A Bump in the Night

Written by:  Scotty 

This would be my second time staying on the fourth floor at the Stanley Hotel, and as always, it did not disappoint.  You have all heard stories about the different things that happen on this floor, well I have had a couple happen to me once again.  You hear about people, kids running down the main hallway when it is time to turn in for the night.  Between 10pm and 12am, you will hear this at least once.  Now it was a little difficult to hear it at first, my neighbor had their TV turned up to full blast, but when it happened the second time at eleven, I was more than happy.  It started off with what sounded like a door closing, then a few quick steps than a full sprint, that ended at my door.  Now everyone will ask, how do you know this was not a person messing with you.  Well, when walking down the hallways in this iconic hotel, the floors have creaks when people with actual weight walk down the hallways.  This did not happen when hearing the footsteps flying down the hallway.

The second strange occurrence happened during my 2am stroll down the hallway.  Being awakened by heavy footsteps in the hallway, I opened up my door and checked the hallway, but there was no one there.  I do not know if this was something out the ordinary, or just a patron returning to their room after a great night at the bar.  I will dismiss this one, but as I continued down the hallway, I heard something that sounded like muffled laughing coming out of room 403. Now according to the front desk, this room was unoccupied this night, so what could have been making this eerie sound?  I sat outside of the room for a few minutes, just trying to put my finger on what it could have been, but some things could just be better left unanswered.  What is a muffled laugh you may ask, I would equate it as laughing very hard into a pillow; that would be my best description.

I did not hear anything to crazy coming out of the other rooms, except snoring and the common tossing and turning that staying in a hotel brings on all travelers.  

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The hallway in question.

Who was laughing in 403?

When walking by the stairwells, you do get a strange feeling that someone is watching you.  Just be warned, you will never be able to catch what or who it may be, so just be happy with the experience. 

My final experience came from the tiny elevator.  Now, I will admit, I have never been a huge fan of elevators in hotels that are under ten stories high, I mean, why not walk?  But this elevator seems to have something fun going on in the middle of the night.  It was on the fourth floor all night long, but appeared to keep trying to go up.  I don’t know what to think about it, it could be an electrical issue, but it does not seem to be a problem during the day.  There was no one inside of the elevator, but there were some strange sounds coming out of it.  I tried to get some pics, but I only snagged one good one before my battery went dead and I heard a smash.  Knowing that I may have exceeded my investigation, I happily tipped my hat to the floor and went back to bed.  

Was someone or something watching Scotty?

The last image of the night.

Now my room, 432 had nothing out of the ordinary going on.  There is nothing reported in this room except for hearing the strange on goings in the hallway.  Even with the window sitting open all night, nothing moved on its own or with the help of the wind. This made it extremely easy to sleep, for some people this is very important.

If you are looking for just a fantastic place to stay, I will say the Stanley Hotel should be the top of your list.  You are never guaranteed to see or hear anything supernatural, but if you do, you will be far from disappointed.  The hotel is just fantastic, along with the views of Estes Park, there is not a bad room to be had on the property.

Hope you enjoyed my accounts of what happened on my night on the fourth floor, you may believe them or you may not.  That is just fine by me.  The only way to come to your own conclusions about this hotel would be just stay the night, or three.  My take on the hotel is that there definitely is something going on at night, just saying.  This has been a great experience and just a fantastic vacation!  I should not wait another ten years to do this, and I would highly recommend the stay for anyone looking to just get away and relax.  Hope to see you all next year, when I do it again.  Happy hunting.