Horror fans flock to Blairstown for Friday the 13th celebration

<p>Hundreds of horror movie fans are expected to come to Warren County Friday for a Friday the 13th celebration.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jul 12, 2018, 11:53 PM

Updated 2,107 days ago

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Hundreds of horror movie fans were expected to come to Warren County Friday for a Friday the 13th celebration.
Many are fans of the 1980 slasher film “Friday the 13th,” which was filmed in Blairstown, Hardwick and Hope.
“The fans come as early as 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. because they want to get on line to enter the diner, the Blairstown Diner,” which was made famous by the movie, says Jeanette Lurato who runs the Blairstown Museum.
The Blairstown Museum sells lots of “Friday the 13th” memorabilia.
Lurato says that local businesses in Blairstown benefit greatly from the fans, and they see a large uptick in business revenue every Friday the 13th.
Experts say that the increase in revenue in the towns proves that the movie industry can be a long-term money-maker for New Jersey.
Gov. Phil Murphy reinstated film tax credits of 30 to 35 percent in order to lure back movie productions to the Garden State. The majority of all television programs currently being produced in New Jersey are reality shows.
“It’s going to make more of an impact for the cities and the state because now we can push the film companies to hire local residents, to hire local caterers and businesses,” says Kenneth Gifford, the head of the Newark Office of Film and TV.
Former Gov. Chris Christie suspended the tax credit for film production in New Jersey in 2010, supposedly because he disliked the MTV program “Jersey Shore” and its impact on the state’s reputation.


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