A Houston man visiting the famous Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado recently captured a ghostly looking image when he took a panoramic photo of the hotel's lobby.
Henry Yau says he doesn't remember anyone standing in the grand stairwell when he took the photo using his smartphone. The next morning, he noticed the figure seemingly standing at the top of the stairwell.
“I don't like when people are in my shots, so when I took this photo, I had waited until the grand stairwell was cleared of people before taking the pic,” Yau, a public relations director, told Fox News.
Portland's Oregonian argues that the figure appears to be wearing "period clothing" reminiscent of the 1900s, when the hotel opened.
Skeptics, like one writer at Esquire, noted that panoramic photos taken with smartphones often contain distortions and blur that could account for the so-called ghost.
The Stanley Hotel famously inspired Stephen King to write The Shining after he and his wife stayed there and were the only guests.
Rumors that the hotel was haunted has prompted a visit from the show Ghost Hunters, where they explored paranormal instances where people were seen hiding in hallways and ghostly children were heard playing.
According to the Stanley Hotel’s website, the ghosts of founders F.O. and Flora Stanley still try to run the business as if they are still alive.
“Flora’s antique Steinway can be heard playing in the dead of night, and Mr. Stanley has been captured in photographs surveying the goings-on in the billiards room, once his favorite place,” the Stanley’s website reads.
