Santa’s New Jersey Roots
While the image of the jolly old elf we’ve all come to know as Santa Claus may live at the North Pole, the father of this version of Father Christmas once lived right here in New Jersey. The character of … Continue reading
Weird NJ Christmas
Have Yourself a Creepy Little Christmas in Manalapan
While Halloween is without a doubt the time of year most associated with all things creepy and scary, Christmas too has a long history of horror in popular culture. Generations before slasher films like Black Christmas and Silent Night, Deadly … Continue reading
A Christmas Vacation Engagement
A little bit of that old Christmas magic, courtesy of Weird NJ and the Harbaugh family, the Griswolds of New Jersey… Greetings Weird NJ! I just read your article about the Griswolds of New Jersey. I am happy to say … Continue reading
Ghosts of Christmas Past
Here are just a few of our favorite holiday season sights that have been seen around the state in years of yore… Continue reading
Christmas Weirdness in Clifton
One of our favorite Christmas House designers is a Clifton dentist named Dr. Wayne Gangi. Dr. Gangi moved to his Clifton home in 1999. It took him a year to renovate it to make it suitable for an office. Once … Continue reading
Martel’s Christmas Wonderland
The season is upon us once again when the New Jersey residence that puts Clark Griswold to shame year after year is fully illuminated – The “Hamilton Christmas House” as it is known to the casual passerby, Bob Martel’s House as his friends and neighbors call it, or as it is officially known, Martel’s Christmas Wonderland, is plugged in, powered up, and open each night until about 10 PM. Continue reading
A Nightmare Before Christmas in Trenton
Three days before Christmas, Jean strangled her 78-year-old mother to death in their home. Standing over Julia Zelinsky’s body, Jean took a kitchen knife and decapitated her. Tossing the head into a plastic shopping bag, Jean got into her car and headed straight for Trenton – but not before stopping to wave to a neighbor. Continue reading
O Tuckerton Tannenbaum, O Tuckerton Tannenbaum
There’s a desolate five-mile stretch of narrow asphalt known as Great Bay Boulevard located in Tuckerton that leads southeast out of Mystic Island across an expansive salt marsh. But it is here, somewhere along the barren and featureless expanse, that you will find an unlikely symbol of warmth and greeting during the holiday season: A fully decorated Christmas tree. Continue reading
Hagertys’ Christmas Village, Pitman
Hello Weird NJ! Within the Grove (Pitman), you can see the Hagerty Christmas lights spreading across a whole neighborhood block. Home of an old Methodist summer camp, the mostly working class residents wait every Black Friday to see something homemade, … Continue reading
Santa’s Devilish Little Helper, the Belznickel
There’s no greater hero in a child’s mind than that jolly old elf who comes down the chimney on the night before Christmas. But in a smattering of Pennsylvania Dutch communities throughout Pennsylvania there’s another winter visitor who’s probably not … Continue reading