#i'm going to the ny renaissance faire | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ofcloudsandstars · 7 years

Note

Hello, dear! A little fae told me that you live in NJ. I do as well! I wanted to ask for your recommendations on magical places to go/see in the NJ/NY area! I have a day of next Monday and my friend who i'm chilling with said she'll go anywhere I want and I'm so overwhelmed at the possibility! I normally work, so this is a rare opportunity that I cannot pass up! I'd really appreciate the suggestions! ~May good energies surround you!~

I have mentioned a number of times on this blog that I live in NJ! That’s cool you live here too, NJ is pretty special in it’s own way!

For NJ there are tons of cool abandoned places that feel like a strange liminal space. NJ is notorious for legends of strange creatures living in these spaces so like whether or not you believe in that be careful cause that tends to attract a sketchy type of crowd. In a natural reservation by my house for example it’s advised people don’t go alone cause weird people do strange rituals there and malicious energy shit cause they thrive off those type of sinister legends. It’s also like Fort Tyron in NYC which is my favorite park ever, it’s INTENSE with magical energy, ghosts and entities but there’s some parts of the park that has a very dense and somewhat negative vibe and you don’t want to linger there for too long. It’s still an incredible place though!

So NJ has A lot of abandoned places as you may know. These abandoned places have tons of energy and history to them and are pretty magical in their own way. I will link some sites to them too.

Abandoned Railroad station-Like there are a million abandoned NJ railroad graveyards and stations but this one might be easier for you to access. It’s by Jersey City. Be careful that some abandoned places are not protected by some law cause sometimes you can end up trespassing and you don’t want police to be all up in your grill

Ashbury Park-Honestly my favorite beach in the north east. It’s beautiful, clean and very classy NJ Americana with all the wonderful boardwalk treats like saltwater taffy and orange creamsicle soft serve, but it has a lot of fascinating energy too, the nicest waves and sea shells and sand. They also have a Paranormal museum and shop that holds tours there and a lot of abandoned shit like shipwrecks a haunted paramount theatre and Asbury Lanes. Great to go for a summer day trip!

Clifton’s Gates of Hell-I’m not far from Clifton but this place is incredibly dangerous. I’m just letting you know about it since you asked but its like.. dangerous.. lol. A lot of kids from my high school would come here for the thrill but would leave kind of disturbed. Like if the NJ devil is real he would be chillin here. It’s like a series of storm drains and there has been cults doing weird magic inside. I would suggest you go with someone and be armed or something but also this is totally a bad idea and like how horror films start. A lot of kids in my school knew about weird haunted abandoned places in NJ like there is an abandoned asylum that still has electric chairs intact and an abandoned mansion but the stories they told always sounded really creepy and really dangerous. Like aside from being very empathetic and probably feeling the trauma the ghosts went through their waking lives there, I am moreso always concerned about living people and what they’re capable of. I think it’s cool to know about The Gates of Hell but I am giving you a long ass disclaimer about going there haha. (btw the asylum was called Greystone Psychiatric Hospital in case you are interested lol. My friends said that they still have medical records and everything in tact. Its like they had to evacuate one day and never cleaned up anything). Also like mentioned above if you do go- I think at least for Greystone it’s a halfass protected historical site. Halfass meaning it has a cheap metal chain fence around it but police might be snooping around so you want to be careful because I am assuming that for the hospital you could be trespassing if you enter anyway. (Clifton Gates I don’t think it’s protected at all)

Pine Barrens-Also for more creepy places I would suggest you should avoid but should know about are Pine Barrens. I feel like everyone that needs to know anything witch-history related and paranormal and weird about NJ should know about Pine Barrens. Like Pine Barrens is the heart of the bizarre of this state lol. Supposedly witches used to live there on some long ago colony and they summoned or gave birth to The Jersey Devil that still lingers in this land. That’s basically where the beast was born. The Pine Barrens is very ‘The Blair Witch Project’ in vibe. People go there and leave weird shit on purpose. Witches probably go there and do some dank magic. It’s a giant swamp so the energy is kind of dank anyway.

Even though Weird NJ might seem like a super corny and kitschy magazine, in it’s very childishness presentation it kind of does hold a guide to the paranormal and bizarre of the state. It’s cute in a goosebumps-ish way where most people wouldn’t take the magazine seriously but if you really go on the adventures it suggests you will probably end up on a hell ride haha.

There are also a lot of waterfalls in NJ. Like NJ is known for waterfalls. Check out this link. Also just google NJ waterfalls or top 10 waterfalls in NJ or whatever it will give you some great advice since the best are often listed everywhere but tend to be far and out of the way.

For towns there are a few that are nice. Montclair is a beautiful artistic town. There are a lot of magical shops there too like Blu Lotus that sells a lot of magical tools and items and is beautiful. I posted a few pictures of it before. There are more magical stores up and down bloomfield ave which is where the downtown stores are centered around. There is also Parcel further up bloomfield ave that sells really nice stationary and has an Amelie, whimsical faerie-like feel. There is an incredible crystal shop also on Bloomfield Ave called Rocky’s Crystals & Minerals. There’s a new magic tool and spiritual shop further down bloomfield ave called Mystic Spirit Metaphysical Shoppe. I’ve never been there yet. If you want to hang around Bloomfield Ave in downtown Montclair I’d suggest for lunch go to Raymonds which is a super cute classic Americana restaurant that sells great Egg Creams and Burgers. That’s like their specialty don’t get anything else haha. If you are vegetarian/vegan there is a great vegan restaurant on that same street (Church ave where Blu Lotus is) and there is a smoothie acai bowl shop on that street too for dessert. Other than downtown Montclair has a lot of beautiful parks and a really nice reservation called Eagle Rock. Eagle Rock can be a little sketchy so check it out with a friend but overall its a cool place. Oh yeah and there is the Van Vleck house which is a mansion with beautiful gardens open to the public. It is MAJESTIC in the summertime. Sooo fucking gorgeous. Its worth checking out. There are wild bunnies that run across the garden too. It has a very french style to it (montclair has a large french community).

Verona also has a magical shop called Goddess in Eden. The owner used to work in Blu Lotus in Montclair but branched off into her own shop. She is wiccan and works with the fae and is often in her own head so she’s hard to kind of have a conversation with haha. The store is facing Verona park which is beautiful and has always been one of my favorite parks.

Edgewater NJ is pretty special. In that area of NJ there are a lot of Japanese Americans and there is a huge supermarket and restaurant that the area is known for that caters to Japanese culture but aside from that Edgewater has these incredible trails I discovered with an intimate partner there. There are raspberry bushes growing all over the trail and the most TRETCHEROUS FUCKING STONE STAIRS leading AS STEEP AS POSSIBLE down to the river. Its beautiful and at one point you will feel like you are in a fort or castle at some time but its kind of intense tbh.

Also Nj has the most CUTEST industrial towns along the delaware river. I have yet to explore there but I’ve been wanting to go.

Anyway for NYC there is:Manhattan- 9th street between ave 1 and A is like the most magical street in Manhattan. You have Flower Power which is a great apothecary/herb shop and the people in there are amazing. It looks like a store out of harry potter with cute green library shelves filled with herbs. Then there is Enchantments which is NYC’s oldest witchcraft shop. The staff might be kind of unwelcoming but the cats are worth it. There is also Good Beer which is a craft beer place that sells seasonal ciders and beers and is partially a bar. I think if you like beer, cider and drinking its worth checking out. There is also a vegan confectionery on that same street. There is also a crystal shop and a psychic place but I haven’t been to the psychic there. There is also a cat shelter on that block that lets you come in for free to hug and pet the cats.

Fort Tyron Park- basically 181 off the A and above. The park is a long park on the north west side of Manhattan’s island and is gorgeous. It faces the river and has a lot of rocky mountainous cliffs and hills and old stone bridges, walls and structures. It’s well known for the Cloisters which is a kind of castle built from old pieces of old monasteries from Europe. It’s a medieval museum apart of the MET that does wine tastings in the summer and hosts a renaissance fair. There are parts of the park that are super mysterious and can get creepy. You would have old stone stairs leading down into an overgrown growth of vines that grows into a forest by the foot of the stairs. You have a lot of walkways that descend into stone tunnels that are super dark in the middle. There are a lot of strange liminal spaces there. It’s relatively safe so you can be fine alone but you should be able to pick up weird vibes if something too strange is afoot. Also if you are around 181 there’s a fantastic Irish bar called Le Cheile that has this very whimsical feel and a great cider and beer selection. It would be cool to drink there after checking out the park!

North Woods Central Park-Some forest that is easier to get to and not too out of the way is the north woods on the upper left side of Central Park. It’s beautiful and intense and drowns out the whole city. You can get very much lost in it and some of the path has been devoured by the earth and overtaken by weeds and dirt. I love walking through this forest in winter. There are old brown stone troll-like bridges in there and a lot of beautiful streams everywhere. You might want to be with a partner while going through because for central manhattan it can be a bit troubling to be alone in the woods and some sketchy types threaten you. I’ve never been bothered but I try not to chance myself too much. I find the ramble safer but wayy more populated but ok to be alone in. (The ramble is a smaller woods in the more central area of central park).

Lillies by Union Square-Its not really magical, but it’s super charming and I love it, especially around christmas when they decorate the fuck out of it. It’s super whimsical and has a very old classic NYC vibe

Abracadabra-On west 19th street. It’s not that magical as it is kind of creepy, paranormal and a spooky goosebumps adventure. If you’re ever in NYC it’s worth going in and laughing at.

BrooklynOff Morgan on the L line is Catland which is Brooklyn’s witchcraft store and community. They CONSTANTLY have witchy events there, from parties to rituals to symposiums. I’m going to a discussion with a witchy friend there this Saturday to talk about Death, the afterlife, channeling spirits, ouija boards and contacting ancestors. They have parties like queer witch prom and its a very queer witch friendly space as it’s run by queer witches

I know there are definitely places in the Bronx but I honestly do not know the Bronx well enough to write a lot on it.

Governor’s Island-OHBOY HOW DID I FORGET THIS ONE, everyone knows this place cause they hold music festivals there but governor’s island is the most liminal space ass place I’ve ever been to. It’s beautiful but littered with haunted feeling houses that some artists have taken to making into even more haunted vibe art studios. Check out the HoloCenter which is an art center for laser art and holographs. Its literally like an old creepy decaying house filled with black portrait spaces that when you walk too close a fucking holograph face pops out at you. It’s super beautiful, cool and creepy tech art that for some reason never was popular enough to take off so it feels really alternative.

I hope some of these places are interesting to you! Stay safe! Especially in NJ’s more paranormal spaces they feel very Blair Witchy meaning that it’s not always so friendly so it’s good not to be alone, but of course there are a lot of wonderful places too! I hope you guys have fun!!!

#long post #nj #magic places #paranormal #witchy

17 notes · View notes