“Frozen Dead Guy Days ” in haunted Stanley hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is the Weirdest Winter Festival in the U.S.

“Frozen Dead Guy Days ” in haunted Stanley hotel in Estes Park, Colorado is all set to happen from March 15-17 .

The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, has housed everyone from Theodore Roosevelt to the Titanic’s “unsinkable” Molly Brown, and most recently, author Stephen King. If the hotel’s long, narrow corridors look unsettlingly familiar, it’s because the Stanley was where Stephen King was inspired to create “The Shining” – a hotel haunting that director Stanley Kubrick made into a horror classic.

The Stanley Hotel, however, was haunted by something else: decades of financial difficulties. When hotel entrepreneur John Cullen found himself the next in a long series of purportedly cursed proprietors to invest in this eerie hotel, it was in bankruptcy.

He realized he had to take advantage of the hotel’s eerie reputation. So he patched up Stephen King’s real room, #217 (which you may now stay in), and he constructed a hedge labyrinth right outside the door, precisely like the one where Jack Nicholson’s deranged caretaker met his frozen death.

In 2022, he requested permission from the mayor of Estes Park to allow one extremely unique guest to check in – a man who had been frozen for more than 30 years. “And she goes, ‘Cullen, you know, I’ve seen a lotta weird out of you in the last 25 years, but this reaches a new level of weird,'” he said.

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Bredo Morstøl was his name. He died in Norway in 1989, but his remains were discovered approximately an hour away in Nederland, Colorado, and were unceremoniously placed to rest in a Tuff Shed, frozen hard. People like Brad Whickham have been rotating in and out of the mountain every two weeks for more than three decades, bringing more than a thousand pounds of dry ice up the mountain to keep Grandpa snuggled in for his everlasting winter’s nap.

“From what I understand, he was a very kind gentleman,” Whickham stated. “You could just tell that he was the glue of the whole family.”

It’s all a cryonics experiment. Trygve Bauge, Bredo’s grandson, lived here and believed that by keeping his grandfather frozen in the backyard, future doctors would be able to resurrect him. “At worst, it’s a form of burial, but it’s also for research,” said James Arrowhead, co-CEO and president of the non-profit Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, where hundreds of “patients” (as they’re called) are patiently waiting, frozen in liquid nitrogen… not a box filled with dry ice in a Tuff Shed.

Morstl’s grandson was compelled to return to Norway (he was actually deported for overstaying his visa), leaving Grandpa behind. But Grandpa hasn’t been completely alone and definitely not forgotten; he was commemorated with an annual “Frozen Dead Guy” festival, complete with a Frozen Dead Guy parade and events such as coffin races and polar bear swims.

Cullen points out, “It’s almost like a frozen Burning Man, if that actually can be in one sentence!”

Frozen Dead Guys Days grew so popular that Nederland couldn’t keep up with the crowds. Cullen relocated Frozen Dead Guy Days here since its macabre humor complemented the Stanley wonderfully.  He went on to say, “It’s a little humor, little fun, little beer, little bit of attitude, but all in good spirit.”

But what is a Frozen Dead Guy festival without the titular character? Cullen needed a name for the festival, and Grandpa needed an upgrade. So, with the agreement of his grandson, Grandpa Bredo was relocated by an Alcor team, driven to Stanley’s old ice house, lifted from his metal casket, placed in a sleeping bag, and then submerged head-first in liquid nitrogen.

The intriguing Frozen Dead Guy Days celebration will take place at the Estes Park Events Complex and The Stanley Hotel from March 15-17.

The festival lasts three days and features live music and activities. The Coffin Races, Frozen Games Polar Plunge, 3 Stages of Music, and Bands & Bloody Sunday brunch are among the fun-filled, icy events. The Stanley Hotel will host the renowned Frozen Dead Guy Days Blue Ball, complete with live music, dancing, DJs, and more.

Early Bird tickets for The First Snow are now available for $32 and include entry to all music performances, events, and activities. The coffin races cost $98 to enter.

More information on the festival may be found here.

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