Built in 1909 near Rocky Mountain National Park, the Stanley Hotel is probably best known as the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining and for serving as the filming location for the notable, classic film: Dumb and Dumber. But with over a hundred years running as a top class hotel, it has had plenty of time to accumulate a significant amount of paranormal history and establish itself as a haunted hotel. It is said FO Stanley, the original owner, and his wife Flora can often be seen dressed in formal attire haunting the main staircase, lobby, and the billiard room.

We decided to partake in the hotel's popular evening ghost tour with some pals, thinking it would just be a historical walk through the hotel grounds. The host, known as "Scary Mary", had other ideas.

Scary Mary is probably the most interesting and entertaining guide we've ever come across. She encourages tour-goers to "interact" with the hotel ghosts. She also informed us that black and white photos are more likely to capture any paranormal activity so with that said, here are a bunch of blurry, grainy, black and white photos of our ghost tour!

The hotel is home to several ghost children. Each of us were given lollypops to entice the children into moving. The only movement we saw though was from having shaky arms. It gets tiring holding still!

Our tour group sat in this basement room with the lights off for several long minutes. Several people experienced odd, unexplainable moments. I only experienced being petrified at being in pitch black darkness.

The tour ends in the hotel's creepy tunnel.

While nothing paranormally interesting occured to me, this is probably one of the top ghost tours we've been on. Right up there with our ghost tour of Vicksburg Military Park.

After the tour, we snuck upstairs to check out the notorious Room #217, where Stephen King stayed. It's purported to be extrememly haunted. In 1911, housekeeper Elizabeth Wilson was nearly killed by a gas leak explosion. Since her death in the 1950s, strange, unexplained activity is said to take place in that room, including doors opening and closing, and lights switching on and off by themselves.

But the real reason we visited the Stanley Hotel:

Race you to the top!

No way! We landed on the moon!