Stanley Hotel that inspired ‘The Shining’ plans to dig up pet cemetery
05:31 Sep 29 2013
Times Read: 694
The hotel that inspired Stephen King's novel The Shining is preparing to dig up a pet cemetery on the property, prompting complaints about noise and — more terrifying — warnings about disturbing spirits from believers of paranormal activity.
The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo., markets its haunted history, describing lights flickering mysteriously, ghostly sightings and the voices of children who once stayed there echoing in the hallways, though its website says there are only "happy ghosts" at the Stanley.
Its fictional portrayal as the Overlook Hotel in The Shining suggests the hotel has a sinister influence on the winter caretaker, driving him to murderous insanity.
Now the hotel is digging up graves in its pet cemetery and moving them to build a pavilion for weddings and corporate events, according to the Coloradoan.
Can a rousing game of fetch calm the evil spirit of a dead dog?
In fact, neighbours seem to be more concerned about losing a historic site and dealing with noisy construction than seeing ghostly apparitions of pet cats and iguanas. But the Coloradoan interviewed a local psychic, Rosemary McArthur, who said moving the dead pets could anger the spirits of their former owners if they're dead too.
Conveniently, McArthur told the Coloradoan the builders should bring in a psychic to prevent any paranormal disruptions.
This month, King released a sequel to The Shining, entitled Doctor Sleep, which follows up on the life of Danny Torrance, the little boy with a supernatural power from the first novel.
'Naked and scared': Haunted house welcomes nude thrill seekers
19:58 Sep 25 2013
Times Read: 705
'Naked and scared': Haunted house welcomes nude thrill seekers
A new attraction at Pennsylvania's "Shocktoberfest" invites thrill-seekers to enter a haunted house while naked.
A new attraction at Pennsylvania's "Shocktoberfest" invites thrill-seekers to enter a haunted house while naked.
A new attraction at a Pennsylvania "scream" park aims to scare the pants off thrill-seekers before they even enter it.
Shocktoberfest, a “haunted scream park” in Sinking Spring, Pa., has added an attraction called the “Naked and Scared Challenge.’’ For $20 per person, participants can experience the haunted house while being completely naked.
“It’s the first time it’s ever been done anywhere in the world,’’ Shocktoberfest president and owner Patrick Konopelski told TODAY.com. “The whole idea is to create this vulnerability and get their defenses down. It can be hard to scare groups, and you usually have to get louder, more chaotic, and more tense, but now if they’re not wearing clothing, it can be more intimate. You can scare with a whisper rather than a scream because people will only huddle so close to one another.”
Konopelski, who has run Shocktoberfest for 22 years, got the idea when he saw his four teenagers watching the Discovery Channel show “Naked and Afraid,” which puts one man and one woman together to survive for 21 days with no food, no water, and no clothes.
“The people on the show were genuinely scared, and I thought, ‘I have to do something to try to emulate that,’’’ Konopelski said. “Of course, I ran it by my wife and she hated the idea, but I kept going with it as most husbands do.”
Would Willie, Natalie, Al and Mel B walk through a haunted house together naked? Watch them weigh in during TODAY's Take:
The attraction will be open every night except Sundays from Sept. 27 to Nov. 3. Participants will remove their clothes in a designated area after showing identification, because minors are not allowed, and can retrieve their attire at the end of the attraction — which takes about 25 minutes to travel through.
Since the unique haunted house was announced, Konopelski said he has heard some complaints decrying the idea.
“It’s usually people for whom it doesn’t work within their moral guidelines, or people that don’t fully understand it,’’ he said, of the detractors. “In their mind, they have created what it might be, but it’s nothing more than consenting adults choosing to experience a haunted house without clothes on. It has nothing to do with sex, and nothing to do with inappropriate behavior. It’s about trying to scare people on a different level.”
After signing a waiver, participants will be taken inside in the specific groups they have come to the attraction with, and will not be mixed together with other groups.
“Usually it’s a conga line, where you are constantly taking group after group into the haunted house, but you can’t do that in this setting,’’ he said.
While the lighting is dimmer than an average house, it will still be bright enough that everyone in each group will see each other going the full monty.
“We use low-voltage lighting and your eyes do adjust to it,’’ Konopelski said. “The lights flicker, and we utilize things like strobe lights, but if you go with six people, you’re going to be a little closer to those six people than before you went in.”
In the age of ubiquitous camera phones, the attraction also has to guard against the potential that nude photos or video could be taken, though Konopelski doesn't anticipate that will be a problem.
“We’ve been doing Shocktoberfest for over 20 years, and the safety of all of our customers and our actors has always been a primary concern,’’ Konopelski said. “We have security throughout the haunt. If (customers) are going through naked (with cell phones), it’s going to be pretty easy to catch. We’re not doing body cavity searches or anything, but we don’t expect that going on. People have to sign a waiver agreeing to the rules, but there’s always the chance of someone doing something like that. We feel like we have everything controlled enough through security.”
My, my, my.....01:35 Sep 06 2013
Times Read: 741
Lookie what I found.......
Establishment Type:
Casual Lounge
Position:
All FOH/BOH Positions
Number of Positions:
Over 7
Shifts Available:
Varied
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Position Information
The Emerald, Vancouver’s only Rat-Pack era Vegas Supper Club is opening soon and is on the search for talented, passionate, professional, and FUN staff for both the front and back of house. We will open our doors to the pubilc later this month and join our family of kick-ass establishments, The Narrow Lounge, The Rumpus Room, and the upcoming Fox Cabaret.
Located in the heart of Chinatown, The Emerald is operating as a large scale lounge, with an old-school Vegas inspired Dinner menu (including weekend buffets), a full Cocktail program, and a decor like no other in Vancouver… seriously… there’s no where like it.
If what you just heard, makes you curious to say the least, and you are a hard-working industry pro who still knows how to laugh at yourself, then come down to our hiring fair. Interviews will be taking place... THIS WEEK! We are looking to fill all FOH and BOH positions.
Front of House: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 2-5pm
Back of House Thursday and Friday 2-5pm.
Interviews are on a first come first serve basis.
Where? AT the Emerald… 555 Gore.
Don’t email us… just show up. :)
And yes.......I did just exactly that....
COMMENTS
-
xXxPaynexXx
05:53 Sep 29 2013
And you know me...Love it.
I say we pack a bag and head for the fun?
Isis101
00:39 Dec 23 2013
The hotel AND the pet cemetery in one place? CREEPY...