Estes Park, Colorado’s Stanley Hotel has long embraced its connection with Stephen King’s novel, and later Stanley Kubrick’s film, The Shining. Now the Stanley is set to fully commit by ceasing operation as a hotel altogether.
Instead, the Denver Business Journal reports, the Stanley will become “the site of a new $24 million, 43,000-square-foot horror film center”—provided the proposed “Stanley Film Center” can raise the funding, of course. Given The Shining’s iconic status and the murderer’s row, no pun intended, of founding board members (George Romero, Simon Pegg, and Elijah Wood have all signed on), that shouldn’t be a problem. And if all else fails, there’s always Kickstarter.
The film center wouldn’t just be a museum dedicated to horror film, though it would be the world’s first. It will also be a location, rather than just an inspiration, for horror film production, with plans for a soundstage, classrooms, and post-production facilities in addition to exhibition space. Rolling Stone notes that the film center proposal is well in line with the Stanley’s annual tradition of hosting a horror film festival—even though Kubrick’s aesthetic was actually inspired by Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel. Don’t tell the potential donors!