‘Ghost’ Caught On Camera At Hotel That Inspired The Shining

A creepy photograph taken at the hotel that helped inspire The Shining captures what appears to be two little girl ghosts.

John Mausling and his wife, Jessica Martinez-Mausling, were visiting the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, which inspired Stephen King to write his best-selling horror novel.

While on a so-called Spirit Tour of the location, John snapped a photograph of their 11-strong tour group loitering on the staircase, thinking nothing of it. It was only when the couple got home and looked through their photoreel, they noticed they’d captured something quite peculiar, Jessica told UNILAD.

Jessica told UNILAD:

During the time of taking the picture we didn’t see any little girl, especially one dressed the way this one was. It wasn’t until we got home that I spotted something on the stairs.

I did verify with the entire group that was with us that night and nobody saw her. One thing that keeps being left out in all the stories on the internet is that I also called the Stanley to check with tour guide as well, she also did not see her.

The only kids that were on the tour were my friend’s two sons and they were both 12 and 14. The spirit tour does not allow kids under 10 years old after 7:30pm on the tour.

Jessica explained how she and her partner, who goes by Jay, tried to be logical about interpreting the photograph, but added the evidence spoke for itself.

She concluded:

I guess you can say that the way both John (Jay) and I felt at the time of seeing her on the picture was that at first we were trying to be logical, then after some time we agreed that she must have been a ghost.

We are happy to share our picture and our story. It’s interesting to see all the different opinions from everyone all over.

After staying in the hotel in 1974, King called it ‘the perfect ― maybe the archetypal ― setting for a ghost story’.

King recalled his stay on his official website stating that he and his wife, author Tabitha King, were the only guests when the hotel was about to close for the winter.

The novelist wrote:

That night I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming.

He was being chased by a fire-hose. I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed.

I got up, lit a cigarette, sat in the chair looking out the window at the Rockies, and by the time the cigarette was done, I had the bones of the book firmly set in my mind.

That dream became King’s third book, 1977’s The Shining, which was set at the haunted Overlook Hotel. In 2014, the book was named King’s third-best novel of all time in a Rolling Stone poll.

For nostalgia’s sake, you can watch Jack’s descent into movie madness history below:

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Now the hotel runs guided spirit tours, which, according to their website ‘takes you to a few darkened spaces and introduces you to the active phenomena and spirit folklore surrounding the 100+ year old hotel’.

It continues:

The experience will educate you on how to interact with the type of activity many people claim to encounter, but does not intend to prank or scare. Due to the fact that spirits are not on payroll, we do not guarantee any interactions. Photography or other personal gear is encouraged.

Ben Hansen, former FBI agent and host of Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files analysed this latest photograph for The Huffington Post, and uncovered no obvious signs of trickery.

Whether you’re curious about the afterlife or cynical regarding the existence of ghosts, you’ve got to admit those figures do bear a creepy resemblance to the little girl ghosts that scared us on the silver screen.