Fright Night: Peek Inside Peacock’s ‘Overnightmare’ Experience—If You Dare

Guests were chased by a serial killer with a chain saw, as a nod to Freaky.Photo: Tom Cooper/Peacock

ESTES PARK, COLO.—This spooky season, Peacock, in partnership with Blumhouse, transformed The Lodge at the iconic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo., into a truly terrifying haunted house of sorts called the “Overnightmare” experience. 

From Oct. 18-20, guests who booked one of the scary stays were immersed in an atmosphere inspired by the worlds of Blumhouse-produced horror movies including Insidious, The Purge, Freaky, and Happy Death Day.

Citing Peacock’s vast library of horror content, Jodi Arden, vice president of events, talent, and influencer engagement at Peacock, said, “We are always looking for inventive ways for consumers to experience Halloween.”  For this immersive experience, she said “it was important to us that we treat our consumers—in this case, horror fans—to a first-of-its-kind Halloween experience. To meet horror fans where they are and where they want to be, it was only natural we chose one of America’s spookiest destinations: The Stanley Hotel.”

ICYMI: The hotel served as the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King's 1977 novel The Shining and its 1980 film adaptation. 

Known for paranormal activity, the hotel lived up to its lore. “We had some haunting experiences of our own when building out the space, including random knocks, creepy shadows, and items being knocked off the walls,” Arden said.

The experience included screenings of Speak No Evil and episodes of the new series Teacup, as well as immersive spaces throughout the hotel including the Blumhouse Bar, which included props and costumes from the company’s films, and a spooky salon known as the Teacup Room. Guests were even pulled from their beds each night for personalized, fully immersive scares inspired by the films.

Upon arrival, guests were greeted by a “conci-scare-ge" named Avery, while their rooms were themed around one of the four films, which also helped set the stage for their “scare experiences.” Peacock also took over the hotel’s Concert Hall to host nightly screenings of Speak No Evil and the first two episodes of Teacup. 

“We were mindful of finding balance in keeping the experience in-world while also coming up with clever, subtle ways to get our branding and horror content messaging across, like having Peacock playing on the guest room TVs upon arrival and logo loops that were part of the decor,” Arden explained.

Each evening featured an after-dark experience where guests were coaxed from their rooms for one of four scary activations. Experiences were geared toward different horror tolerance levels, ranging from a taste of the terrifying with Happy Death Day to full-blown fear with Insidious. 

For example, the Freaky experience reflected the quirky tone of the film, balancing horror and humor. Guests were thrust into a body swap scenario where they wouldn’t know who’s who, only that there was a murderer out to get them.

The Insidious experience combined atmospheric design with a storyline that immersed guests into the same journey as the family in the first film. The experience recreated the finale, when guests faced the red-faced demon.

Arden also noted that the scariest rooms (Insidious and The Purge) were the first to be booked. More than 100 people attended the experience between the private VIP preview and consumer weekends. Plus, the other hotel guests were welcome to explore the first-floor offerings, including specialty cocktails in the Blumhouse Bar.

Keep scrolling to see key vendors and more from inside the "Overnightmare" experience...

VENDORS