Local Legends

The Watcher of Westfield

On October 13, 2022, Netflix released a limited series called “The Watcher.” The streaming service’s trailer for the show teases, “Ominous letters from someone calling themself ‘The Watcher’ are just the beginning as the neighborhood’s sinister secrets come spilling out.” … Continue reading

The Mount Holly Witch Trials

While most people are familiar with the story of the infamous witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 and 1693, less well known are the legends told in the Mount Holly, NJ area of women being tried … Continue reading

The Gates of Hell

There is probably no better way to prove one’s courage than by walking straight into the gaping maw of Hell, the gates of which can be found in the town of Clifton, Passaic County–or so the legend goes… Continue reading

Devil’s Tower

An ominous looking edifice stands in the town of Alpine that has come to be known as Devil’s Tower. It’s a six-story gothic stone clocktower that the Devil himself is said to inhabit. There are several dark legends about the … Continue reading

Small Wonders of Midgetville

There is perhaps no more fabled place in our state than the mythical village of Midgetville. Spurred on by tales of this tiny town and its wee inhabitants, Weird NJ has visited at least half a dozen locations rumored to be the home of a colony of these vertically challenged individuals. Continue reading

Route 55: Indian Curse Road

In March of 2016 a eerie video was posted on the Internet of what appeared to be a ghostly woman in a white wedding dress moving down the side of the road along Route 55 in the area of Exit 56. The apparition appears to be floating. Is it a ghost, or just an internet hoax? You be the judge… Continue reading

Tales of Berry’s Chapel in the Pines

In the Nineteenth Century a small but thriving African American community was developing in the tiny township of Quinton, NJ. Located deep in the piney woods of Salem County, this community was spread out and disparate. John Berry, a Quinton … Continue reading