The face in the tunnels Our creepiness rating 💀💀💀💀💀
Cowboy State Daily reported in 2023 that tour guide Ella Witcher, a skeptic when she started, became a believer after a participant on the Spirited Tour took a photo showing a face in the tunnels under the hotel, which she said are closed to the public and that no one on her tour matched. The same piece said many guests report giggling children on the fourth floor, once a staging area for guests' children and nannies. Source: Cowboy State Daily, 2023.
Facts below are drawn from the linked sources.
Real history
Freelan Oscar Stanley, co-founder of the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, opened the hotel on July 4, 1909, as a resort. Stanley had first come to the Estes Valley in 1903 after a tuberculosis diagnosis, and the hotel was a grand resort for wealthy visitors, not a sanatorium (Colorado Encyclopedia). It inspired the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King's 1977 novel "The Shining" and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (Wikipedia).
Ghost stories
These are reported legends, not verified events. The creepiness score (1–5) is Spook Atlas's own editorial rating, not a measurement.
Then and now
Public access
Open to the public The hotel's own site takes bookings, including for Room 217 (The Stanley Hotel). Last checked: Oct 31, 2026.
Explore more
- More places in Estes Park and Colorado
- More haunted & abandoned hotels
- Nearby: Caribou (Nederland, CO), The Oxford Hotel (Denver, CO), Brown Palace Hotel (Denver, CO), Molly Brown House Museum (Denver, CO)
⚠️ Please read: This information may be outdated and conditions change. Verify access with the owner or operator before you go. Spook Atlas does not encourage trespassing. Entering private, closed or condemned property can be illegal and dangerous. Report a correction.
Reader experiences
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