Jump to content

I Went to Camp Crystal Lake this weekend!


Fat Freddy

Recommended Posts

My son's Cub Scout den went to Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in Blairstown, NJ, this past weekend for the annual "Weboree" event, which was a big whoop-de-doo for all Scouts in the region who are working towards their "Webelos" rank. Several hundred Scouts from all over New Jersey, Upstate New York and Pennsylvania came out.

 

...Of course, any horror geek worth his or her salt knows that No-Be-Bo-Sco is also known as "Camp Crystal Lake," because the first "Friday the 13th" film was shot there in the fall of '79. Y'all know what a biggy styley horror movie geek I am so needless to say, when we arranged for this weekend I was trippin' beyond belief. I'm the Den Leader for my son's group but I told my co-leader "I'm going to be totally useless all weekend, I'm going to be too busy geeking out."

 

So hey, here are some pix from our weekend at Camp Crystal Lake!!

NoBeeSign.jpg

First, here's my son Matt posing in front of the sign at the front gate. We took this when we first got there on Friday afternoon. We were the first ones from our group to arrive so we had some time to wander around and check the place out a little.

... mind you, this campground is f**king HUGE and the Friday the 13th crew only filmed in a few small areas of it. While we walked around Friday afternoon my son kept asking "Do you see anything from the movie?" and I was like, "uhhhh...no." Haha.

It wasn't till after dinner when we had a little more time to explore that I finally saw the lake out of the corner of my eye and sez "Well, most of the action in the movie took place by the lake, so let's go that way."

So we go down a hill and around a bend and BAM! There's the main cabin the counselors were staying in throughout the film. I start freakin' out like "HOLY CRAP, THIS IS IT! THIS IS IT!", I whip out my phone and start snapping pix like a total fanboy.

AlicesCabin.jpg

About a hundred yards down the road from that is one of the Lodge buildings. I believe the counselors spent most of the movie running between this building and the cabin. They're separated by a creek with a small bridge over it.

Lodge.jpg

Right across from these two buildings is the lake, and of course the beach, where final girl "Alice" had her battle royale with Pamela Voorhees at the end of the movie. As you can see, the wooden lifeguard stand is still there (though I believe it was white in the movie; it's painted brown now)

 

beach2.jpgHere's another view of the Lodge building, from farther away. One of the camp guides told me that the ending scene of "F13" with "Alice" in the canoe was shot in this corner of the lake.

crystallake1.jpg

I'm not 100 percent sure but I think this is the "shower house" where one of the girl counselors caught a hatchet with her face.

showerhouse.jpg

These "log steps" went down the hill towards the beach. They looked familiar so I figured they must be in the movie somewhere. Even if they're not, they looked cool so I took a pic. :D

 

woodensteps.jpg

It was a great weekend all around. The weather was gorgeous, my son and his fellow Scouts got to light stuff on fire and do all sorts of cool Scouty stuff, and I got my horror geek on. :D

 

The only site that I wanted to get a pic of but didn't have the chance to was the archery range, which is also featured in the movie. Maybe next year?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with others, this is very cool. Shame I can't view any of the pictures on my work PC though. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Better to be enjoying the outdoors than sittin on your butt all the time in front of the boob tube

 

Ain't that the truth. Why do you think I signed the kid up for Scouts in the first place? :D

 

...and after spending 2 nights sleeping in a tent and walking from one end of that campground to the other, my feet and back are still killin' me three days later... damn, I'm in worse shape than I thought... :rofl2:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very Cool Keef!

I had no Idea the first film was shot right here in Joisey.

A few years ago, I went to Monroeville P.A. and went shopping at the Mall used in the original Dawn Of The Dead. I took some pics, but I lost them..

Glad you had fun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very Cool Keef!

I had no Idea the first film was shot right here in Joisey.

 

I've known about it for years but never thought I'd get a chance to set foot in there. The Camp is Boy Scout property and it is not open to the public. There are tons of horror web sites that'll tell you how to get there, but they all warn you that trespassers will be prosecuted.

 

My Dad actually camped at "No-Be" when he was a boy scout in the late 50s/early 60s. I remember years ago when HE first saw "Friday the 13th" on cable, he told me that for the first half hour or so he kept thinking "That place looks familiar. Why does it look so familiar?" and then suddenly it hit him -- "Holy shit, that's my old Scout camp!" -- and the rest of the movie was a "very weird" experience for him after that :rofl2:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course, you all knew I was gonna write a piece about my Camp Crystal Lake Experience on my HubPage blog didn't ya? :D

7951179_f260.jpg

http://fatfreddyscat.hubpages.com/hub/I-Survived-Camp-Crystal-Lake

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

 

.These "log steps" went down the hill towards the beach. They looked familiar so I figured they must be in the movie somewhere. Even if they're not, they looked cool so I took a pic. :D

 

woodensteps.jpg

 

 

I re-watched "Friday the 13th" last night and these steps did, indeed, make a brief appearance in one scene.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • My Little Pony

You know, I actually haven't seen Friday the 13th, as I'm not the Horror nerd you guys are - I just find them too predictable. But I kinda wanna see this, now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know, I actually haven't seen Friday the 13th, as I'm not the Horror nerd you guys are - I just find them too predictable. But I kinda wanna see this, now.

 

Might as well start with the one that started it all. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Way cool, thanks for sharing the pics. There seem to be plenty of "Crystal Lake" campsites around the country but you went to the original one that matters. Nice work!

Glad you enjoyed your nostalgic, creepy visit..!

 

Thanx! It was a lot of fun. I never dreamed that my "Dad" responsibilities would ever intersect with my "horror movie geek" side in such a cool way. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.