Article Archives: Bumps in the Night

The Stanley: Stephen King’s Shining Hotel, Part 2

July 13, 2023 | by Al Hunter

Last week I shared a bucket-list adventure with my wife when we traveled to Estes Park, Colorado to spend the night at The Stanley Hotel, inspiration for Stephen King’s Overlook Hotel in his classic horror novel The Shining. We both give The Stanley a thumbs up. But the trip got … Read More

The Stanley: Stephen King’s Shining Hotel, Part 1

June 29, 2023 | by Al Hunter

This article is being written in the Stanley Hotel high up in the Rocky Mountains of Estes Park, Colorado. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, you might be more familiar with its literary nom de guerre: The Overlook Hotel from Stephen King’s 1977 horror novel The Shining. Should you … Read More

Artist John Zwara at Central State

June 22, 2023 | by Al Hunter

This column first appeared in September 2010. In a 1927 interview, acclaimed Austrian born water color artist John Zwara said: “We are indebted to nature for everything we have and we should love and enjoy her beauty. People have eyes and see not. They hurry by the most wonderful pictures, … Read More

Mary Lincoln — Opium Addict?, Part 2

June 15, 2023 | by Al Hunter

This column first appeared in May 2011. In last week’s article, I described how author Harry E. Pratt’s research incorrectly pegged our 16th President as a cocaine user shortly before he was elected in 1860. However, Pratt cannot be blamed entirely because other historians found evidence that the Lincoln family … Read More

Abraham Lincoln – Cocaine Addict?, Part 1

June 8, 2023 | by Al Hunter

This column first appeared in May 2011. In the fall of 1860, just one month before becoming president, Abraham Lincoln walked into the Corneau & Diller drug store in Springfield, Illinois and purchased cocaine. The statement is a fact that cannot be denied but asking a Lincoln buff for clarification … Read More