Oh sure, Texas is bigger and California is cooler, but for sheer, out-and-out weirdness, no state even comes close to New Jersey. You probably know of the infamous Jersey Devil, but have you heard of the Matawan Man Eater or the Hoboken Monkey-Man? Maybe you'd like to cruise down haunted Annie's Road in Totowa, or take a stroll through Vineland's bizarre Palace of Depression? These are just some of the offbeat and odd, the mysterious and unexplainable, the spooky sights and local legends that don't appear on any tourist map. You'll only find them here, along with an amazing assortment of roadside oddities, abandoned asylums, natural phenomena and unforgettable people along the highways and byways of the Garden State. From Caldwell's Mystery Thread and the Dancing Jesus of Whippoorwill Road to the campaign to save Middletown's Evil Clown, you'll laugh, gasp and marvel at the everyday weirdness that is New Jersey.
Weird things right in your own backyard Excellent coffee table book. Truly weird and funny things on the roads and places less treveled in NJ.
GOT TO HAVE ONE BEFORE TWO I PREFER TWO, BUT YOU WOULD FEEL LIKE YOU ARE MISSING SOMETHING WITHOUT SEEING AND READING THE FIRST.
New jersey i live in Salem N.J. and theres alot of strange stories behind that town. i read this book my freshman yr in high school and i forgot the name of it and i've been trying to figure it out for like 2 years and i finally got it..
This Book Will Go A Long Way Towards Explaining Me To Others... I received this as a gift from a close friend. As one who was born and mostly raised in Jersey, it really explains a lot about me and my family. The book was terrifically funny, and also gives some great insight into the experince of growing up "Jersey". After reading this, I think I have a greater appreciation for midwesterner's weird reaction to ME. A must have for those among us who still pine away for life in Jersey in the 50's and 60's and beyond. You can take the kid out of Jersey, but you can't take Jersey out of the kid, and this book brings it all home. A Midwest Transplant
Fun, funky folklore... Weird NJ is a fun, funky book of legends and folklore about the Garden State. Written by Mark Sceurman and Mark Moran, it started as a journal, evolved into a magazine and has now morphed into a popular book (in New Jersey, anyway).
Most readers have heard about the Jersey Devil and UFO's. But Weird NJ goes way beyond these "mainstream" oddities. The stories in Weird NJ were gathered over ten years. The authors claim that they like to "churn up the historical muck" and that "when the line between history and legend begins to blur is the tightrope we like to tread." Many of the stories came from readers, and it is to them this book is dedicated.
The authors take us on quite a journey. We would expect monsters, ghosts and haunted houses. But Sceurman and Moran bring us even further. The chapters are broken down into such topics as Ancient Mysteries, Unexplained Phenomena, Local Heroes and Villains, Cemetery Safari, Roadside Oddities, Roads Less Traveled and Abandoned NJ (to name just some of them). Most of the stories also include pictures and drawings. We see a Stone Living Room and a house shaped like a cookie jar. The authors try to find the fabled midget village and tribes of albinos. We see a mystery lake in the Pine Barrens called the Blue Hole, and the Gates of Hell in Clifton. There is just so much here to keep you entertained.
My only complaint about Weird NJ is that most of the stories take place in North Jersey (South Jersey gets slighted once again). Also, I felt the authors could have done a little more to separate fact from fiction in some instances. But despite these minor flaws, I plan on giving a number of these books for Christmas this year. I know that they'll be a big hit.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
