Haunted Hotel / Panoramic Views of the Rocky Mountains – Mysterious Piano Sounds in an Empty Music Room

Reporter You... / Special Report

Ghost Month is here！Are you ready for a month of spine-chilling and mind-bending experiences? ETtoday EBC News has compiled a list of three of America’s most “haunted hotels.” If you’re visiting the United States and have the courage to take on the challenge, consider staying at one of these still-operating haunted hotels for a truly rare “ghostly encounter.”
The Stanley Hotel in Colorado, USA, is a renowned scenic hotel offering breathtaking panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains. Once the filming location for the movie "The Shining," this hotel has been labeled as a haunted hotspot due to ghostly legends. It’s said that the hotel’s most famous phenomenon is the unexplained playing of strange piano music in an empty music room.

Opened in 1909, The Stanley Hotel boasts stunning panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains. At the time, Stanley came to the area for health reasons, but was so captivated by the unique and magnificent scenery that he and his wife decided to relocate and build a hotel here.

▲ This scenic haunted hotel is rife with eerie rumors. (Photo / from www.stanleyhotel.com)

Back then, The Stanley Hotel was beloved by many and also caught the attention of famed American author Stephen King, who later wrote "The Shining." While writing, King stayed in Room 217, and after completing the novel, he chose to return to the hotel to film scenes in the very same Room 217. Released in 1980, the movie featured terrifying scenes such as blood flooding from the room and an axe decapitating a woman near the door—creating quite a stir at the time. Ever since, The Stanley Hotel has been widely known as a “haunted” site.

As an antique hotel that has been open for over a century, aside from gaining notoriety as a “haunted hotel” due to its appearance in the famous film, it is also frequently reported to have unexplained sounds of children playing, as well as piano music allegedly played by the long-deceased hotel owners, Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, coming from the vacant music room. Rumors abound about The Stanley Hotel, which even attracted a well-known American “ghost hunter” TV show to investigate the supernatural tales surrounding this historic property.

Many guests who have stayed here briefly advise avoiding Rooms 217, 408, and 418 to prevent encountering unpredictable and unexplainable phenomena. To this day, these unresolved mysteries continue to draw large crowds of visitors. Though the hotel has set entrance fees for non-guests, it hasn’t stopped thrill-seekers from coming to “encounter ghosts.”