As tastes change and the genre ebbs and flows, it’s impossible to predict which horror hits will retain their prestige across the decades. One such financial and critical colossal, The Blair Witch Project, still surfs the wave of superior found footage flicks. This micro indie from 1999 continues to accrue fans thanks to its ramshackle stylings and well-rounded folklore.
25 years later, The Blair Witch Project scares like it did upon release. Back in 1999, the filmmakers’ guerrilla efforts terrified moviegoers who assumed the truth of its marketing– that three student filmmakers making a documentary about a local legend really did go missing in the woods.
I was 17 when Heather, Josh, and Mike stomped into the Black Forest Hills to never return. I distinctly recall my first viewing of the movie, at the Nottingham Broadway cinema for a Thursday night preview screening ahead of the film’s widespread release. The experience of what happened after the movie remains clear in my mind; as the credits rolled people remained in their seats, stunned. Some unable to move, panting. Many swaying, others crying. How can a movie that achieves that level of affect not become a major cultural moment?
A significant part of its success lies in the filming locations selected by directors Eduardo Sanchez and Dan Myrick. The town of Burkittsville. The woods within the “Black Hills”. The old house of an alleged child-killer. What’s exactly is real and what is myth? Let’s explore those real-life spots from The Blair Witch Project.
Why Maryland was Chosen For The Setting
Filmed over the course of eight days in late 1997, the film shot in and around Montgomery County, Maryland. “It was always going to be filmed in Maryland,” one of the directors Eduardo Sanchez told Patch in 2017. “It was a legend that had to live in this area.”
The director explained that Maryland possessed the “right sort of vibe and look”, as well as being replete with rich local history and folklore which the pair drew upon to craft the Blair Witch mythology.
According to Myrick they also opted to shoot there because of proximity to Sanchez’s girlfriend’s home which became the movie’s base of operations during production.
But the pair picked Burkittsville for no specific reason. “At the time, we thought nothing of it,” says Myrick. “It was just sort of this random town.”
Where Was The Blair Witch Project Filmed?
The Blair Witch Project was filmed in and around Maryland with scenes shot in Burkittsville, Seneca Creek State Park, Brunswick, Patapsco Valley State Park, Knoxville, Brookville, and Bealsville.
What separates the Blair Witch from most films that rake in hundreds of millions of dollars is who did most of the filming. In this case, the three actors – Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, and Joshua Leonard– who play fictionalized versions of themselves. Prior to the shoot, the trio went through a bootcamp to ensure they felt somewhat confident with the filming equipment.
Says Leonard, “That whole conversation in the movie about feet versus meters after we left Mary Brown’s house—that was real. That was me realizing that I’d screwed up the calculations for my measurements and the footage was probably going to be out of focus.”
The Blair Witch Project Key Filming Locations In Maryland
5550 Mountville Road, Adamstown, Maryland 21710
19105 Keep Tryst Road, Knoxville, Maryland 21758
1 South Maple Avenue, Brunswick, Maryland 21716
5 Cemetery Drive, Burkittsville, Maryland 21718
Seneca Creek State Park, 11950 Clopper Rd, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878
1. Black Hills Forest (Seneca Creek State Park, 11950 Clopper Road, Gaithersburg)
The infamous Black Hills Forest where the reported witch Elly Kedward snatched away countless children over the years is in reality the beautiful Seneca Creek State Park in Gaithersburg. “It had creeks, it had buried terrain. It had everything we were looking for,” said Sanchez.
These are the woods where the trio chat to the fishermen, find the stick men hanging in the trees, and shoot the footage of Heather at Coffin Rock. These monikers stem from the lore cooked up by the Haxan Films crew yet now are embedded within the history of Seneca Creek with the park officially adopting them.
The 6300-acre park houses many sites of historic interest, outside of the movie of course, that includes a woodland estate upon which once sat a plantation, a famed peony garden, a log house from the original Germantown, Maryland, and the Black Rock Mill. The mill is snuggled close to the main road where the trio drive before entering the park.
Fisherman’s Rock
To find Fisherman’s Rock, start at Black Rock Mill, cross the highway bridge, and walk down to the creek bank to the right.
Coffin Rock
To find Coffin Rock, start at Black Rock Mill, look across Black Rock Road for the Seneca Ridge Trail sign. Walk across the street to the sign but don’t go on the trail; instead turn left and head down the bank of Great Seneca Creek. Walk up the creek bank around 800 yards, and you will reach Coffin Rock.
Thank you to the Maryland State Park Ranger Erik Ledbetter whose videos offer up these specific steps to finding these iconic locations!
2. Rustin Parr’s house (Griggs House, Patapsco Valley State Park, just west of Hernwood Road and Offutt Court, Granite)
The finale was shot in an old Victorian abode that sat abandoned with the woods of Patapsco Valley State Park in western Baltimore County. Founded in 1907, this is Maryland’s oldest state park covering 16,000 acres. Small neighbourhoods exist nearby the Griggs House site – it’s hardly in the middle of nowhere – yet this lone construction was overtaken by wildlife and like many of the structures within the park suffered flood damage.
Within a report commissioned by the Department of Natural Resources in 1984 lie photographs taken of the property between 1978-1979, along with a description of the abode and hand-drawn blueprints. Simply seeing the words “Cellar Entrance” is enough to make you shiver…
Alas, that same state department later dubbed the dwelling as a “nuisance and a hazard”. A state official said ‘Blair Witch’ has nothing to do with the value of the property as far as the park staff is concerned” and later ordered it razed in 2003 despite outcry from local residents.
The ruins of the home remain at the site which can be easily accessed from the road.
3. Burkittsville Union Cemetery (Burkittsville Cemetery, 5 East Cemetery Drive, Burkittsville)
The location of Heather’s opening monologue took place in Burkittsville Union Cemetery, which was established in 1931 and earned the name ‘union’ as the site included burial arrangements for two separate congregations.
“As I recall, Burkittsville was chosen because of its quaintness, its smallness, and the scenery around its cemetery,” said production designer Ben Rock.
I distinctly recall the filmmakers chuckling on the audio commentary DVD about the trio’s decision to record facing a giant pile of dirt in the background.
4. The diner (Formerly Silver Rail Diner, 1 South Maple Avenue, Brunswick, now Mommer’s Diner)
This locale is where the filmmakers stop to question and film locals about the legend of the witch. It was previously known as the Silver Rail Diner before it was renamed Mommer’s Diner which is now permanently closed.
One of the most fascinating pieces of trivia that has persisted since the movie opened concerns the woman they encounter holding her baby daughter. That very woman, Susie Gooch, insists along with Myrick and Sanchez that she was not a plant and in fact improvised the entire exchange with Heather.
5. The motel (Hillside Motel, 19105 Keep Tryst Road, Knoxville)
Their last night of comfort before traipsing into the woods took place at the Hillside Motel in Knoxville. This sequence is quite brief within the movie, yet Heather, Mike and Josh filmed around 90 minutes of footage as they continued to get more and more inebriated. They stayed in room 118.
6. The interview with the man (Stup’s Market, 5550 Mountville Road, Adamstown)
Lastly, the interview where they learn all about Rustin Parr took place outside of a local grocery store which at the time of filming went by Adamstown Village Market. It’s here that they chat with an older man who tells them about the Parr’s killing spree seven kids took place outside of
Other locations within the film include the exteriors of Mike’s house at 18404 Shady View Lane, Brookville, the diner where they interview a waitress at 19800 Darnestown Road, Beallsville which is not a diner but Colony Supply Store.
Travel Tips
The town of Burkittsville received considerable attention following the film’s release including multiple acts of vandalism at the cemetery and at the town limits. Please bear this in mind when visiting–- the townsfolk have gone through quite a lot.
Most of the stand-out scenes take place within an hour’s drive of one another, so it’s not essential to stay overnight. But if you’re coming in from out of town and want to soak up everything Blair Witch then it’s the perfect opportunity to kick back at the Hillside Motel where the trio stayed in the movie.
Guided tours of the main filming locations are offered through The Blair Witch Experience. This annual event takes place every October and is run by Blair Witch megafan Matt Blazi who wrote the book 8 Days in the Woods: The Making of The Blair Witch Project. The 2024 outing runs from October 12-13 and tickets are $75 which covers both days. Sanchez often makes an appearance at this yearly event!
Other Nearby Film Locations
Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows (2000)
The film’s first divisive sequel branched off into meta territory and had little to no involvement from the original creators. Opting to recreate the Parr house, production also chose to avoid the original park and shot instead at Gwynns Falls Leakin Park outside of Baltimore, Maryland.
