The History and Haunting of the Stanley Hotel

by Rebecca F. Pittman

Come explore the secrets of the mysterious Stanley Hotel with author, historian, and ghost-hunter Rebecca F. Pittman. With her as your guide, you will traverse the hotel and grounds from the fourth floor rooms down to the underground tunnel that was part of the original foundation of the main building. You will explore the grounds and outbuildings from the Concert Hall to the Carriage House, and everything in between. On your ghostly journey, you will discover... - The spirit of F.O. Stanley, the man who envisioned and built the hotel, who today wanders the lobby and stops in for an occasional game of billiards. - His wife Flora, who has been known to come back to visit her favorite piano in the music room of the hotel. - The legendary MacGregor Room, where visitors through the years have experienced many haunted occurrences. - And of course, Room 217, the extravagant, haunted room that inspired the Master of Horror Stephen King to pen his best-selling novel, The Shining. The Stanley Hotel is truly a wondrous place, and in the pages of this book you are in for an incredible journey through the ages with its history, and of course, its mystifying hauntings.

Genres: History, Paranormal, Nonfiction

273 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 2015

About the author

Rebecca Pittman grew up literally on a runway. Her mother was teaching fashion modeling before she was born.

Rebecca took to the catwalk at the age of 5 and was teaching modeling by the young age of 16. From there she began designing stage sets for fashion shows, upscale weddings and special events, along with pursuing her love of art and journalism.

She created Wonderland Productions and has been painting wall murals around the country for the past 33 years. In that time she published four books and has no intention of slowing down. Her first book, "How to Start a Faux Painting or Mural Business" went into a 2nd edition October, 2010. "Scrapbooking for Profit" was published in 2005.

Her journalistic interest took a sharp turn when she decided to write about the haunted location of The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, including the personal history of its ghosts. After living only 45 minutes away from the historical site for 33 years, her love of its history and her experiences there with things unexplained and paranormal led to her to write the book, The History and Haunting of the Stanley Hotel, released in July, 2011.

Ms. Pittman is currently researching The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana. The plantation is touted as the most-haunted home in America. That book will be followed by The History and Haunting of the Tower of London and the paranormal goings-on in Salem. She is also working on a children's adventure book and a screenplay about Edgar A. Poe.

Rebecca makes her home in Loveland, Colorado where she indulges her love of golf, boating, the arts and travel. She is the proud mother of 4 sons and their extended families.

"Show me a good mystery and I will want to solve it. It's the puzzle that fascinates me ... the clues, and the answers that tumble into place like a combination lock giving up its hold."

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the Ghost stories and learning the history of the Stanley, however, there were a lot of formatting and grammar issues that really bothered me.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this book 4 stars because it was such a fun read. However, I found the editing to be irritating. The use of "there" for "their" and such, drives me crazy. The Stanley Hotel was built by F.O. Stanley, who created the Stanley Steamer automobile. It is supposed to be where Stephen King got the inspiration for The Shining, and he did, in fact, shoot the television miniseries there. There is a lot of interesting history surrounding the hotel and the Stanley family, and I have always liked the concept of ghosts. I was at the Stanley Hotel about 20 years ago, but did not experience any contacts with spirits. The second half of the book was made up of numerous testimonials from past patrons and staff who had a variety of experiences. Anyway, who knows. As Hamlet said: "There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book in the gift shop after staying at the Stanley Hotel back in 2018. I had an eerie experience with a shadow in an empty hallway. My daughter got several pictures of orbs. She shot on live so you could actually see them move. I don't know what I believe about the supernatural, but ghosts fascinate me.

There is a lot of good information in this book and some awesome photos. The problem is there is a great deal of repeated information. I liked learning about the history of the hotel. The most interesting part are the reported ghost sightings.

The book could use some better editing, but the ghost stories will give you the chills.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

Editing/grammar is awful and full passages are obviously cut/pasted which, to me, felt incredibly lazy. Felt it did deserve some recognition, however, due to the fact that it contained more information than the recent tour that we took at the Stanley. Apparently "Scary Mary" is gone and new tour guides have a very superficial knowledge of the hotel history, and much of their information contradicted this book. The book seems more credible and I am glad that I did fight my way through, as I was able to make the tour more interesting for my daughter since the guide seemed indifferent.

[Brenda Ozog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people know of the Stanley Hotel based on the movie with Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duval in the Shining. However, this book is not about that movie and focuses on the history of how the hotel started, it’s challenges and how it’s come to be. I bought the book at the Stanley and read it on my way home back to Detroit. It was a good read and a great view of the West and how it was getting started. I actually have been able to meet the author at a later time due to purchasing more of her books.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history, some fun ghost stories. Seriously needed better editing due to: redundant information repeated in several sections, a multitude of typos and grammatical errors, and some formatting errors they should have been noticed long before publishing, to name a few.

[Linda Swick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is interesting. A lot of information on Estes Park and the Stanley Hotel.