If your business inspired one of the most terrifying literary and theatrical experiences of the 20th century, you might think twice about advertising the fact. On the contrary, The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado revels in its creepy history. The mountainside hotel was Stephen King’s inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in The Shining, and has since hosted ghost tours and even a horror film festival.
Now, the Stanley has plans to add a horror museum to its complex. According to the Los Angeles Times, the hotel is seeking funding to construct the museum, an auditorium, and even a sound stage with post-production and editing space. The museum would host traveling exhibits like that of The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard, while the film production wing would partner with the Colorado Film School in Denver. The whole thing would function as a nonprofit public-private partnership, and Elijah Wood and Simon Pegg are already members of the museum’s founding board.
In order to complete the Stanley Film Center, the hotel is asking for $11.5 million from Colorado’s tourism funds to help finance the $24 million project. If it’s completed, the 140-room hotel will cement its place on horror road trip routes with a “year-round horror destination” in the heart of the Rockies.
Watch a video montage of the hotel:
