The century-old Stanley Hotel in Colorado has certainly never run away from its reputation as a haunted location, let alone its reputation as the place that inspired author Stephen King to write his classic novel The Shining back in the mid-seventies. Since that time, not only did the owners of the Stanley allow the King-approved TV remake of The Shining to film on location there, but they’ve let shows like Ghost Hunters and other similar programs to investigate paranormal activity on their premises.
To further solidify their spooky standing among horror fans, the hotel hosts the Stanley Film Festival, which serves as a showcase for all kinds of horror films. On top of all that, they run Stanely Kubrick’s version of The Shining on a continuous loop on one of their channels for guests. They even redid their hedge maze to resemble the one in King’s story. I’m sure there’s a sign somewhere at the front desk that says, “Please ask us about our ghosts.”
Now comes possibly the coolest thing the Stanley has ever done to solidify their reputation as America’s most spooky hotel destination; the owners of the hotel want to add a new building that will act as a horror museum, production studio, and film archive. The hotel released plans for this expansion last week. For all this to happen, though, the state of Colorado needs to give the project their official approval first and donate some $11.5 million in state tourism funds to help the $24 million museum become a reality.
The entire non-profit complex would include an auditorium, museum, space for traveling exhibits, a sound stage, and post-production space. The museum would also partner with the Colorado Film School in Denver for educational projects. Among the members of the board for the potential museum are actors Elijah Wood and Simon Pegg, neither slouches when it comes to their horror cred.
If this expansion eventually takes place, this would make the Stanley Hotel the #1 destination for horror and paranormal fans the world over on a year-round basis, and no doubt booking in the hotel would skyrocket overnight. I for one know where I’d be spending a future Halloween vacation at.
Are you excited about this potential new horror destination? Let us know in the comments!
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IMAGE: Warner Brothers
