On October 30th, 1974, horror writer Stephen King and his wife Tabitha were driving through Estes Park, Colorado as night approached when they came across The Stanley Hotel. They decided to book a room and on checking in, discovered that they were the only guests in the hotel as it was about to close for the winter season.

King and his wife ate dinner in an empty dining room listening to canned orchestral music. Except for the table the King’s occupied, all the dining chairs were sitting on top of the tables.

That night, according to King, he dreamt that his three-year old son was running through the long corridors of The Stanley Hotel, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide open, screaming and being chased by a fire-hose! King reportedly woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over. He got up, lit a cigarette and sat in a chair looking out of the window at the Rocky Mountains. By the time the cigarette was smoked, he had the bones of “The Shining” outlined in his mind.

The Shining was published in 1977 and became the third great success of King’s career after Carrie and Salem’s Lot. Room 217 of the Overlook Hotel, the fictional hotel in King’s book, features prominently in the novel, having been the room where King and his wife spent the night at The Stanley Hotel.  Room 217 remains the hotel’s most requested room!

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is just down the road from where we are staying.