A few weeks ago (April, Friday the 13th!) I got to attend an event at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, an event sponsosed by TAPS Paramagazine. Got to meet some great people, Jason Hawes, Amy Bruni, Britt Griffith, Adam Berry, KJ McComick (all from Ghost Hunters), Ben Hansen (Fact or Faked), Rex Williams (Destination Truth), Anthony Guajardo (Walking Dead), Adam Blai (gave a wonderful talk on Demonoligy from a Roman Catholic perspective), Mike Brody (Comedian), and Chip Coffey. I learnt a great deal, heard lots of neat stuff and it was such an amazing experience I feel lucky I was able to go.
The hotel itself...WOW! The room I stayed in (1013 of the Manor House) was somewhat active. I could hear things constantly moving through the air around the room, various knocks and such on the walls (with no rooms on the other side of those walls), feeling someone in my space, right close to me as I try to sleep, hearing footsteps across the floor a few times, heard some whispering (again, no room on 3 sides of my room).
Friday night was a meet and greet, had a blast, wandered around the hotel (Holy static electricity! Be warned of that if you ever go! lol). After a long day of travelling, altitude difference and meeting so many people so fast, it was kind of an early night. I had attemped a nap, but due to "invisible guests" keeping me awake, it didnt happen. Once I got back to my room after a long fun filled night, I was out like a light and slept fairly well!
Saturday and Sunday daytime were filled with talks from all the people I mentioned above. LOVED IT! I think my most favorite talk was Adam Blai's (Demonology from a Roman Catholic Perspective), but really...they were all awesome!
On the Saturday night (April 14) I invited a few people back to my room to conduct an evp session. Once the session was over, everyone left and as soon as they were gone I felt instant dread. I had not felt that scared in quite a long while! I am not sure if I had picked up on some residual energy left by one of the participants that I did not like, or if "someone" angry had entered my room. When I was in the bathroom, I could hear footsteps and people moving furiously about my room, upsetting me enough that I instantly left the bathroom out of fear. I went out into the hall of the hotel, trying to figure out what to do, after a couple minutes of breathing calming and getting a hold of myself, I went back into my room. NO! Instant fear, it felt like I had the look of death on me from every direction. Back out into the hallway....OK. Breathe! After a few more minutes I cluttered my mind with noise (music, chattering, logic problems) walked back into my room, turned all the lights on, turned the TV on loud, said some prayers, played with crystals, got into bed and watched a silly movie..after about an hour and a half the badly tainted air suddently cleared and I was finally able to sleep.
On Sunday night my group did an investigation of various parts of the hotel. It was neat to see more of the hotel and visit some areas that had alot of activity. During some of the evp sessions we had, heard some disembodied voices, was touched several times, and I am excited to see what all I caught on my recorder. In hindsight, I wish I had taken one of my video cameras with me, next time for sure!
From here on out, I would like to attend at least one paranormal event a year. The people, the experience..it is so worth it. I just wish there were more happening in Canada.
If you ever have a chance to stay at the wonderfully haunted Stanley Hotel, do it! The beauty of the place is amazing, I know I will never forget it.
Now I am off to listen to more evp sessions from my stay there...
Nikki Peterson
Co-Founder/Case Manager
