In October of 2007, several friends ventured into the woods of Gaithersburg, Maryland to discover for themselves the legend of the Blair Witch (or at least where they filmed the movie). This is their story...
Seneca Creek State Park, Black Hills Forest, Black Rock Mill, and "Coffin Rock"
1) This phase of the experience took two weeks to unravel. In week one we paid an unecessary $3 to drive around family park grounds. Finding a trail and Seneca (aka Tappy) Creek we thought we were in the general area of the mill. As it turns out it was the wrong mill, and instead we stumbled into hunting territory...not cool.
2) Later in the same day we discovered the Black Rock Mill and it is literally in the middle of NOWHERE, but is a great example of 19th century architecture. As it also turns out this was the insertion point for the film crew and actors.
3) I had read somewhere online that "Coffin Rock" was located .5 miles from this Mill, but we mistakenly followed the trail downstream and had to leave at sundown. We did come across these creepy rock formations though.
4) In phase two we hiked a quick ten minutes upstream and finally found the rock...it's extremely hard to miss. It is located on the right bank of the creek if you are looking upstream. Even though there were other people in the area there still is a general creepiness about the place. You are surrounded by wildlife. Animal tracks are everywhere and hawks soar and screech overhead. As the sun goes down the woods take on a life of their own.
Burkittsville, Maryland
1) Located 11 miles from Harpers Ferry West Virginia, the town of Burkittsville is surprisingly picturesque and quite beautiful in the fall.
2) The Blair Witch story may be fictional, but the town has a very bloody past. Union surgeons turned it into a field hospital after the Battle of Crampton's Gap in 1862. Both churches and an adjacent rectory tended to wounded and dying soldiers, and thousands were briefly interred in unmarked graves in the cemetary behind the church. Stories of ghostly hauntings abound.
3) There is maybe a 2 dog to 1 person ratio in the entire town. It is very erie to walk along a street seemingly devoid of humans with a cacophany of dogs barking up and down the block.
For a more detailed account in pictures follow my photostream:
The Blair Witch: Part 1
The Blair Witch: Part 2
I resent this. I live in Burkittsville and have for 13 years, the only thing supernatural in this town are ghosts. there is no Blair Witch. The symbol was made up by the director of the first movie and it is clear that the pictures you took of the symbol that say they are different ones are in reality the same symbol most likely created by one of you. Do not begin to think you Know anything about this town when it is clear that you are just another one sucked into a poorly made movie that was not even filmed in Burkittsville. Growing up here has been wonderful except for the crazy people that stalked every resident and vandalized or beautiful town along with terrorizing the inhabitants. All of this mayhem is fed by people like you who try to pretend something you saw on the Scifi channel is real.
ReplyDeleteYou are entitled to your opinion, but if you go back and reread the post it is a photostream about adventuring out to where they filmed the movie. Not to find a witch. Burkittsville is a beautiful little town (especially in the fall) known for its Civil War history. It was a fallback point before, during, and after the Battle of Antietam...which is arguably one of the most bloody battles of the war. We did not in any way vandalize or threaten the residents. I just took photos.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, we did (re)create the rock formations from the movie just to add a bit of fun to our adventure.
-C