Weird NJ
Encyclopedia
Weird NJ is the title of a semi-annual magazine
and two paranormal travel guides that chronicle local legend
s, hauntings, ghost stories
, folklore
and anything considered "weird" in the U.S.
state of New Jersey
.
The books contain information and stories about unusual places and or events in New Jersey. There is a wide range of 'Weird' books about many states.
and Mark Sceurman
. Gradually it evolved from a fanzine
into a public magazine published twice a year in May and October. Abandoned places, creepy experiences, unique people, and strange landmarks were and still are common subjects for the magazine. Past issues have covered everything from the Jersey Devil
and UFO
sightings to abandoned Nike
missile
silos, the legend of the "Hookerman" Lights and the life of Zip the Pinhead
.
In 2003 a Weird NJ book, made up of content from earlier issues, was published. The next year saw the follow-up Weird US, covering sites and stories across the country. That led to a series of Weird guides
for other states and areas, including Florida
, Illinois
, Wisconsin
, Pennsylvania
, Texas
, California
and New England
, and a TV series, Weird U.S.
, on the History Channel.
has appeared in many Weird NJ books and on the magazine covers. In 2004, the Palace Amusements
building in Asbury Park
with the image of Tillie on it was set to be destroyed to make way for a hotel
. When Weird NJ readers learned of the planned demolition
, efforts were started to try to save the building. Tillie's face was saved; but the rest of the building, built more than a century ago, was not.
Also covered was the unsuccessful removal (thanks to the efforts of local residents) of the "Evil Clown of Middletown
," a large sign painted to resemble a circus clown that currently advertises a liquor store along Route 35
in Middletown.
Additionally, Weird NJ has also been responsible for saving the historical copper dome in the town center of Fair Lawn, which was scheduled to be torn down after a fire destroyed the building it sat upon.
Weird NJ has influenced similar groups in New Jersey and around the United States. These include "The Midnight Society" (now defunct), "PsychoNJ," and "LostDestinations".
There are many other strange New Jersey locations such as "Midgetville
," "Gates of Hell," "Shades Of Death Road
," "Clinton Road
," "Demon Alley," and Devil's Tower.
. In an attempt to dissuade readers - or at the least, remove legal liability
from the editors and publishers of Weird NJ - a disclaimer has been posted on the inside cover of each issue.
The most popular locations to explore are usually abandoned or dilapidated structures, such as psychiatric hospitals, prisons and old homes. Haunted
locales are given extra attention. Explorers are known to take pictures and upload them to various websites and online groups for others with the interest to see. http://www.lostinjersey.com http://www.lostdestinations.com/
In some areas, small groups -mostly composed of teens or twentysomethings- take weekends of "WNJ Runs" and try to visit the current issue's featured locations.
This is considered by most to be related to urban exploration
and is very popular, especially given New Jersey's small size and the accessibility of major roads and arteries, such as the Garden State Parkway
, the New Jersey Turnpike
and the Atlantic City Expressway
.
Most of the sites are remnants of a time when New Jersey was far more rural than it is now.
traveled the Passaic River and its shores, chronicling his adventures in a special issue of Weird NJ
magazine. Nightshade on the Passaic was released as a special issue of the magazine and quickly became its best-selling issue, confirming readers' interest in stories involving the Passaic River. Antabanez intentionally did not want the special issue to be a history lesson of New Jersey or the river, but instead wanted it to be a Huck Finn
-style adventure story.
In his canoe, Nightshade, Antabanez visits the most dangerous parts of the Passaic, along with several of the abandoned buildings and factories that relied on the Passaic years ago. In addition to the river and the decaying structures that surround it, he also researched murders that involved the Passaic River, including the horrific case of Jonathan Zarate who attempted to dump the mutilated body of his 16 year-old neighbor in the river, but was thwarted by a police officer who happened to pass by at the time.
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
and two paranormal travel guides that chronicle local legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
s, hauntings, ghost stories
Ghost story
A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, or an account of an experience, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. Colloquially, the term can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has...
, folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and anything considered "weird" in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
The books contain information and stories about unusual places and or events in New Jersey. There is a wide range of 'Weird' books about many states.
History
Weird NJ began in 1989 as a personal newsletter sent to friends by Mark MoranMark Moran (Weird NJ)
Mark Moran, a lifetime New Jersey resident, who grew up in Livingston, New Jersey and graduated from Parsons School of Design, is co-creator of the Weird N.J. magazine and website...
and Mark Sceurman
Mark Sceurman
Mark Sceurman is a graphic artist and co-creator and publisher with Mark Moran of Weird N.J magazine and a state-by-state series of books.With Moran he co-hosted the spin-off television series Weird US on the History Channel....
. Gradually it evolved from a fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
into a public magazine published twice a year in May and October. Abandoned places, creepy experiences, unique people, and strange landmarks were and still are common subjects for the magazine. Past issues have covered everything from the Jersey Devil
Jersey Devil
The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature or cryptid said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of Southern New Jersey, United States. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many variations...
and UFO
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
sightings to abandoned Nike
Project Nike
Project Nike was a U.S. Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Laboratories, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. The project delivered the United States' first operational anti-aircraft missile system, the Nike Ajax, in 1953...
missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
silos, the legend of the "Hookerman" Lights and the life of Zip the Pinhead
Zip the Pinhead
Zip the Pinhead, born William Henry Johnson , was an American freak show performer famous for his oddly tapered head.- Early life :...
.
In 2003 a Weird NJ book, made up of content from earlier issues, was published. The next year saw the follow-up Weird US, covering sites and stories across the country. That led to a series of Weird guides
Weird (Travel Guides)
Weird is a series of travel guides written by various authors and published by Sterling Publishing of New York, NY. Started by Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman with a magazine called Weird N.J., together or separately, they often write, collaborate, edit and/or write the forward of the other guides...
for other states and areas, including Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, and a TV series, Weird U.S.
Weird U.S.
Weird U.S. is a reality television series, and book of the same name, on the History Channel starring Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman as they hunt the United States looking for weird history, hauntings, and legends because, as they say, "history is full of weirdos." It is produced by KPI TV...
, on the History Channel.
Influence
The painting of a grinning face named TillieTillie
Tillie is the nickname of two murals of a grinning figure that were painted on the side of the Palace Amusements building in Asbury Park, New Jersey, United States. Tillie is an amusement park "fun face," painted over the winter of 1955-1956. The name Tillie is likely a nod to George C. Tilyou,...
has appeared in many Weird NJ books and on the magazine covers. In 2004, the Palace Amusements
Palace Amusements
Palace Amusements was an historical indoor amusement park in Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA. Started Monday, Feb. 20, 1888, Ernest S. Schnitzler was soon placing advertisements in the city directory describing his pleasure palace as a place of "refined amusement for Ladies, Gents, and Children....
building in Asbury Park
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 16,116. The city is known for its rich musical history, including its association with...
with the image of Tillie on it was set to be destroyed to make way for a hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
. When Weird NJ readers learned of the planned demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
, efforts were started to try to save the building. Tillie's face was saved; but the rest of the building, built more than a century ago, was not.
Also covered was the unsuccessful removal (thanks to the efforts of local residents) of the "Evil Clown of Middletown
Evil Clown of Middletown
The Evil Clown of Middletown is a large outdoor sign on northbound New Jersey Route 35 in Middletown Township, New Jersey, advertising a Spirits Liquor Store.-History:...
," a large sign painted to resemble a circus clown that currently advertises a liquor store along Route 35
Route 35 (New Jersey)
Route 35 is a state highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey, primarily traveling through the easternmost parts of Middlesex, Monmouth, and Ocean counties. It runs from the entrance to Island Beach State Park in Berkeley Township, Ocean County to an intersection with Route 27 in Rahway, Union County...
in Middletown.
Additionally, Weird NJ has also been responsible for saving the historical copper dome in the town center of Fair Lawn, which was scheduled to be torn down after a fire destroyed the building it sat upon.
Weird NJ has influenced similar groups in New Jersey and around the United States. These include "The Midnight Society" (now defunct), "PsychoNJ," and "LostDestinations".
There are many other strange New Jersey locations such as "Midgetville
Midgetville
Midgetville is a name used to refer to real or legendary communities of "midgets", people with forms of dwarfism who are normally proportioned, or collections of small "midget-sized" houses. In modern parlance "midget" is often considered inappropriate...
," "Gates of Hell," "Shades Of Death Road
Shades Of Death Road
Shades Of Death Road, sometimes referred to locally as just "Shades", is a two-lane rural road of about 7 miles in length in central Warren County, New Jersey. It runs in a generally north-south direction through Liberty and Independence townships, then turns more east-west in Allamuchy Township...
," "Clinton Road
Clinton Road
Clinton Road is located in West Milford, Passaic County, New Jersey. It runs in a generally north-south direction, beginning at Route 23 near Newfoundland and running roughly 10 miles to its northern terminus at Upper Greenwood Lake....
," "Demon Alley," and Devil's Tower.
Community
The growth of the magazine has led to the creation of a community of sorts for fans of Moran and Sceurman's work. These avid readers often travel to sites listed within the pages of the periodical themselves, which is frequently considered a dangerous practice and is sometimes illegalTrespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...
. In an attempt to dissuade readers - or at the least, remove legal liability
Legal liability
Legal liability is the legal bound obligation to pay debts.* In law a person is said to be legally liable when they are financially and legally responsible for something. Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law. See Strict liability. Under English law, with the passing of the Theft...
from the editors and publishers of Weird NJ - a disclaimer has been posted on the inside cover of each issue.
The most popular locations to explore are usually abandoned or dilapidated structures, such as psychiatric hospitals, prisons and old homes. Haunted
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
locales are given extra attention. Explorers are known to take pictures and upload them to various websites and online groups for others with the interest to see. http://www.lostinjersey.com http://www.lostdestinations.com/
In some areas, small groups -mostly composed of teens or twentysomethings- take weekends of "WNJ Runs" and try to visit the current issue's featured locations.
This is considered by most to be related to urban exploration
Urban exploration
Urban exploration is the examination of the normally unseen or off-limits parts of urban areas or industrial facilities. Urban exploration is also commonly referred to as infiltration, although some people consider infiltration to be more closely associated with the exploration of active or...
and is very popular, especially given New Jersey's small size and the accessibility of major roads and arteries, such as the Garden State Parkway
Garden State Parkway
The Garden State Parkway is a 172.4-mile limited-access toll parkway that stretches the length of New Jersey from the New York line at Montvale, New Jersey, to Cape May at New Jersey's southernmost tip. Its name refers to New Jersey's nickname, the "Garden State." Most New Jersey residents refer...
, the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
and the Atlantic City Expressway
Atlantic City Expressway
The Atlantic City Expressway is a , controlled-access toll road in New Jersey, managed and operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority...
.
Most of the sites are remnants of a time when New Jersey was far more rural than it is now.
Nightshade on the Passaic
From 2006 to 2008, writer Wheeler AntabanezWheeler Antabanez
Wheeler Antabanez is the alter-ego and pen name for Montclair, New Jersey-based writer Matt Kent . Antabanez is best known as the author of best selling special issue of Weird NJ, Nightshade on the Passaic and gasstationthoughts and The Daily Journal Of Wheeler Antabanez, published by Barricade...
traveled the Passaic River and its shores, chronicling his adventures in a special issue of Weird NJ
Weird NJ
Weird NJ is the title of a semi-annual magazine and two paranormal travel guides that chronicle local legends, hauntings, ghost stories, folklore and anything considered "weird" in the U.S. state of New Jersey....
magazine. Nightshade on the Passaic was released as a special issue of the magazine and quickly became its best-selling issue, confirming readers' interest in stories involving the Passaic River. Antabanez intentionally did not want the special issue to be a history lesson of New Jersey or the river, but instead wanted it to be a Huck Finn
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in England in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by...
-style adventure story.
In his canoe, Nightshade, Antabanez visits the most dangerous parts of the Passaic, along with several of the abandoned buildings and factories that relied on the Passaic years ago. In addition to the river and the decaying structures that surround it, he also researched murders that involved the Passaic River, including the horrific case of Jonathan Zarate who attempted to dump the mutilated body of his 16 year-old neighbor in the river, but was thwarted by a police officer who happened to pass by at the time.