A popular destination for fans of haunted houses and supernatural stories. (The Stanley Hotel)
Halloween is just around the corner but if you’re looking to get your frightened, freaky fun on all year long, the infamous hotel from “The Shining” will be happy to oblige.
The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo. is hoping to open a 43,000 square foot horror themed museum complete with a horror film archive and film production studio. The hotel estimates that project will cost around $24 million and has applied for a $11.5 million credit through the State of Colorado's Regional Tourism Act, which would be generated through film center sales tax.
The hotel hopes the project would be a boon to the local economy, drawing thousands of horror film fans from around the world each year.
The new facility will house plenty of attractions for horror movie fans of all ages. (MOA Architecture)
Some of the biggest names in horror have already jumped onto the center’s Founding Board including lijah Wood, Simon Pegg, George A. Romero, and Daniel Noah.
"I would love to have a home for which we could constantly come year-round and celebrate with other fans from around the world," said Wood. "There's really no better place for there to be a permanent home for the celebration of horror as an art form than the Stanley Hotel. It was practically built for it."
When completed, the site will boast multiple indoor and outdoor entertainment venues with views of Rocky Mountain National Park; a 500-seat auditorium; an interactive museum and discovery center, featuring rotating exhibits based on fan favorite movies and shows like “The Walking Dead;” classrooms and workshop spaces; and post-production and editing suites for aspiring filmmakers. Denver-based MOA Architecture was commissioned to spearhead the facility's design.
Best known as the haunted setting from Stephen King’s best-selling 1977 thriller “The Shining,” The Stanley Hotel has a rich history that extends beyond its spooky past.
"At 109-years-old, the story of the Stanley Hotel is just beginning," said Stanley Hotel owner John Cullen. "The Stanley Film Center is my chance to give back to the millions of horror fans around the world who have supported Estes Park and the hotel for so many years."
In 2013, the hotel launched an annual horror film festival. Today, the hotel offers regular year-round ghost tours with special events during Halloween season.
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