The bizarre tale of ongs hat fun new jersey magazine. Friend and author, joseph matheny joins us for an exclusive interview discussing the events that transpired in the late 1970s in the new jersey pine barrens. Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members its free and quick. In fact, there was a previous book devoted to the subject of ong s hat s bizarre happenings that was published in the early 1930 s by a man named henry charlton beck. Ongs hat might have been nothing more than a footnote in the local history books were it not for a very weird development that some believe occurred there in the last quarter of the twentieth centurythe opening of a gateway to another dimension. Rumors swirled for years that something profound had once happened there. The threads of the story can be traced back as far as the 1980s on. Since before the continents assumed their present shape, countless ages before intelligent protohominids walked erect and began using sticks to scratch signs in the mud, immeasurable aeons before alphabets and settled agriculture were newfangled, ongs hat a now deserted. What little there is to learn of the history of ongs hat comes from henry beck who penned a book in 1936 entitled forgotten towns of southern new jersey. I was very excited when i saw the book was released. In this older book, beck described such strange goingson as ufo. Ongs hat was one of the earliest internetbased secret history conspiracy theories created as a piece of collaborative fiction aka incunabula by four core individuals, although the membership propagating the tale changed over time. What exactly is ongs hat, an obscure location in the new jersey pine barrens, not too far away from fort dix. Jersey devil press strangeness, beauty, and poop jokes.
The elusiveness of the incunabulas original proponents, emory cranston a. Click on a link to buy jans book at your favorite store. View more property details, sales history and zestimate data on zillow. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Ultimately, the strangest tale about ongs hat has to be about the incunabula papers. Ongs hat is an unincorporated community and ghost town in pemberton township, burlington county, new jersey, united states. Ongs hat, new jersey, was founded somewhere in the nineteenth century by a man named ong after he tossed a hat into the air and it got caught on the branch of a tree very interesting about hats history, but anyway, put that aside and turn our. Sandy shorts in the late 1800s stockton university. When lisas woolen stocking flies off the clothesline, hedgie finds it and pokes his nose in. Fards acreage lies in the invisible suburbs of this invisible town, of which we are the sole inhabitants. This is section 1 dan bridge road in bass river state forest to buttonwood. Ongs hat was more of an experiment in transmedia storytelling than what we would now consider to be an arg but its dna the concept of telling a story across various platforms and new media is evident in every alternate reality game that came after. It is located on magnolia road west of the four mile circle, where new jersey route 72 intersects with new jersey route 70, it is the northern terminus of the batona trail. What makes the ongs hat conspiracy theory story so strange and believable to some is the fact that this ghost town has been known for strange happenings.
Weird nj is a travel guide and magazine to places you wont find on state funded maps or located on any tourist attraction pamphlets. Jon klassen has completed his hat trilogy with we found a hat featuring tortoises. He laundered his savings by buying 200 acres of land near ongs hat. Ongs hat is the creepiest abandoned town in new jersey. In his 1944 book, jersey genesis, beck himself says in reporting on ongs hat he fell for elaborate traps and that the. Although it was never more than one hut it still appeared on some maps as of 2006. Much, much later, ongs hat became the setting for a very strange supernatural tale that takes a variety of different directions, depending on. Over the first ten years that weve been publishing weird nj magazine, mark and i have received several offers from various publishing companies interested in having us write a weird nj book. The red hat by david teague meet your next favorite book.
One of the younger male ongs, a fancy dresser, frequented country. You can find ongs hat on weird nj, the longrunning catalog of the garden states darkest corners, and on lists of new jerseys haunted attractions and sites. The early internet conspiracy game that got too real. It is located on magnolia road county route 644 west of the four mile circle, where new jersey route 72 intersects with new jersey route 70. Please refrain from sending poems with wonkyass formatting. Author joseph matheny has written a book called ong s hat.
Another theory is that its not actually a hat but a muddling of the pronunciation of ongs. Ongs hat also ong is a ghost town in pemberton township, burlington county, new jersey. Taking a hard left leads to a place known as ong s hat, and a trail that some say leads to a mysterious portal to another dimension. Well, unless you want to go trudging through the pines, the only visible sign via driveby is taking ongs hat road also known as ongs hatbuddtown road. The beginning and millions of other books are available for instant access. Grace elizabeth butlers the wolf who was late is a bold crimson sugar maple. Ongs hat also ong is an unincorporated community and ghost town in pemberton township, burlington county, new jersey, united states. It combined real physics, speculative science, mysticism, and radical politics, to tell a.
Ongs hat, also known as ongs hut, is actually a nowghost town that was. We only made 100 of these knit beanies so grab them while you can. For the past few years, ive had a great interest in the ongs hatincunabula mystery. Ongs hat is one of the internets earliest conspiracy theories, but before. Blue hole trail winslow wildlife management area winslow, camden county, nj distance. The red hat, by david teague, with illustrations by antoinette portis, tells the story of earnest billy hightower, who live on the top floor of a very tall building, and who discovers a lovely your girl who lives on the top floor of a very tall building that is built next door to billys building. They formed a collective with other scientists and moved to an area in the pines ongs hat and set up camp. Just discovered theres even a virus named after it. Part one, the digital underground, covered joes experiences running the grey lodge, an early, underground private torrent tracker used by millions of people per month. Decoder ring explores the interdimensional conspiracy. On the early internet, a conspiracy theory known as ongs hat flourished. A delightfully original companion book to jan bretts bestseller the mitten.
The new jersey pine barrens have a plethora of deserted villages, most of them simply abandoned decades, even centuries ago. Abandoned lake off wooley rd abandoned 1 link inside. Nenad pavlovics how the ninja turtles almost got me killed is a sycamore, splattered with vibrant. Its a full color volume of 276 pages of weirdness that we know you are all going to love. Stories of blueberries, weird science and the jersey devil in remote corner of nj. The author of the book, joseph matheny, is coy as to whether he. The batona trail backpacking day 1 bass river and wharton state forests, nj type. The modern one about ongs hat that portal to another dimension somewhere out in the pitch pines was popularized in the 2002 book ongs hat. In fact, there was a previous book devoted to the subject of ongs hats bizarre happenings that was published in the early 1930s by a man named henry charlton beck. Jon klassens we found a hat cover reveal and interview.
One of the most infamous of these is ongs hat, which some believe to be a mysterious portal to another dimension. We here at weird nj were very proud of our first book. Mostly due to giant puddles you have to navigate around in the road which the trail is on terrain mostly sand roads through the pines, with a bit of marsh. The beginning was originally an e book which sold over one million copies. The hat author jan bretts free coloring, video and. You can find ongs hat on weird nj, the longrunning catalogue of the garden states darkest corners, and on lists of new jerseys. The beginning, and in this book he contends that ong s hat was the meeting place for dissident princeton physicists from the 1930s to the 1960s, and they discussed theories way way way outside the norm of the day. Something very strange will be hopping down the bunny trail toward the the wellmont theater in montclair this saturday for the strangexchange, a popup flea market hosted by weird nj and the the aquarian weekly. This episode is part two of our interview with joe matheny. But i highly recommend that you check your sense of realism and disbelief at the door. You have been searching for us without knowing it, following oblique. Ong s hat was one of the earliest internetbased secret history conspiracy theories created as a piece of collaborative fiction aka incunabula by four core individuals, although the membership propagating the tale changed over time.
Some forums can only be seen by registered members. We have created a site rich with content so we can share it with friends and families. In the papers, its claimed, wali fard, an american expatriate and follower of tantric and shamanistic magic, returned to america after the fall of afghanistan to the soviets. Heres a great way to keep your cranium warm in any weather. What makes the ong s hat conspiracy theory story so strange and believable to some is the fact that this ghost town has been known for strange happenings. Ong s hat is one of the internets earliest conspiracy theories, but before that, it was a place, a ruin almost 3,000 miles away from santa cruz, deep in the woods of new jersey s pine barrens. The elusiveness of the incunabula s original proponents, emory cranston a pseudonym and joseph matheny his real name, has spawned wild speculation that the ong s hat legend is nothing but a media hoax. From the multitude of leaves the winds have scattered in the parlor of our woodland cave, we have collected six to press between the pages of issue 106. Author joseph matheny has written a book called ongs hat. Weird nj we here are weird nj are very excited to be. One of the most infamous of these is ong s hat in burlington county.
Please feel free to take your time and browse around. Ong used to go into the pine barrens to dance and consort with the ladies, always dressed in his finery and adorned with a prized silk hat. One of the most infamous of these is ongs hat in burlington county. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required.
After you create your account, youll be able to customize options and access all. Ongs hat might have been nothing more than a footnote in the local history books were it not for a very weird development that some believe occurred there in. The following, more recent, history of ongs hat and its mysterious interdimensional. The true reason as to why anyone would name a village ong s hat may be shrouded in mystery forever. The hat was so noticeable and stayed in the tree so long that it became a landmark. Some claim that the book is pure fantasy, and has set up a hoax that many have come to accept as real. This spooky place is surrounded by strange and supernatural stories. Back in the late 60searly 70s some learned scientists from princeton were booted from teaching there for their radical theories and experiments based on interdimensional traveltime travelparallel worlds.
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