Filed in archive Winter Adventures by Terah Shelton on October 31, 2007

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought I would share with you an article about haunted ski resorts. Yes, haunted ski resorts. Who would have thought ski resorts could be haunted? It turns out there's quite a few of them, especially in New England. So the next time you're skiing at one of these resorts, remember that something spooky could be lurking in the next slope. Enjoy and Happy Halloween.

The grand Mount Washington Hotel, which anchors the Bretton Woods ski area in New Hampshire, has reputedly had a ghost for years. The wife of the man who built the hotel, Carolyn Stickney, is said to haunt the tower suites; she reportedly writes on the walls and turns lights on and off at random times. In the past, these visitations were reported only in the summer months, but now that the hotel is open year-round, winter guests also report encounters with "the princess," as she came to be called when she married Aymon de Faucigny-Lucinge, a French prince, after her husband died.

In Stowe, guests at the Brass Lantern Inn have reported ghosts having impromptu parties, and the Green Mountain Inn claims a ghostly tap dancer on the third floor who dances during winter storms. The equinox Hotel in Manchester, near Stratton Resort, where Mary Todd Lincoln used to stay with her children, is rumored to be her favorite place even in the afterlife. And near Mount Snow, in Wilmington, the White House Inn claims the ghost of Claire Brown, the wife of the lumber baron who built the mansion.

On the hulking shoulders of Mount Hood, at Timberline Resort, stands the majestic Timberline Lodge. This wooden hotel, built by hand during the Great Depression by the Federal Works Progress Administration, is one of the most beautiful timber structures of its time. Its unusual rustic architecture made it the perfect setting for the outdoor shots of the hotel featured in the Jack Nicholson movie "The Shining." After seeing that movie, more than one guest has declared that there are ax-wielding ghosts loose in the halls and hiding in the bushes.

The hotel that inspired that Stephen King novel is the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park next to the Rocky Mountain National Park. The hotel takes "The Shining" connection to heart, prominently featuring the scary room and holding a "Shining Ball" during Halloween season. The nearby woods are home to a small pet cemetery that inspired another Stephen King novel, "Pet Cemetery." The national park has excellent cross-country trails along the Colorado River.