9. Ong’s Hat
Ong’s Hat might be the most mysterious entry on this list, and that’s saying something given the competition.
Located in the Pine Barrens of Burlington County along Route 72, Ong’s Hat is a ghost town that’s more of a legend than a landmark at this point.
The name itself is wonderfully strange, and the stories about how it got that name are even stranger, involving a hat, a tree, and a man named Ong, depending on which version you hear.
Today, there’s almost nothing left of Ong’s Hat as a physical place, just a few old structures and a lot of Pine Barrens atmosphere surrounding a stretch of road that most people drive right past.
Over the years, Ong’s Hat became the center of an elaborate internet conspiracy theory that claimed it was the site of a secret interdimensional travel experiment, which is honestly the most New Jersey thing imaginable.
The conspiracy theory was eventually revealed to be a piece of collaborative fiction, but it added a whole new layer of weird, wonderful mythology to an already mysterious place.
Even without the conspiracy theories, the Pine Barrens setting gives Ong’s Hat a naturally eerie quality that’s hard to shake.
The surrounding forest is dense and quiet, and the sense of isolation out there is real enough to make even the most skeptical visitor feel a little uneasy.
History enthusiasts and curiosity seekers alike make the pilgrimage to Ong’s Hat just to say they’ve been there, and honestly, that’s reason enough to go.
New Jersey’s ghost towns are full of surprises, but Ong’s Hat might just be the most surprising of them all.
Pack your curiosity and hit the road because New Jersey’s ghost towns are waiting, and they’ve got centuries of stories just dying to be told.
LINK: https://familydestinationsguide.com/eerie-new-jersey-towns/
