The Blair Witch Project




The Blair Witch Project was released into theaters on July 14th, 1999. Filming locations include Adamstown, Beallsville, Brookville, Burkittsville, Germantown and Granite, Md. It was directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. The film took eight days to shoot, and roughly eight months to edit, due to there being roughly twenty hours of raw footage to sort through. It stars Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams as the three unfortunates who fall victim to the Blair Witch. The film was marketed as a true story which added to it's appeal. Just prior to it's theatrical release, a forty-four minute improvised documentary titled Curse of the Blair Witch was even released, to further insinuate this strategy. It told more of the backstory of the three missing students. Immediately following it's release, the town of Burkittsville, which the cemetery scene was filmed at, became overrun with fans of the film. They even stole the town sign a reported three times. The film is heavily credited with popularizing the found-footage technique. Although effective, it also caused some theatergoers to experience nausea and vomit during the screening. At one point in the film, the Blair Witch was supposed to be seen on camera. However, the cameraman forgot to pan left during a running sequence and the scene was never re-shot. The film cost $60,000 to make and grossed $248 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing independent movie of all-time, until it was surpassed in 2002. The films first DVD release was on October 22nd, 1999.


Mike's house - 18404 Shady View Ln. Brookville, Md. 20833

The 2,104 square foot house was built in 1987.


2019


Diner - 19800 Darnestown Rd. Beallsville, Md. 20839

The waitress who was interviewed was Sandra Sanchez, the sister of director Eduardo Sanchez. At the time of my visit, it was the Colony Supply Center Inc.


All "Now" pictures taken in 2019.



Burkittsville Union Cemetery - 5 E. Cemetery Dr. Burkittsville, Md. 21718

The cemetery was established in 1831. 


All "Now" pictures taken in 2019.





Old man being interviewed - 5550 Mountville Rd. Adamstown, Md. 21710

At the time of my visit, it was Stup's Market.


All "Now" pictures taken in 2019.



Black Hills Forest - Black Rock Rd. Germantown, Md. 20874
(Seneca Creek State Park)

I visited the area in September, before the leaves started to change color, and it was picturesque for hiking. I can only imagine how beautiful it looks in it's full Fall glory. Among locations from the film I visited here were where the two guys were fishing, the shed they drive past, where they park their car and Coffin Rock. The two guys were fishing on the north side of Great Seneca Creek, near the bridge that crosses over the creek (east of the bridge). They park their car next to Black Rock Road, about a quarter of a mile north of the bridge. The shed is just north of where they park, around the corner. In order to reach Coffin Rock, park in the small parking area next to Black Rock Mill, on the southwest side of the bridge. Directly across the street from the mill there will be a path that leads east. Follow this path for about five minutes along the creek and you'll eventually reach Coffin Rock. 


All "Now" pictures taken in 2019.









House at the end - West of* Hernwood Rd. and Offutt Ct. Granite, Md. 21163
(Patapsco Valley State Park, Woodstock Area 16, Griggs House)

The house was constructed in the mid 19th century. By the time filming had occurred at the house, it was in a state of disrepair. The following three years after the films release, many fans visited the structure, noting just how bad of shape it was in and unsafe it was. It was demolished in 2003 and the only remains I could find during my visit were two pipes protruding out of the ground. This area is now primarily used for hunting so use caution. 


2019


A picture of the house from 1979.

12 comments:

  1. great work you did here, excellent post!!

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  2. aw,shit never even had the advantage to visit the house!

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  3. Did they really demolish the house?☹

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  4. This blog is really cool. Glad I found it.

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  5. Thank you for your work! This is really interesting post!

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  6. This is amazing, loved it!

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  7. Using this to help plan our trip in November. Thanks!

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  8. I just found out the creek i grew up going to is the one the fishermen are at in this movie and now im freaking out

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