The Real Camp Crystal Lake

One of the most frequently used horror film tropes is the story of nubile teens alone in the woods staying the summer at a campground. Leaving the bucolic and rustic splendor of the campground, they traipse into the deep, dark woods to get to know one another’s bodies a little bit better when unbeknownst to them, they’ve secretly been selected and stalked by a masked killer along the tree lines. Screams are heard, machetes hack and heads and body parts fly. If such a setup sounds familiar to you, that’s because this idea was set up and strewn over the course of twenty-three years via ten sequels to one of the horror film world’s most iconic series, Friday the 13th.

The Real Camp Crystal Lake

Camp Crystal Lake is the fictional teen campground that serves as the main setting location in nearly all the Friday the 13th films. While the films never really give away a location, the actual campground exists to this day and is located in Hardwick Township, New Jersey. Contrary to the popular theory that the killer’s last name (Voorhees), is related to an actual township in the state isn’t true and this was confirmed by the film’s writer Victor Miller who simply used the last name because of a girl he once knew.

Today the camp is actually privately owned by the Boy Scouts of America and is called Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco. Despite the actual campground being on private property, trespassing by horror fans isn’t acceptable or cool. What is acceptable and cool however is the fact that the Boy Scouts do periodically open up the campground to guided tours by an authorized tour group. That’s right, Camp Crystal Lake Tours is a volunteer tour group in the area made up of dedicated and highly knowledgeable horror movie fans who lead eager horror cinephiles on the tour of a lifetime.

Camp Crystal Lake Tours

Tickets for Crytal Lake tours are incredibly difficult to obtain as it’s quite possibly the most popular tour in the New Jersey state area. A lottery-style method is employed to select a group of fans whenever the Boy Scouts approve another tour. However, once you are selected…..you can literally step inside the world of Jason Voorhees like never before. It is all there: the sign area that greeted doomed teens to Camp Crystal Lake, the main cabin hall with enormous stone fireplace, the archery range area, the lead counselor cabin, the waterfront cabins, and of course, the lake itself!

The Boy Scouts and tour group are savvy that fans want souvenirs, and they do not disappoint! Hats, shirts, pint glasses, official Camp Crystal Lake patches, and more. But the best and most popular piece is the Angry Mother Lake Water, which is bottled water right there from the actual lake. Proceeds from sales and tours go to Boy Scout non-profit organizations and all information on the tours are found at the official Camp Crystal Lake website.

When is the next Friday the 13th? Ever wonder why Friday the 13th is unlucky?