Face Your Fears

What’s so scary about Colorado? We live in a state known for its snow-capped mountains, sunny days, fantastic winter sports, and healthy inhabitants. So why is it also such a popular setting for stories of mystery and horror?

Students on this Winterim will investigate this question by visiting the cities where four mysterious stories take place: Mark Stevens’ Antler Dust, Cynthia Swanson’s “Pieces of Everyone, Everywhere,” Carter Wilson’s “Grave Mistake,” and Stephen King’s The Shining. While in these places, students will walk in the footsteps of the characters from these stories. They will explore whether the images of the settings that the books create in the mind’s eye match reality—and see if any of the “haunted” hotels we stay in really do have ghosts. Students will also create their own writing as the group works to compile an anthology of mysterious prose to be distributed at the end of Winterim.

During the week, students will have a conversation about writing spooky stories set in Colorado with at least one published author. Other activities will include exploring caves and experiencing unique thrill rides at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, swimming in the Glenwood Hot Springs pool, investigating the haunted history of historic graveyards and parks throughout Colorado, and touring the Stanley Hotel in search of ghosts.

Day 1

Face Your Fears went all-in on our first day of Winterim, driving to Glenwood Springs so we could visit Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park and tackle the terrifying Giant Canyon Swing, which launched members of the group nearly vertical at 50 mph over a 1,300-foot cliff edge above the Colorado River! We also had fun with claustrophobia while touring the historic Fairy Caves, raced down a mountain at high speeds on the Alpine Coaster, and competed in a rousing game of laser tag (congrats on your win, Ana!) before heading over to the (definitely haunted) Hotel Colorado for a fabulous dinner. We ended the day with a trip to the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool for some much-needed relaxation after already facing so many fears on Day 1!

Day 2

We began our second day of Winterim at Linwood Cemetery in Glenwood Springs, where we visited the final resting places of famous gunslingers Doc Holliday and Kid Curry, as well as contributed to "Annie's Wishing Tree," a spot where people have for many years left mementos in honor of loved ones undergoing medical treatments or who have passed. This intersection of celebrating survival while acknowledging death and contemplating why certain people are remembered (even if they weren't the best humans) was fodder for some pretty interesting discussion. We then headed over to the Grizzly Creek rest area (where a scene from Mark Stevens' novel "Antler Dust" takes place) for a little reading and continued reflection time (or in Ana's case, for engaging in an epic sock rescue mission).

The afternoon brought a meeting with author Cynthia Swanson in Cheesman Park in Denver. Did you know that Cheesman used to be a cemetery with quite a scandalous past? Ms. Swanson discussed using it as the setting for multiple stories she has written (including her most recent novel, "Anyone But Her," winner of the 2025 Colorado Book Award in the thriller category), and she even gave us a preview of her newest book of short stories, coming out in May!

Finally, we arrived in Boulder, where we dined on sushi at Hapa (and where several of us worked on conquering our consecotaleophobia--fear of chopsticks) and were treated to a quirky tour of haunted Boulder locations (including, of course, our hotel, the beautiful Hotel Boulderado) led by a fellow who told us ghost stories while dressed as Luigi from Super Mario Brothers. (It was Mario day: Mar10!) Our brains are bursting with new knowledge, our legs are worn out from walking, and we're looking forward to having a lowkey day on Wednesday!

Day 3

So, it turns out that stories of the Hotel Boulderado being haunted are not just stories according to several members of our Winterim, who regaled the rest of the group with accounts of ghostly visitors to their rooms over breakfast at Lucille's in Boulder, practicing their oral storytelling skills while giving everyone further potential material for the short stories they are all writing this week. We then visited the grave of Theodore Glava, a coal miner originally from Transylvania buried in the Lafayette Cemetery in 1918, who earned the reputation of being a vampire after stories started circulating about odd happenings at his gravesite. After a read-aloud of the Glava-inspired short story "Grave Mistake" by Joshua Viola and Carter Wilson, we checked out the grave (and, in some cases, left some small honoraria behind). Upon returning to Dawson, students had some time to work on their stories before we began watching the miniseries version of "The Shining" (actually filmed at the Stanley Hotel, unlike the famous Stanley Kubrick directed version, with a teleplay by Stephen King) in preparation for staying there on Thursday night. It's on to Estes Park tomorrow!

Day 4

"Write one opening sentence for a scary story. Don’t explain everything. Just include one small, weird, or unsettling detail that makes the reader want to keep going." This was the challenge that best-selling author Carter Wilson, five-time winner of the Colorado Book Award for Thrillers, presented to Face Your Fears members on Thursday morning. He then met with us at Dawson for over an hour, providing feedback on the fantastic opening sentences that we had come up with, along with advice and encouragement about writing, especially when it comes to thrillers.

After meeting with Carter and finishing our viewing of "The Shining" miniseries, we were ready to head to Estes Park. Our first stop was Lily Lake, a beautiful spot just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park where students were tasked with noting anything just a little unsettling or unusual that could be the inspiration for a story as we walked around the lake.

Of course, this was all leading up to the main event of the day: checking into the Stanley Hotel and then taking the Stanley Ghost Tour. We learned about the history of the Stanley, explored its music hall in creepy darkness, and ventured into the even more spooky basement tunnels, all while hearing tales (and seeing actual pictures) of its famous ghosts (one of whom we're pretty darn sure Heli got a picture of--crazy stuff)! Before heading to bed, we paid an obligatory visit to Room 217, where Stephen King was famously staying when he came up with the idea for "The Shining" and which is considered a particularly active spot for paranormal activity at the Stanley. We'll see how much sleep anyone gets tonight!

Day 5

The last day of facing our fears was really something! The wind in Estes Park was wild, but we kicked off the morning with a tasty breakfast at Meadow Home Cafe, which was super nice. After eating, we headed back to the Stanley to check out the gift shop and got to explore the hedge maze—so much fun!

When we finished exploring, we made our way back to school for lunch (stopping at the Colorado Cherry Company in Lyons for some tasty treats, like the adorable bear lollipop that Anais beheaded). It was a great chance to chat about all the cool stuff we did. Then we wrapped things up by working on our stories from the trip, getting some final advice from author Fleur Bradley (author of multiple stories inspired by the ghosts of the Stanley Hotel), with whom we Zoomed. It felt great to end everything on an eerie but relaxed note.

~ written by Gabby Brumm

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