The Stanley Hotel, serving as the inspiration for Stephen King’s “The Shining” on its perch above Estes Park, will soon be accompanied by an over 10,000-square-foot exhibit dedicated to horror curated by horror film production company Blumhouse.

Gov. Jared Polis and the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media announced Friday that Blumhouse, often regarded as “the driving force in horror,” will curate the exhibit space in the Stanley Film Center — which has been in the works for over eight years, according to a news release.

The film center, which was approved by the Colorado Economic Development Commission (EDC) in 2015 as a Regional Tourism Act project, will have exhibits, events and an archive dedicated to horror film history and culture.

The center overall will serve as a multi-genre film and music venue with a theme focused on horror films. The exhibit space in particular is the next step in the film center project.

The gateway to the center on the south side opened in July of 2021 with The Post restaurant, by Big Red F Restaurant Group, and a theater, both of which have been “very successful,” CEO of developer Grand Heritage Hotel Group John Cullen said in late 2021.

Grand Heritage owns the Stanley Hotel.

Blumhouse, a multimedia company known for producing horror films, has produced over 200 movies and TV series, including film franchises “Halloween,” “Paranormal Activity” and “The Purge,” and films including “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” “Get Out” and “M3GAN.” 

Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum said the company is excited to get to work on the project.

“The Stanley Hotel is hallowed ground for horror fans and that makes this presence at the Stanley Film Center a natural extension for Blumhouse,” Blum said in the news release. “Fans are going to get closer than ever before to their favorite films, though they may want to keep their distance with a few of the ‘items’ in our collection.”

In the eight years the project has been in the works, project costs have ballooned from $26 million to over $70 million, according to the most recent news release. 

Grand Heritage has faced some hurdles in development, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Cullen, but the project is still underway.

Colorado’s Regional Tourism Act approved $46 million worth of sales tax rebate incentives to launch the project back in 2015. The agreement lasts for 30 years after the center is open.

Polis looks forward to seeing the exhibit and is “happy” his administration is helping get it built, he said. 

“Here’s Blumhouse!” Polis wrote in the news release, playing on the iconic Jack Nicholson line “Here’s Johnny” from “The Shining.” “This iconic Colorado hotel will now have a new element of fun and fright for Coloradans and visitors across the world to enjoy, driving tourism and strengthening our economy.”

Jeff Kraft, the deputy director of Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), said the partnership with Blumhouse has the potential to bring new out-of-state visitors to Colorado. 

Colorado Film Commissioner Donald Zuckerman said the project will make Colorado “the premier destination” for horror fans and draw new visitors to Estes Park. 

The news release gave no information about when the exhibit is expected to be completed.