Tornadoes and Zombies in Pennsylvania

In July 1967, a group of filmmakers descended on a cemetery in rural Pennsylvania to film the opening scene of their small independent horror film. The film involved a group of survivors trying to find refuge as the dead inexplicably became reanimated and sought to devour living human flesh. The small film was George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and it is considered one of the greatest (and most important) horror films of all time. Its success and cult following has also transformed Evans City Cemetery into a must-see tourism spot for fans interested in seeing where it all began.

In the fictional world, the cemetery in essence ushered in a zombie apocalypse that resulted in several sequels and countless imitations – spawning the flesh-devouring sub-genre of zombie horror films. Evans City Cemetery is still overly recognizable as that virtual “ground zero” of the dead rising from the grave… mostly. Some visitors to the grounds might not know that the cemetery was the site of true chaos and destruction a couple of decades following the film’s release – courtesy of Mother Nature. On May 31, 1985, a tornado touched down on the cemetery grounds and wiped out trees, shrubbery, a mausoleum, and displaced 361 gravestones. It was only one of many tornadoes that struck the state of Pennsylvania (and surrounding states) that day, which caused mass destruction and took the lives of 69 people.

Pay a visit to Evans City Cemetery.

-Casey H.

He Hangs Upside Down and Backwards

If you were to visit the city of Salem, Massachusetts, one sight you'd be unlikely to see would be the Salem Marine Society's meeting place. It is hidden from the public, way up high on the roof of the Hawthorne Hotel. The society has long met at that location (though once at a lower elevation), even prior to the construction of the hotel itself. The meeting place of the Salem Marine Society is closed to the general public, though it would probably make a fine tourist attraction. The small building that sits atop the Hawthorne was actually constructed to look like the cabin of an old sailing ship known as the Taria Topan. Within the meeting room are relics of Salem's marine past, a time when the shipping industry was the life's blood of Salem's economy rather than tourism.

Among the old items to be found in the Salem Marine Society's headquarters are a pair of portraits with an unusual tale behind them. Both portraits are of the same man, Lt. Matthew Fontaine Maury; only one of the portraits is hung upside down and facing the wall. It has hung in that manner for 148 years as of today. On May 30, 1861, the Salem Marine Society voted to so dishonor Maury (who had been named an honorary member due to his great naval achievements, particularly in the field of navigation) due to his efforts in the Confederate Navy. The same talents that had allowed Maury to benefit mariners in general had made him a deadly foe that had cost the Union dearly in the lives of their own Navy. It was decided that his portrait would hang in dishonor rather than be entirely removed from the meeting place.

In 2007, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities provided the Salem Mariner's Society with a new portrait of Maury and a sign detailing his accomplishments. The Society hung the new portrait and sign in a proper manner next to the disgraced portrait. While the Salem Mariner's Society now honors Maury with the newer portrait, there is no plan to change the state of the old portrait which continues to hang upside down and backwards due to the side he chose in the war.

This is one of the many stories behind the Hawthorne Hotel. Pay a visit to the Hawthorne to read other tales associated with the hotel.

-Tom G

Dark Destinations Top 50 for Spring 2009

Here is a list of the current top 50 location articles at Dark Destinations. The popularity of the articles is determined by the number of hits each has gotten since they premiered on the Web site. Some of the articles found on this list have been on Dark Destinations for years at this point, others (such as our current number three on the list) have been featured on the site for only a few months. Our first number one location (Waverly Hills Sanatorium) has slid to the number five spot over the past year. The location currently in the number one spot (The Sylvia Likens House) was recently demolished. While it has a large lead, it wouldn't be entirely surprising to see The Haunting in Connecticut House give it a run for its money when The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) hits DVD later this year. Fans of the Twilight books and movie will be pleased to see that locations associated with both are featured multiple times on the list.

We will once again post a top locations list in October. We already have some ideas what may be rising up the list, based on the aforementioned DVD release as well as an upcoming 40th anniversary of an infamous crime that already has multiple locations associated with it listed at Dark Destinations. Of course, Casey and I have at times been surprised by a location rising up the chart faster than we could have predicted or by an unpredictable event in the news that drives new readers to read one of our articles. We can make educated guesses, but we can't predict the future. It will be interesting to see how things will change over the next five months. Click on any of the fifty links below to read the article in question.

-Tom G

1. The Sylvia Likens House
2. Twilight (2008): Thunderbird and Whale
3. The Haunting in Connecticut House
4. Twilight Saga: The Cullen House
5. Waverly Hills Sanatorium
6. Amityville Horror House
7. La Push, Washington
8. Sylvia Likens Memorial
9. The Simpson/Goldman House
10. The Oregon Vortex
11. The Sharon Tate House
12. Twilight (2008): Kalama High School
13. Twilight (2008): The Swan House
14. Old Tennessee State Prison
15. Twilight Saga: The Swan House
16. The Body Farm, Knoxville, TN
17. The Saint Louis Exorcist House
18. Fort Garry Hotel
19. Oak Hill Cemetery, Lebanon, IN
20. Spahn Ranch
21. West Virginia Penitentiary
22. Forks, Washington
23. Twilight (2008): Bloated Toad
24. Old Alexian Brothers Hospital
25. Forks Chamber of Commerce Twilight Tours
26. Eastern State Penitentiary
27. Hammond Castle
28. Frontier Field / Fear at Frontier
29. The Haunted World
30. Amityville Horror Movie House (2005)
31. The Lemp Mansion
32. Lake Erie
33. The Museum of Death
34. The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
35. Twilight Saga: Forks High School
36. Leeds Point, New Jersey
37. Twilight (2008): The Port Angeles Alley
38. Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses
39. Mekong River, Thailand
40. The Dent School House
41. First Beach, La Push, WA
42. Sleepy Hollow, New York
43. Johnny Cash's Childhood Hometown
44. Lake Compounce Amusement Park
45. Twilight (2008): The Stone Cliff Inn
46. Madison High School, Portland, OR
47. Amityville Horror Movie House (1979)
48. Hollywood Forever Cemetery
49. The Empire State Building
50. Missouri State Penitentiary

The Police Station from A Nightmare on Elm Street

Although set it an unnamed Midwestern town (it would not be until the sequel that the city name of Springwood was unveiled and the later television series that established the state as Ohio), Wes Craven's classic 1984 horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street, was shot in-and-around Los Angeles, California, as were many of its sequels. Today, we are focusing in on the location that doubled as the "5th Precinct" police station where the main character, Nancy Thompson's (Heather Langenkamp) father (John Saxon) worked. It was also the site where Nancy's friend, Rod (Nick Corri), meets his demise by getting strung up in his sleep by Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund).

In reality, the 5th Precinct Police Station is actually the Cahuenga Branch Library that has been serving the area since 1916 and is one of the few surviving libraries in Los Angeles that was funded by a grant from Andrew Carnegie. In fact, the Cahuenga Branch Library is celebrating an anniversary of sorts today. On May 19, 1987, it had the honor of joining a few other libraries in the city in being added to the National Register of Historic Places. Although it has had some recent remodeling, the library is still easily identifiable from its role in the film - including the window next to the right entrance where Nancy checked in on Rod.

Read more about the library or read up on other locations from A Nightmare on Elm Street.

-Casey H.

P.T. Barnum vs. the Brooklyn Bridge

Today marks the 125th Anniversary of a rather strange event on the world-famous Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, New York. On May 17, 1884, famed showman P.T. Barnum decided to unleash a public spectacle by leading a menagerie of his circus animals across the still relatively young landmark. The train of animals included seven camels, ten one-humped Arabian camels, and 21 elephants, including the world famous Jumbo - a large African bush elephant that stood at an estimated 11-13 feet. The event was naturally well publicized and a massive crowd was said to have roared in applause as the convoy made its way across the bridge.

So why the need for such a spectacle? The Brooklyn Bridge had only opened one year earlier and questions about the bridge's stability started almost immediately. Tragically, those fears led to tragedy less than a week after its opening. On May 30, 1883, the bridge was loaded with people when a rumor went through the crowd that the bridge was about to collapse. The frightened crowd immediately made way for either side of the bridge and a stampede occurred. Officials were finally able to restore order over fifteen minutes later, but the damage had already been done. 12 people had either been trampled to death or died after being pushed into the river below, while another 35 were injured. Just short of one year later and "...in the interest of the dear public," P.T. Barnum and his circus arrived to prove once and for all that the bridge was safe. The stunt worked and the questions about the stability of the structure were silenced.

Read more tales about the Brooklyn Bridge.

-Casey H.