Bear Busts Into Hotel That Inspired 'The Shining'

A black bear wandered around the lobby of the Colorado hotel that inspired Stephen King to write "The Shining," the AP reports. Stanley Hotel Vice President Reed Rowley tells KDVR-TV that 300 guests were sound asleep as the bruin figured out how to open the door and climbed over furniture. A front desk supervisor captured video of the romp. There was no damage, but the furniture got rearranged before the bear walked out of the lower level door. The hotel in Estes Park opened in 1909. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. King wrote "The Shining" after he and his wife stayed at The Stanley in 1974. The 1980 horror film was not shot there. (More The Shining stories.)