Where Was “The Shining” Filmed?
Is the Stanley Hotel actually haunted?
During King’s stay, Screen Rant claims he allegedly claimed to have seen a young boy while walking to his room. An impossibility considering they were the only guests! But was this an actual ghost?
The best way to know is to check it out for yourself! The Stanley Hotel offers an hour-long “Spirited Night Tour” of the hotel. You can buy tickets for the tour.
The Timberline Lodge
With Stephen King’s inspiration in mind, the answer to the question, “Where was “The Shining” filmed?” must be The Stanley Hotel, right? Wrong! The movie’s director, Stanley Kubrick, had a different hotel in mind to represent the Overlook.
How the Timberline Lodge inspired Stanley Kubrick
The Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood in Oregon is a stand-out choice to shoot the exteriors of the Overlook Hotel. This picturesque 55,000 square foot hotel is perched 6,000 feet above sea-level. In 1977, President Roosevelt declared it a National Historic Landmark. While it wasn’t King’s vision for the hotel, we can see what drew Kubrick to the location.
Is the Timberline Lodge actually haunted?
While there haven’t been nearly the number of ghost sightings reported at the Timberline Lodge as at the Stanley Hotel, the lodge does work to stay connected to its horror fame!
The Lodge hosted the 4-day “Overlook Film Festival” in 2017. The location of the film festival changes every year, though, so if you’d like to attend, check the Overlook Film Festival website to see where it is this year!
Interior shots of the Overlook Hotel
While the exterior shots of the Overlook are from the Timberline Lodge in Oregon, if you visit the lodge, you’ll notice the interior doesn’t match the scenes from “The Shining.” That’s because the interior shots of the Overlook were shot inside Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England. This was not Kubrick’s first film shot in Elstree Studios.
Kubrick also shot “A Clockwork Orange” here and other titles such as “Lolita” and “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Interestingly, George Lucas chose to shoot “Star Wars” at Elstree Studios just a year later! Unfortunately, you can’t tour the Elstree Studios to get a feel for where “The Shining” was filmed, but you can book a party there.
