HAUNTED HALLOWEEN! The Hotel That Remembered Everything
THE DEVIL WITHIN HAUNTED HALLOWEEN Episode Two: The Hotel That Remembered Everything The Stanley Hotel, Room 217, and the Terrifying Inspiration Behind The Shining In October 1974, a young novelist named Stephen King checked into Room 217 of a nearly deserted hotel in the Colorado Rockies. That night, he experienced a nightmare so terrifying that it would inspire one of the most celebrated horror novels ever written. But the Stanley Hotel had been collecting ghost stories long before Stephen King arrived. In this installment of The Devil Within: Haunted Halloween, we travel to Estes Park, Colorado, to explore the extraordinary history of the Stanley Hotel, the magnificent mountain resort that inspired The Shining, and the unsettling legends that continue to haunt its corridors more than a century after it first opened its doors. Built in 1909 by wealthy inventor Freelan Oscar Stanley, the hotel was intended to be a monument to luxury, innovation, and American ambition. But in 1911, a devastating gas explosion nearly killed a housekeeper named Elizabeth Wilson, whose alleged spirit would eventually become one of the hotel's most notorious supernatural residents. Guests in Room 217 have reported mysteriously rearranged belongings, lights switching on without explanation, and the unsettling sensation that someone is attending to their room while they sleep. Elsewhere in the hotel, visitors claim to hear the phantom piano playing of Flora Stanley, the laughter of invisible children on the fourth floor, and footsteps echoing through corridors that should be empty. Then came Stephen King. We'll revisit his fateful stay in Room 217, the nightmare that inspired The Shining, and Stanley Kubrick's transformation of King's fictional Overlook Hotel into one of cinema's most terrifying creations. We'll also explore how Room 217 became Room 237 on screen, and how decades of storytelling have blurred the boundaries between documented history, paranormal folklore, and Hollywood mythology. Is the Stanley Hotel genuinely haunted? Or has one extraordinary story become so deeply embedded in its walls that visitors now arrive carrying the very ghosts they hope to encounter? Because sometimes a building doesn't need to be haunted by the dead. Sometimes it's haunted by the stories we tell about it. LISTEN, FOLLOW & SUPPORT THE DEVIL WITHIN Listen & Follow: Follow The Devil Within on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Our Haunted Halloween series explores the terrifying histories, unexplained phenomena, and enduring legends behind America's most infamous haunted places. Rate & Review: Enjoying the show? Leave us a 5-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Your support helps new listeners discover The Devil Within and allows us to continue bringing these extraordinary stories to life. Watch & Subscribe: Watch The Devil Within on the Evio Creative YouTube channel. Subscribe and turn on notifications for new episodes, haunting historical imagery, paranormal investigations, and more from the Evio Creative network. Join the Conversation: Follow us on Instagram @thedevilwithinpod for episode updates, behind-the-scenes content, and more stories from the darker corners of history. Share Your Story: Have you stayed at the Stanley Hotel? Experienced something unexplained in a supposedly haunted location? We'd love to hear from you. Send your experiences, story suggestions, and tips to mailto:[email protected]. COMING NEXT ON HAUNTED HALLOWEEN The Amityville Horror: Twenty-Eight Days of Terror In November 1974, six members of the DeFeo family were murdered inside their Long Island home. Just over a year later, George and Kathy Lutz moved into the same house and claimed that something malevolent had remained behind. What followed would inspire one of the most controversial haunting stories in American history. The murders were real. The haunting remains disputed. And the house at 112 Ocean Avenue would beco