Colorado's Estes Valley was once a wild, lonely parkland known only to the nomadic tribes of Ute and Arapaho. When the Earl of Dunraven visited in 1872, he coveted this a "sportsman's paradise" of rushing streams and peaceful meadows teeming with fish and game. He sought to keep the valley to himself as a private hunting preserve, but as more and more American settlers were drawn by its natural beauty, he realized that his dream could never be a reality.

Yankee inventor Freelan Oscar Stanley arrived in the valley, weak and underweight from the symptoms of consumption. To his amazement, just one season was enough to restore his health to better than before.

Overjoyed, he vowed to return each summer for the rest of his life. But he and his wife Flora were used to the sophistication of East Coast society, and the little community of Estes Park offered little to stimulate and challenge this multi-talented genius. Together, they resolved to build a beautiful grand hotel, one that many years later would play host to a young Stephen King, inspiring one of his most famous and chilling tales.