January 11, 1966 started like any other mid-winter day in the small suburban town of Wanaque, NJ. The air was clear and cold, kids were enjoying the holiday vacation from school, and residents of the Passaic County borough went about … Continue reading
Photos by Josh Blaine / joshblaine.com It sat abandoned for nearly two decades, a sprawling single-story building surrounded by the sea of an aged asphalt parking lot with grass and tall weeds growing up through its myriad of cracks. Inside … Continue reading
It’s not unusual to find the occasional cemetery coexisting with homes in suburban New Jersey neighborhoods; it’s the byproduct of human history combined with an ever-growing living population that sucks up every remaining spot of Garden State real estate. It … Continue reading
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
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
When the Weird NJ office phone rang and the Greek was on the other end of the line, I knew it was sure be a strange call. “Mark,” he said excitedly, “I’ve got something you’ve just GOT to see! It’s … Continue reading
The Garden State’s Most Bizarre and Chilling Criminal Cases In this brand new special issue of Weird NJ we examine some of the evils that men (and women) have done unto each other in our fair state’s history – the … Continue reading
For many many years motorists traveling along Route 40 in Mizpah, between Buena Vista and Mays Landing, were treated to the sight of a work of art comprised of meticulously arranged multi-colored milk jugs. Using food and fabric dyes as her medium, … Continue reading
The Ross Island Ruins: Mysterious Stone House at Takanassee Lake, Long Branch By Veronica MacDonald Ditko Long Branch, NJ is full of historical treasures if you know where to look. Take, for instance, the small island house in Ross Lake, the … Continue reading
This past weekend Weird NJ attended to serving the needs of a community where weird bordered on normal and punks of all ages got their holiday shopping on. It was the Holiday edition of the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market, … Continue reading