This past weekend, Peacock and Blumhouse joined forces for a Halloween horror takeover at The Lodge at the iconic Stanley Hotel. The two-night special “Overnightmare” event lets guests choose their fear experience, with this Bloody Disgusting correspondent going all in on the max-level “Insidious” experience and living to tell about it.
Located in Estes Park, Colorado, the Stanley Hotel is the inspiration behind Stephen King’s classic horror novel The Shining, and the sold-out inaugural Overnightmare event delivered a unique, immersive, horror-filled experience that took full advantage of the iconic horror setting. The event began well before arrival: choosing your horror adventure.
Attendees had to sign waivers for participation, choose from a list of activities, and, more importantly, choose which fear experience to endure, each one themed to one of four Blumhouse films—Insidious, The Purge, Freaky, and Happy Death Day. Insidious promises the most intense scares for those seeking maximum thrills, like yours truly, while Happy Death Day lets the easily intimidated in on the Halloween fun as the least scary option. It was a no brainer, at least for this horror fan, to opt for the most thrills and chills this Halloween season.
Upon arrival, guests were greeted by the “conci-scare-ge,” Avery. Or rather, one of several. Multiple Averys wandered the Lodge foyer, eager to help the guests and answer whatever questions they may have. One very kind yet creepy Avery showed me to my room on the second floor, across the hall from the closed-off third floor that had been converted for multiple themed experiences. As for my room itself, it was decorated right out of Insidious, with a metronome on the dresser and an active baby monitor on the nightstand. Child drawings of the Lipstick Demon adorned the walls. Books on demonology and astral projection accompanied my itinerary and instructions for the stay.
PEACOCK EVENTS — “OVERNIGHTMARE” — Pictured: Atmospheric at the Stanley Hotel on October 15, 2024 — (Photo by: Thomas Cooper/Peacock)
A welcome dinner at the Lodge’s Brunch & Co, complete with a themed Overnightmare menu, gave scenic views of the area and the spooky ambiance while an Avery gave a rousing performance that not only set the stage for the immersive interactions that would come but set expectations on how the event would go. The biggest and most important rule was simple: pay attention to your schedule and be in your room fifteen minutes before your scheduled fear experience to hang the designated “Please Do Disturb” sign on the door. This sign signaled you were ready and available to be “dragged” from your room…to your potential doom.
On the first night, every guest would undergo the Freaky experience. At my designated time, post-dinner, a teen knocked on my room door, looking for Freaky’s MIA heroine, Millie Kessler (played by Kathryn Newton in the film). She asked me to accompany her to the raging party where Millie’s suspected to be, but also because this is a horror movie and there’s safety in numbers. We were met by another friend, who used the film’s trademark dance to verify our identities before heading into the party proper. Let’s just say that the body-swapping climax of Freaky played out amidst an impressive neon and blacklight party setting that required guests to recall those dance steps at least twice more before it was safe to head back downstairs to resume the festivities.
PEACOCK EVENTS — “OVERNIGHTMARE” — Pictured: Atmospheric at the Stanley Hotel on October 15, 2024 — (Photo by: Thomas Cooper/Peacock)
The final event of the evening was a screening of Blumhouse’s Speak No Evil in the Concert Hall, a place with no shortage of ghost stories of its own.
Day two began with brunch at Brunch & Co, where you could choose among a plethora of tasty options like the “Mrs. Grady,” a sweet and savory take on chicken and waffles, or the “Room 217,” a custard soaked biscuit covered in honey marscapone, raspberry jam, lemon curd, and a “redrum” gastrique. It was every bit as delicious as it sounds.
The second, fuller day is where the selected activities come into play. I chose the Shining Tour, where a tour guide took our group to various places in the Stanley while telling its history with Stephen King. Suffice it to say that King’s stay at the Stanley Hotel in the ’70s, the fated trip that inspired his novel, didn’t just change the course of his life but the historic hotel’s too. King’s presence is felt everywhere, from the darker color that he deemed necessary for filming the 1997 Shining miniseries right down to the detailed Caretaker’s Cottage that was restored in 2022 and recreates the iconic bathroom in Kubrick’s adaptation. Our guide covered everything from the hotel’s history to King’s part in it and even the history of ghosts that linger in the Stanley’s hallowed halls.
PEACOCK EVENTS — “OVERNIGHTMARE” — Pictured: Atmospheric at the Stanley Hotel on October 15, 2024 — (Photo by: Thomas Cooper/Peacock)
The second activity selected took me to the Vault on the bottom floor of the Stanley. This experience gives guests a private, curated tasting from the rare collection of The Stanley’s other spirits (pun intended) that also explores a little whiskey history, classifications, and the best way to enjoy it. Our wonderful guide and his pup Ollie pulled out some of the rarer spirits in the Vault, including the Shining collaboration with Jack Daniels and a preserved bottle of Hannisville Pure Rye Whiskey that was bottled in 1927.
Dinner on night two took place at the Cascades Restaurant, with another Overnightmare-themed menu that included tasty options like Whiskey Peach Glazed Duck or a Rocky Mountain Grilled Flight that let guests try elk, venison, and bison. As for downtime between events and activities, Peacock’s “Teacup“ hospitality suite lets guests get cozy along the fire with snacks and beverages- hydration is crucial at high altitudes. The Blumhouse bar next door to the suite lets guests sample the new Blumhouse game, Fear the Spotlight, and peruse screen-used props from Blumhouse horror films while partaking in themed cocktails. And if that’s still not enough, Peacock’s expansive Halloween horror library was available in each guest’s room.
PEACOCK EVENTS — “OVERNIGHTMARE” — Pictured: Atmospheric at the Stanley Hotel on October 16, 2024 — (Photo by: Thomas Cooper/Peacock)
Guests could also watch the first two episodes of “Teacup“ in the Concert Hall, the perfect wait for my fear experience finale: Insidious. Shortly after midnight, back in my room, the baby monitor erupted in eerie sounds of screaming, harsh whispers, and a baby crying. It stayed active right until an Avery came to collect me; I was told I’d been summoned to room 1310 upstairs.
Avery walked me to the end of a long, dark corridor with only a few red lights lighting the way. This Avery gave explicit instructions to walk the long hallway and knock precisely three times on the door. It slowly, eerily creaked open once I did, where I was greeted by scare actors resembling Elise and Tucker, who were gathered around a small table with Elise’s gas mask and recorder in the darkly lit room. I was instructed to say aloud everything that Tucker was writing down on his notepad as Elise searched the Further for signs of the missing boy who’d ventured too far there. With the room getting intense and activity picking up, Elise sent me into the Further- an extremely foggy room next door cast in a deep red glow. The only thing I could see was a baby crib, and behind it was where the Lipstick Demon emerged, creeping closer and closer until Elise pulled me back. Her camera began to flicker, creating a strobe effect that left the room pitch-black. The perfect setup for both the Lipstick Demon and a Further ghost to land their effective jump scare moment.
Elise yanked open the door and ordered me to run. Just outside was Avery, waiting to see me back to my room. It was here where she confessed that no one had been in the room at all; she found my summons on a hand-written note. To add to the ambiance, the metronome on my room’s dressed went off, as if to greet me when I returned.
PEACOCK EVENTS — “OVERNIGHTMARE” — Pictured: Atmospheric at the Stanley Hotel on October 15, 2024 — (Photo by: Thomas Cooper/Peacock)
It was the showstopper finale of an impressive, fulfilling Halloween event. Peacock and Blumhouse pulled out all the stops with an impressively produced immersive experience that lets guests tailor the fun to their own interests and comfort levels. The scenic Stanley Hotel and its grounds provide a rich backdrop of horror before the event even begins, and Overnightmare incorporates that history at every step. The food is fantastic, and the production value for each immersive experience is incredible; it really feels like you’re stepping into a Blumhouse movie.
But it might be the scare actors and the Avery conci-scare-ges that steal the show. The more you pay attention to them, the more you notice backstories and hierarchies emerge that further immerse you in this cozy little horror space. You also notice how they’re always observing, waiting for the right moment when guests are at their most vulnerable to deliver a jolt of fright.
Overnightmare makes great use of a historic location intertwined with horror history, a perfect backdrop to induce contemporary Blumhouse and Peacock inspired frights. If they transform this into an annual event, and hopefully they do, it has the making to quickly become a requisite Halloween destination event.
