Many people know The Shining was inspired by the Stanley Hotel. What almost no one talks about is how it saved it. Not metaphorically. Materially. In the early 1970s, the Stanley was on the brink of being lost. One snowstorm, one night in an empty hotel, and one terrifyingly vivid idea later—and a single story set off a chain reaction that reshaped preservation policy, tourism, and the future of this entire place. This is why I keep saying stories matter. Not because they “inspire us,” but becau