Diners. New Jersey is famous for them. In fact, we have so many diners that we’re referred to as “The Diner Capital of the World.”
We love them. They have amazing food, majority of the time, their fries are amazing no matter what diner you go to, and it’s where we go to eat, hanging out with friends and family, and make memories. Plus, it doesn’t matter what time of day it is- morning, noon, night, or even past midnight- we’ll go to one.
Where I live, there are roughly 30+ diners within a 10-mile radius of my home, 3 of which are in my town.
However, there’s one diner that stands out amongst the others, and it’s over 50 miles away from me.
Recently, my husband came across an article about a diner called the Blairstown Diner, and it’s in, of course, Blairstown, NJ. It’s unique because of its history.
The Blairstown Diner has been around since 1949 and is one of the locations where scenes from the original Friday the 13th movie was filmed back in 1979. Before it became a franchise, it was an independent, low-budget film. The rest is history.
The diner is the only horror diner in New Jersey. Being horror nerds, my husband and I automatically wanted to go. Two days later, we were on the road.
It was about an hour and a half drive, and it’s worth the drive.
First, the view while driving: beautiful.
Where I live, everything is congested, crowded, densely populated, traffic galore, and sometimes suffocating. But driving there, we encountered no traffic, spaced-out cars, greenery, and farms. Houses sat farther apart, sometimes tucked so deeply among the trees that all you could see from the road was the beginning of a long driveway disappearing into them. Honestly, it would be a huge adjustment to live in a place where my next-door neighbor was half a mile away.
It really felt like I was in a different state.
When we got to the diner, it was smaller than I expected it to be. But I liked that, because it feels like a traditional diner. We immediately saw the posters hanging on the outside.
Inside, there is Friday the 13th memorabilia throughout the restaurant, along with merchandise for visitors who want to bring home a souvenir. And, naturally, there is a life-sized Jason Voorhees standing inside.
I suggested we sit next to the booth where Jason was, but my husband preferred not to have a classic serial killer watching us eat. The staff was friendly, and my husband and I kept our orders simple: hamburgers and fries.
Even the condiments were horror-themed.
One of them was Crystal Lake Fire Salt, a spicy seasoning named after the fictional Camp Crystal Lake. I tried some on my food and initially didn’t think it was that spicy, but it sneaks up on you. The diner actually sells Crystal Lake Fire Salt among its merchandise, along with other horror-inspired items.
If you’re a horror fan, I highly recommend you visit here at least once. They even have events that you can find on their website.
And if you need more convincing, there’s a CBD store right across the street from the diner, which the employee working there was extremely friendly, knowledgeable about the product and a great conversationalist.
In Memory of Victor Miller (1940–2026)
Screenwriter of the original Friday the 13th, whose story helped turn a quiet corner of New Jersey into a permanent part of horror history.
This was written by our contributing writer, Gigi Grindley.
Image Source: Facebook, Blairstown Diner
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