Visit Your Favourite Horror Movie Locations (When You Can Travel Again)
Hollywood tours do it right, and they do it right for a reason. People want to see where their favourite movies were made, walk the streets their favourite characters walked, and do iconic things in the movies such as having a breakfast croissant outside Tiffany and Co in New York and visit the Hobbitshire while in New Zealand.
And horror buffs are no different.
They want to see where Alice got her head chopped off in Friday the 13th. They want to see where their favourite characters were slashed to ribbons, and be at the scene of a not-so-real grizzly murder. Well lucky for us horror fans who are keen to visit, there are some real-life locations used in the filming of horror movies that are still standing for us to visit when the world goes back to normal. Here are some of the best:
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Gas Station
For those who are driving down Highway 304 in Bastrop, Texas might be in for a night of their lives as the owner of the gas station reopened it for fans in 2016 and added four cabins to the back of the gas station that was featured in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The Last Chance Gas Station is where the backwards yokels serve up BBQ in the form of unsuspecting tourists, and you can even see the sign "We slaughter BBQ" above the gas station today. It's worth a stop and a burger, thats for sure!
Photo by Kenny Capteron
Dr Frank 'N' Furter's Mansion
In the iconic driving rain scene at the start of campy horror The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Brad and Janet are seen making their way to Dr. Frank' N' Furter's Mansion, which is actually known as the Oakley Court Hotel in Windsor, England. During filming it was an empty estate with no utilities but it has since been turned into a fully functioning English manor hotel with swimming pools, croquet gardens and 118 rooms. They even do weddings if you are keen to get a themed wedding happening!
Camp Crystal Lake
Friday the 13th is iconic, and Camp Crystal Lake just as famous as the character of Jason, but did you know that it is actually a fully functioning Boy Scout of America Camp? Imagine being shipped off for the summer to the place where they filmed the serial killer flick?! It's just like the latest season of American Horror Story all over again! Cheerfully named Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, this camp was opened in 1927 and is situated in northwestern New Jersey. It's still a thriving Boy Scout Camp, but if you're keen to check it out you can only go on a guided tour during certain times. Gotta protect the kiddies after all!
The Overlook Hotel
We can't promise you the distinct carpeting or the blood-gushing elevators, but we can promise you that you can stay in the hotel that serves as the exterior for Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, based on the novel by Stephen King. The Overlook Hotel is actually known as the Timberline Lodge and is built on the side of Oregon's Mount Hood in 1930s. This lodge is still available for guests today, and are sure to have a spike in popularity with the sequel that has come out called Doctor Sleep starring Ewan McGregor.
The Woods of the Blair Witch
Everyone who has seen The Blair Witch know that three film students get caught out in spooky woods while searching for a fabled witch, encountering lost time, constant night, and weird stick like figurines hanging above their tents. Well if you're keen to get into the atmosphere you can visit the woods that the film took place in, called Seneca Creek State Park in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It has 6,300 acres of numerous trails, a creek, and a lake, but its where most of The Blair Witch Project was filmed. Bonus points for the little stick people.
The Murder House
What list of iconic locations wouldn't be complete without the Murder House that was the prominent haunted location for season one (and a cameo in season eight) of American Horror Story. Murder House is a home drenched in blood and haunted by the past, and is actually called the Rosenheim Mansion. It is located in LA at 1120 Westchester Place and while unfortunately there are no tours provided for this infamous mansion, it's still a very iconic site to visit!
So what do you reckon - are you game enough to stay in any of these film locations?
