After Henry Yau took the photo, he said that he "felt queasy and had stomach problems."
One man thought he photographed an empty lobby, but the image he uploaded shows a scene straight out of The Shining.
Read: See Inside The Rundown Utah Town That's Home to Warren Jeffs' Polygamist Church
Henry Yau, a publicist from Houston, said he was inspired to visit The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado after hearing stories of its paranormal past.
According to the website, the hotel had been "collecting spirits" since 1872, when the Earl of Dunraven attempted to claim the land amidst disputing native tribes. The hotel was converted into a luxury hotel in 1909, and soon gained a reputation of being haunted.
The fan uploaded various images to his Instagram account, attempting to document his experiences in the hotel that had once inspired Stephen King to write his horror hit, The Shining.
Yau uploaded pictures from various scenes in the book, including an image himself in the reflection of a mirror, that King uses to represent reality versus fantasy in the book, and a haunting image of a century old stairwell in the hotel.
Read: Estranged Couple Who Appeared on 'Ghost Adventures' Show Found Dead After Standoff
He thought he dodged the bullet when he was assigned room 216, instead of 217, where Stephen King and his wife had once stayed in preparation for the book, and where Danny Torrance in The Shining begins to have visions.
Even though Yau played into the legends surrounding the haunted hotel, he said, "never did I imagine I would possibly capture something."
Yau told IE.com that he had waited for people to clear the grand staircase before he took a photo. "When I took it, I didn't notice anything. I usually don't like people in my shots," Yau said.
"Overnight, I felt queasy and had stomach problems," Yau recalled.
He then noticed the figure in the middle of the image the following morning.
Read: Ghost Town is Up For Sale in South Dakota for Just $250,000
For guests feeling uneasy, The Stanley Hotel even offers an in-house psychic for consultations.
Watch: New Mom Explains 'Ghost Dad' in Family Photo with 6-Month-Old Baby
