Did You Know the Friday the 13th Movie Has New Jersey Connections?

This makes me proud to be from New Jersey.

Happy Friday the 13th!  It's a day that has gotten a reputation for being unlucky, but, if you're into horror movies, you're excited about it, because it's the namesake of the iconic movie Friday the 13th.

Friday the 13th is one of the biggest horror movies in history.  It generated 12 franchise films and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.  It also has major New Jersey ties.

Before we get into NJ's ties to the movie, have you ever wondered why 13 is such an unlucky number?

According to The University of South Carolina, it dates back to Norse mythology and even the Bible.  It's associated with the trickster god Loki, and with Judas being the 13th apostle who betrayed Jesus.  The Friday aspect also dates back to the Bible, since Jesus was nailed to the cross on a Friday, per The Economic Times.

Up until I watched the Friday the 13th episode of the Netflix Documentary, The Movies That Made Us, I had no idea that Camp Crystal Lake is actually in New Jersey.  I always knew that movie had to have some NJ connection since Jason's last name is Voorhees, just like the South Jersey town.

But what I found out was way cooler than just a name connection (which I was right about, by the way).

Apparently, the real Camp Crystal Lake (actually named Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco) where the movie was shot is located in New Jersey - up in Warren County, in a town called Hardwick.  I had no idea.

The camp does do tours, but they're only on specified dates.  It's definitely on my bucket list.