The Blair Witch Project – Filming Locations
The Blair Witch Project was shot across three Maryland counties, and almost none of it in the town it's set in. Here is where each location is and what you can still get to.
The Blair Witch Project was shot in our home state of Maryland over eight days, wrapping on Halloween 1997. It came out in July 1999 and made about $248 million. Many of the scenes were shot in my own neighborhood. Safe to say, Make It Weird’s own Davey is a Blair Witch Superfan!
The story is set in Burkittsville, in Frederick County. Most of the film was not shot there. The woods are in a different county, and the house at the end is in a third. Here is what is where, and what you can still get to.
Mike’s House
18404 Shady View Ln
Brookeville, MD 20833
We see Mike in the outside of his house as the crew continue to gather and pack up. This is a real family home so as always, be respectful: brief visit making sure to stay on the sidewalk or street.
Burkittsville Union Cemetery
Burkittsville, MD 21718
Heather’s opening monologue. The town in the film is the real town, and this is the real cemetery, right at the edge of it.
After the film came out, Burkittsville was overrun. People took the town’s welcome sign more than once. It is a small residential village and people live there, so keep that in mind when you go.
Funny enough, the scene in actual Burkittsville with Heather was the only shot that was filmed in that actual tiny village. Lucky enough for film fans, the cemetery is untouched and looks exactly as it did in the 90s. In the film you’ll notice a large dirt pile behind Heather when she does her monologue. That pile is somehow, even after 2 decades of rain and weather, still sitting there. This type of thing is rare for such an old film site.
The Motel
The Hillside Hotel, 19105 Keep Tryst Road, Knoxville, MD 21758
Where the three spend their first night. Off US 340 near Harpers Ferry, about 10 miles west of Burkittsville. It’s operated under a few names over the years — Hillside Motel, Knights Inn Harpers Ferry — and it’s the Hillside Hotel now. Of all seven locations in the post, this is the one you can actually sleep in. I haven’t done that yet, but I did get to take a look inside. It’s about what you would expect of a small town motel.
Seneca Creek State Park – Coffin Rock
Black Rock Road, Germantown, MD 20874
The Black Hills Forest. Almost everything in the woods was shot here — Coffin Rock, the creek, the tent scenes, etc.
This is the part people underestimate. It is a state park with trails and parking, not remote wilderness. Coffin Rock is findable. The spot where they park the car is off Black Rock Road. In fact, “Coffin Rock” is even an official Google Maps pin point, which is kinda of ironic considering its from a film that’s based in being lost.
The fishing scene is on the north side of Great Seneca Creek, east of the bridge.
The park has run Blair Witch hikes in past years around Halloween. Our dog loves hanging out at Coffin Rock. I recommend NOT going in the summer as it’s a heavily populated swimming hole area with lots of family activity (and messy foliage to get through on the way). Visit in the fall, when the film was shot and based. The outcropping you see behind us below is where Heather delivered her iconic Coffin Rock monologue.
The Griggs House site
Patapsco Valley State Park, western Baltimore County
39.3455, -76.8586
Rustin Parr’s house. The final scene. And in (my) Davey’s neighborhood!
The house was about 200 years old and it is gone. The state parks department called it a nuisance and a hazard and had it torn down in 2003, over local objections. The film’s distributors had tried to save it.
The foundation is still there. It is close to the road, not a hike into nowhere, and there are neighborhoods nearby — it was never as isolated as the film made it look. Production designer Ben Rock found it past a decommissioned missile base, standing among other abandoned houses.
This is the one that matters most and the one most people get wrong. They go looking for a house but it’s…just some rubble now. Amazingly, this site is in walking distance of my own current house, and I didn’t know that until right after I moved in a couple of years ago. As such, I’m a very frequent visitor of this site. It’s awesome to walk around and pick up pieces of plaster and stone from the house. You will want to visit this site soon because I know that Baltimore County is planning to redevelop this land. Alas, this is why we can’t have nice things.
Stup’s Market
5550 Mountville Road, Adamstown, MD 21710
The store where they are told about the murdered children. It’s still pretty much the same — a humble convenience store. I grabbed a very spooky tropical celsius while there.
Mommer’s Diner
1 South Maple Avenue at Potomac Street, Brunswick, MD 21716
The last meal, and the interview with the waitress. It was the Silver Rail Diner before that. Unfortunately this site is closed and demolished.
Doing it in a day
Burkittsville, Adamstown, Beallsville and Brunswick sit close together in Frederick County and you can do all four in a morning. Seneca Creek is about 25 miles southeast of Burkittsville. Patapsco Valley is roughly an hour east of that, near Ellicott City.
Frederick County first, then Seneca Creek, then Patapsco last. That puts the Griggs House site at the end, which is the right order anyway.
Discover more from MAKE IT WEIRD!
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
1 comment