Weird N.J.: Your Travel Guide to New Jersey's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets

From Publishers Weekly
There's much more to New Jersey than highways and diners, and Sceurman and Moran do their part to exalt the state's lesser-known virtues in this "journal of strange travels," which goes far beyond the legend of the Jersey Devil. The book, which sheds light on "slightly offbeat or left of center" oddities of the Garden State, is a kooky compilation of roads less traveled, unexplained phenomenon and unsolved mysteries. The authors divide their work by subject, so there are chapters on strange roads (including Franklin Lakes's "gravity road," where cars in neutral travel uphill "as if forced by unseen hands"), local heroes and villains (such as Wyckoff's Midnight Walker, who's been scaring Bergen County teenagers for years) and eccentric abodes (like Richie and Leila Zorzi's Kendall Park home, which boasts a bowling ball collection on the front lawn). In a more serious vein, the book also devotes a good chunk of pages to more unusual aspects of New Jersey's history. The magazine-like format, perked up with numerous photos, perfectly suits the subject's quirky nature. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
Oh sure, Texas is bigger and California is cooler, but for sheer, out-and-out weirdness, no state even comes close to New Jersey. You probably know of the infamous Jersey Devil, but have you heard of the Matawan Man Eater or the Hoboken Monkey-Man? Maybe you'd like to cruise down haunted Annie's Road in Totowa, or take a stroll through Vineland's bizarre Palace of Depression? These are just some of the offbeat and odd, the mysterious and unexplainable, the spooky sights and local legends that don't appear on any tourist map. You'll only find them here, along with an amazing assortment of roadside oddities, abandoned asylums, natural phenomena and unforgettable people along the highways and byways of the Garden State. From Caldwell's Mystery Thread and the Dancing Jesus of Whippoorwill Road to the campaign to save Middletown's Evil Clown, you'll laugh, gasp and marvel at the everyday weirdness that is New Jersey.



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There's much more to New Jersey than highways and diners, and Sceurman and Moran do their part to exalt the state's lesser-known virtues in this "journal of strange travels," which goes far beyond the legend of the Jersey Devil. The book, which sheds light on "slightly offbeat or left of center" oddities of the Garden State, is a kooky compilation of roads less traveled, unexplained phenomenon and unsolved mysteries. The authors divide their work by subject, so there are chapters on strange roads (including Franklin Lakes's "gravity road," where cars in neutral travel uphill "as if forced by unseen hands"), local heroes and villains (such as Wyckoff's Midnight Walker, who's been scaring Bergen County teenagers for years) and eccentric abodes (like Richie and Leila Zorzi's Kendall Park home, which boasts a bowling ball collection on the front lawn). In a more serious vein, the book also devotes a good chunk of pages to more unusual aspects of New Jersey's history. The magazine-like format, perked up with numerous photos, perfectly suits the subject's quirky nature. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


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