Mark Friday the 13th in Warren County | Explore Warren

 

Mark Friday the 13th in Warren County

Whenever the infamous date of Friday the 13th rolls around, Warren County celebrates a chilling chapter in its history. For it was on that date that the infamous murders happened at Camp Crystal Lake, when a group of teenagers were murdered one by one while attempting to re-open the abandoned campground.

Actually, the camp is fictional and those murders never happened. But "Friday the 13th" - the 1980 American slasher film directed by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Victor Miller - was filmed in and around the peaceful, rural towns of northern Warren County, and many of the exterior settings can still be seen, looking remarkably unchanged from when they were depicted in the film.

One of those spots is a theater in the village of Blairstown known as Roy's Hall. Although it now sports a brilliant blue paint job, its distinctive architectural style makes it easy to spot as one of the characters strolls by. And every time the calendar has a Friday the 13th, Roy's Hall screens the movie, which actually is the first by that title and led to a number of sequels and a crossover.

On January 13, 2017, Roy's Hall will be offering two showings, at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. General Admission is $13 and tickets are available through the theater's website.

Horror film fanatics from across the country flock to the area to tour the local filming locations, concluding their visit with a screening of the movie at Roy's Hall. Audiences go wild whenever the prominent local landmarks appear on screen.

The Explore Warren County Tourism Partnership invites you to be a part of the scary fun and check out some of those scenes before you take in a show at Roy's Hall. Find dining options here as well. Moreover, the Blairstown Museum, located just a couple of doors down from the theater on Main Street, will be open Friday the 13th from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with some "Friday the 13th" items on display. The museum also is offering a 13% discount on all gift shop items, including the book "On location in Blairstown: The Making of Friday the 13th".

Here are a few of the spots you'll see on screen in Blairstown:

• Blair Lake and the falls
• bridge on Main Street
• Main Street
• Old Mill, archway
• Blairstown Theater (now Roy’s Hall)
• Blairstown Diner (exterior and interior). The rain falling in this scene was reportedly created by a local fire department truck.
• Store that the character Annie enters to ask for directions to the camp (next to what is now Nature’s Harvest)

The interior shot of this store is actually in the Village of Hope. Hartung’s was a small shop with a lunch counter, and is now the location of Hope Junction Antiques, which also is open and welcomes visitors.

In Hope Township, in addition to the scene shot at Hartung's, you can find:

• the Moravian Cemetery
• the intersection of Routes 519 and 521

Meanwhile, the camp used as the setting for Camp Crystal Lake was and is still operated by the Boy Scouts of America as Camp NoBeBoSco, in nearby Hardwick Township. The camp is not open to the public and visits are discouraged, although the scout council that operates the camp will occasionally allow tours arranged in advance.

To help you find some of the locations you'll see on screen, check out either this website for Film Locations: Behind the Scenes or Then & Now Movie Locations.