So earlier today, my father and I took a trip up to Batsto Village. For those of you that are not familiar with Batsto Village, it is a historic site that is located in Wharton State Forest in New Jersey. Deep in the pine barrens is located this small ghost town that allowed me to capture such interesting photographs that are ready for Fall and will get you excited for Halloween.
Batsto Village Mansion
The very first building you see (as well as can see from anywhere on the park grounds) is the Batsto Village Mansion. The mansion itself is such a beautiful building. This photograph shows the rear of the building, but the front of the building includes a large porch with an extra-long bench for visitors to sit, relax and enjoy the view. The front yard of the house has large trees that also provide plenty of shade on a hot day. In the fall the trees have a colorful foliage that many visitors come from all over the state to see. There are some days where the park organizes guided tours of the interior of the mansion. From this photo, you can tell I like the view from the back of the mansion the best. Especially at this angle, it looks more like a haunted mansion that has a lot of mystery to it.
Batsto Post Office
The post office is located right in front of the Batsto Village Mansion. The post office was an interesting building because to me, it looked like an old farm house. The photo above definitely gives off that creepy, old, lonely house look. What was really cool about the post office was that you are allowed to enter it and see all the antique tools and equipment that the villagers used to use. The inside of the building also left me with an equal eerie feeling as the exterior of the building did.
The floorboards creaked as you would step on them, and the furniture against the walls of the post office were old and out-dated. From this photograph of the interior of the building, you can see that the building is baron and abandoned, but still shows off a sense of beauty that visitors, such as myself, can admire.
Batsto Gristmill
The next point of interest on our visit was the old gristmill located near the post office. I think the gristmill is, without a doubt, one of the creepiest buildings in the whole village. This photograph gave off some serious Halloween vibes. I seemed to capture it at exactly the right time too. There was another group of visitors walking around the village. They had a little boy, and he ran ahead of his group. In this picture, you can see the boy standing in the middle of the doorway to the gristmill. He almost looks like a ghost with the way I edited this photo in post-production.
Just like with the post office, you can also walk inside and view the interior of the gristmill. The reason why I thought the building was so creepy was not just because of the decaying exterior, but the dark interior of the building. When you walk inside, there are all these old tools and equipment lying around. The floorboards are also wooden and creak as you step on them. There is also this stairwell that you can walk down and leads you to the basement. If you have ever watched The Blair Witch Project, and were freaked out by the last scene of the film, then the basement of the gristmill may not be a place where you want to enter. The view from the bottom of the stairs made me really excited to see all of the new horror movies that are going to come out this fall.
So if you are ever in southern New Jersey, and are thinking of something to do, think about taking a trip to Batsto Village. The park is open daily and does not close till dusk. Admission is free on weekdays and just a short fee on the weekends. The park is beautiful year round, so don't think that you only have to go in the warmer months.