forget that with health issues like tuberculosis, many people end up losing the battle, which means people passed away in this resort, and that thought should be enough to make the place eerie enough to not spend a night there.

King Thinks Kubrick's Overlook Hotel Didn't Do Justice

This is a proven fact that movies cannot do justice to the book and, in this case, a truly existing place. This is on the grounds that the King's conception of the resort differs from Kubrick's depiction of The Shining's Overlook Hotel. A significant proportion of the property's design was altered by Kubrick. Additionally, he changed the most crucial element, which was turning Room 217 into 237. King disliked Kubrick's adaptation to this extent: in 1997, he produced his original TV miniseries adapted from the book. The series also ended up using the actual Stanley Hotel as the filming location.

Related: Here's Shelley! The Shining's Shelley Duvall Returns to Acting After 20+ Years in The Forest Hills

The Hotel Has a Creepy Pet Cemetery

As unreal as it may sound, not all the ghosts at the Stanley are said to be human. The owner of the hotel had created a pet cemetery, where they buried their pets for several years, and many guests have claimed to encounter the ghosts of some of the buried animals walking the hotel. This includes Comanche, a white cat, and a golden retriever named Cassie. Both have been spotted throughout the entire property, even in the halls and guest rooms. Ironically enough, Stephen King has another book titled Pet Sematary, in which pets come back from the dead after being buried inside a cursed cemetery. Even though Cassie and Comanche don't come back to life, some visitors claim that they are still around. While being confronted by a spirit cat or dog would certainly be less frightening than being confronted by a person, it doesn't make it any less terrifying or unnerving.

People Experience Paranormal Activities at the Hotel

While most paranormal incidents in the novel were based on fictional inspirations, and fortunately, King didn't experience any severe spirit encounters, numerous people have reported experiencing paranormal activities at the hotel. This began in 1911, which was right after the infamous explosion that occurred in the hotel. The Stanley hotel now even offers people a Spirited Night Tour in which they take people through all the unnerving sites of the hotel where people have reported experiencing paranormal activities.

Apart from seeing the founder of the hotel's spirit wandering around, the terrifying fact about the place is that each and every room in this place has experienced a sinister, spooky incident. Many people reported their clothes being unpacked mysteriously, objects changing places, or lights turning off and on. Many guests even claim to hear kids' laughter or someone running down the corridors. The bone-chilling part is the fact that the Stanley Hotel employees do not deny it and, in fact, claim them to be happy ghosts, which doesn't make it any less scary.