10 Scary Movies, TV Shows Filmed In New Jersey

NEW JERSEY - While the Garden State may serve as the location for haunted tales of the Jersey Devil, the Westfield Watcher or the Hopatcong Lake Monster, New Jersey also serves as the setting for several renowned horror movies and television shows.

Forget Hollywood production: from Friday The 13th to War Of The Worlds, municipalities across the state have been the site of some of the most beloved Halloween-themed flicks to ever hit theaters.

Check out our highlights below, and let us know in the comments if we missed any of your favorites.

Atlantic County

13th Child (2002)
If you’re looking for Jersey Devil content, look no further than 2002’s 13th Child, which is based off of the local tale. The movie was primarily shot at Wharton State Forest, Batsto Village and Hammonton in the Pine Barrens, a real-life spot for Jersey Devil sightings.

Burlington County

Satan’s Playground (2006)
While 13th Child cites Hammonton as common Jersey Devil stomping grounds, the similarly-themed Satan’s Playground (2006) points to Whitesbog in Burlington County as another hotspot. The film, which stars Ellen Sandweiss of The Evil Dead (1981) fame, follows a group of stranded travelers amid a terrifying encounter with - you guessed it - the Jersey Devil. Read more: Truth Or Tale: Encounters With The Jersey Devil

Cape May County

The Prowler (1981)
This guilty pleasure 1980s slasher film was filmed in Cape May for six weeks in October 1980 (although the film takes place in Avalon, California, director Joseph Zito reportedly chose Cape May for its “ghost town quality”). The Inn Of Cape May makes several appearances in the film, as well as The Emlen Physick Estate, where the movie’s final act occurs. Exterior shots include the likes of Seaville United Methodist Church and Southern Mansion Bed & Breakfast.

Essex County

War Of The Worlds (2005)
Aliens have landed in this star-studded feature film, and of course, they choose to touch down in New Jersey. This film was shot using locations from New York, New Jersey, Virginia and California. In the Garden State, Bayonne and Newark sites were used for filming, as well as Monmouth County’s Howell Township.

Speaking of Newark, yet another celebrity-packed blockbuster was filmed in the Essex County spot: The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Filming for the third installation in the Christopher Nolan
Batman saga took place for over a week at the Military Park Station on the Newark Light Rail.

Monmouth County

Sabrina The Teenage Witch (TV Series, 1996-2003)
While Sabrina Spellman and her aunts call 133 Collins Road in Westbridge, M.A. home, this ABC sitcom about a girl with supernatural powers actually used exterior shots from Freehold for the Spellman residence. You can find Spellman Manor at 64 E. Main Street, which is now home to an elder care facility (per NJ.com, the Spellmans were practically neighbors with Bruce Springsteen). Exteriors for the fictional Westbridge High School were shot at Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood. Related: NJ House From 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch' Is On The Market

Don’t Go Into The House (1979)
The 1979 feature film Don’t Go Into The House was also filmed throughout Monmouth County, with many scenes from the psychological thriller (and the basis for the haunted house) shot at Strauss Mansion Museum in Atlantic Highlands. Other locations include Port Monmouth, Shore Florist and Strauss Mansion Museum in Atlantic Highlands and Jersey City.

Ocean County

The Amityville Horror (1979)
Think the original The Amityville Horror (1979) was shot in Amityville, New York? Think again. While this classic flick is set on Long Island, production took place in Ocean County’s Point Pleasant (St. Peters Church) and Toms River as well as Union County’s Scotch Plains.

Salem County

The Village (2004)

Although the 2004 movie The Village by M. Night Shyamalan is set in an isolated Pennsylvania town, Salem County’s Pedricktown served as one of the principal shooting locations, according to IMDB. Two key scenes were filmed in town: one in which Ivy is nearly run over by a truck, another when a driver pulls over at a gas station to ask about the mysterious village.

Warren County

Friday The 13th (1980)
You don’t have to go far to find Camp Crystal Lake in New Jersey. In fact, Jason’s hideaway is actually a real-life boy scout retreat called Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco located in Hardwick. Although you can’t visit the location on a regular day, the camp occasionally holds Crystal Lake Tours that you can book in advance. According to IMDB, the ending of the classic slasher film was also filmed in Freehold, with other filming sites including Hope Township and the Blairstown Diner.

Bonus: Horror Movies Set In New Jersey

Dark Ride (2006) might’ve been filmed on the Santa Monica Pier in California, but this early aughts slasher movie is set in Asbury Park. While Class of Nuke ‘Em High (1986) is set at the fictional Tromaville High School, the Garden State also serves as a backdrop in Hellboy (2004).

Similarly, while the Addams family mansion in the 1964 series was given the address of 0001 Cemetery Lane, the real-life home in which Charles Addams grew up can be found in Union County’s Westfield. Located at 522 Elm Street, the estate throws the ever-so-spooky annual AddamsFest.

And although popular lore tells us that Jaws (1975) is a retelling of the real-life Jersey Shore shark attacks that occurred near Long Beach Island, Spring Lake and Matawan in 1916, the author behind the source material has since debunked the claim.

Did we miss your favorite scary movie set or filmed in New Jersey? Let us know in the comments below.

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