Filming locations


So I've read the posts about the Old Saybrook house and just thought I'd try to give the definite guide from what I know, though by no means complete, and hopefully others can add to figure out just where everything was shot...

One of the things I find fascinating about the movie is how many of the shooting locations in the movie are already well known in CT as interesting attractions in their own right.

Opening shot:
Route 9 northbound to exit 6

The shot starts looking south along Route 9, then pans over to show the exit.



The Old Bishop House:
Old Saybrook location confirmed

So first off the exterior and interior were two different houses.

IMDB has the interior as 34 North Main Street, Essex, Connecticut, USA.
I've never been there, and my understanding is it's a private residence, so good luck getting in, but I'm sure it would have been remodeled since 1971.
Trulia has it listed as being built in 1807.

The exterior is 220 Middlesex Turnpike, Old Saybrook, CT

Here's Old Saybrook's town website map, which shows the zoning. It is zoned for business now, which could explain the lack of habitation or renovations.

http://www.mapgeo.com/oldsaybrookct/?extent=-8057506,5057618,-8057124,5057891&basemap=AP12&thematicmap=ZN

You can also bring up the property records, which has a basic layout of the building.

http://gis.vgsi.com/oldsaybrookct/Parcel.aspx?Pid=4154

Here's a website that calls it "The Old Bishop House" but of course that is from the movie and doesn't seem factual.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/old-bishop-house

The house itself is in a pretty bad state. The house is boarded up. There is another house on the same property, with a garage, and that house has all windows and doors removed

If you are planning on going, be aware this is private property, and there are "No trespassing signs" very visible, so there is the danger of prosecution. And, the property is highly overgrown (though the driveway is easily passable), and during the summer there is loads of poison ivy growing around the property.

It is very easy to recreate the shot of Jessica running down the driveway away from the house, BTW. But again, you would be trespassing.


The ferry to the "island":
Chester & Hadlyme, CT, location confirmed

The ferry is the Chester/Hadlyme ferry across the Connecticut River. Still in operation, and in Hadlyme brings you to Gillette's Castle, a very interesting place to visit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester%E2%80%93Hadlyme_Ferry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillette_Castle_State_Park


The "town":
Chester, CT, one location confirmed

The shot of them entering the town is the intersection of Maple and Main Streets, in Chester, CT.

You can see the same building on the corner, updated obviously, and the circular intersection.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.402375,-72.44953,3a,75y,126.57h,72.1t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1szKLxVSSLAqgNFhRFCV5N8g!2e0


Swimming area:
Pattaconk Reservoir, Chester, CT, confirmed

TheXmanCometh nailed this one. Great job.

Here's the thread:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067341/board/thread/237004106

The orchid:
location unknown

The orchid, after 40 years, may or may not still exist. I would think it's still around as apple orchids in this area are still profitable, but it could be gone after all this time.


The graveyard:
Venture Smith Grave at First Church, East Haddam, confirmed

The story of Venture Smith is true, and his gravestone resides at the First Church of Christ cemetery in East Haddam.

According to other sources most if not all of the graveyard scenes have been filmed there. There are some discrepancies though, such as, the white fencing in the movie has been removed and replaced with a stone wall.

I'm planning on future visit to try to match shot for shot the gravestones in the movie.


The Black Whale Antiques
location unknown

So this one is interesting; there IS a Black Whale antique shop in Hadlyme, CT, but it's only been in operation since 1982. So is there any connection to the one shown in the movie, which looks like it operated out of a barn? A future road trip and a talk with the owners will hopefully shed some info.

http://www.blackwhaleantiques.com/


The dam:
Johnsonville Millpond dam, East Haddam, CT, confirmed

Johnsonville is another interesting place, with a storied history and many fascinating tales. Presently it is up for auction, though I don't think the mill pond dam is in any danger of being removed.

Here are some links which explain it's history much better than I would:

http://www.damnedct.com/johnsonville-east-haddam

http://johnsonville.omeka.net/

If you visit, Johnsonville Road is a public road, so it is easy enough to drive past, and if you can find a good place to part, you can also walk down the road. But I would caution venturing too far onto the grounds, as it is a highly watched area, with numerous "No Trespassing" signs and even cameras, and possible security presence discouraging trespassers.

Machimoodus State Park borders on the property and has very good views of all the buildings.

Recently (October 2014), Johnsonville was put up for auction and purchased by an unknown corporation The fate of the village at this time is unknown.

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Good job. The sad part about the 'Old Bishop' house is that I have seen several somewhat recent photos of it and the top of the house's 'tower' looks to have been fixed up at some point like someone was trying to save the house, but gave up. I hate when old houses like that fall into disrepair.

I believe that the cemetery is the First Church Cemetery in East Haddam CT. If you walk through the main entrance, walk towards the back right of the cemetery to find the stones (Venture Smith was one) that they were taking etchings of.

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[deleted]

I watched this movie today.
I really enjoyed it......loved the Old Bishop House
I am glad it still stands today
I read they used the top of the house in a paint commercial , that is why it is painted different then the rest of the house.

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seinsnej-860-440683, I see that you added the cemetery to your list since my first post, but I disagree with your statement that the cemetery sequence was not filmed there as I found evidence that it was. You are correct that a white fence is shown in the film while a stone wall exists today.

But if you freeze the first wide shot of the cemetery and compare it to a google street view, you can match up stones from the fence opening to the right with the current view (the taller stones are the easiest, but one is behind the tree in the movie shot.)

When Jessica walks in the cemetery you hear "For the first time in months, I'm free" and she walks by the gravestone of Uri Gates which you can find on findagrave.com in this cemetery.

A moment later she says something about "forget the doctors" and rushes to a white stone with a cross on the top. This is the gravestone for Sophia Emmons which you can also locate on the website.

Later when the sees the woman in white, on the bottom right of the screen is a stone an angled top and this is the grave stone of George Palmer. In the second shot where the woman in white is gone you can see "ge Palm" from the stone but a full shot is available on findagrave.

I used the standard DVD that I got from Netflix, but the HD version of the film that you can buy from iTunes might be even clearer if you are trying to freeze frame shots.

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I took a ride to East Haddam today and found the stones that I listed last night. The most significant sequences are all filmed in the same section of the cemetery. You basically want to walk through the main entrance shown in the film and follow the road until it starts to climb uphill.

On the left are two tombs. Walk to the left of the left tomb and move towards the back of the cemetery. Here is the Uri Gates stone that she first walks by and the Sophia Emmons stone with the cross on top that she etches (just to the right is George Palmer's stone.)
http://imgur.com/o4FRcKg

Now if you walk by the right side of the tomb on the right, this is the section where Jessica is etching a stone when she sees the woman in white (who then is gone when Jessica looks back.) The Palmer stone's top is visible in this shot.
http://imgur.com/M0AYuML
http://imgur.com/tfaBzRQ

Later in the film Jessica returns to the cemetery and chases the woman in white. The woman in white starts on top of the tomb on the right (we cut to Jessica) and then is shown running down the tomb on the left and running off to the left.
http://imgur.com/FyQIsgX
http://imgur.com/O1Qp9n9

The white stones are much darker now than when shown in the movie, but still recognizable. I am glad I took the ride as it was interesting countryside and a neat old cemetery. I parked at the church next door and walked over.

There were signs up for a cemetery tour on November 1 so mark your calendars if you want to check this place out.

Edited: originally I said I would try to upload my photos and have included links in this edit.

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I will certainly have to take another drive there. I'm actually heading to Johnsonville tomorrow to confirm the dam location.

The stone wall/white fence discrepancy certainly biased my opinion. I did have some screen shots with me but I wasn't looking at individual gravestone names to compare.

Did you notice the angel all the way in the rear. Her expression is... interesting, I thought. Almost smirking.

Do you think the white fence scene could be from another cemetery, and all the scenes you listed as First Church?

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Edit: the mole scene was shot here too. This is on the left side of the main road and was obviously shot before the cemetery was expanded to the left.
http://imgur.com/itqmUge
http://imgur.com/DyXqmSF

No, I am positive that the cemetery had a white fence in 1970 and that this is the cemetery we see Jessica in. I can match up stones in the first wide shot with Google map street views of the cemetery. Even the shot of the car approaching matches (there are two entrances on the left of the road with a telephone in between and this matches what is in front of the grange hall in East Haddam today.)

I am betting that as the fence started to fail that they decided to install a no maintenance stone wall that is much more fitting for a cemetery of this age. It has probably spared them 30 coats of yearly paint since and it looks great.

I edited a previous post to include links to photos that I took at the cemetery.

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Just to the west (and a bit north) of Chester is a small body of water called the Pattaconk Reservoir, and supposedly that's where the swimming scenes were shot.

From Google Maps, you can see a very distinct dock extending into the water, and I'm curious if that's the spot… (again, it's been over 40 years, so much could have changed since).

If you're still checking that area out for locations, I suggest having a look there...

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Thanks for the tip. Do you have a source for that?
I have been there numerous times, but now I'll have to go with a screen shot to try to compare.
If the dock you are talking about is the structure extending from the dam, it is concrete, and is definitely NOT the dock they used.
But the beach area could have had something there at one time.
I will check it out.

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Just head to the message board for the film and click on the "The swimming cove reveals itself" thread and you're done.

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Yes you have the correct lake. You will pass crystal lake. I grew up in CT and know the area like the back of my hand. I also camped and swan there 100s of times. Until the mid 80s it was called Cockaponset lake before they changed it to Pattaconk reservior. During the 80s they installed a new dam and changed the beach area the dock is no longer there. It was a really awesome lake before they installed the new dam after that they posted all kinds of rules and had dick head game wardens harassing people all the time ! They pretty much took all the fun out of the lake and turned it into a prison camp !

I`ve got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders depended upon me.

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I took a daytrip to Essex, CT recently and saw that the Dickinson House (a.k.a. the E.E. Dickinson House/Mansion) is currently for sale. There are photos of the home's interior that you can view by checking out the listing:

http://www.trulia.com/property/3202268550-21-N-Main-St-Essex-CT-06426

In the photos the wainscoting along the staircase still matches the film. The kitchen still has the white tile walls and an old stove that are visible in the movie. You can see the stove when Jessica prepares coffee during the first dinner scene (it has been spruced up since.)

I personally suspect that the attic scenes were also filmed in the house. There are three dormered windows where the attic would be in the home. One faces the Connecticut River and in the movie when Jessica tries on the wedding gown it looks like you can see the river through the window behind her.

I've mentioned before that the area merits a day trip if you are ever up for sightseeing/live nearby. Add Essex to that list as the historic downtown is very nice (old homes all very close to the ocean), you can find a walking tour map on the Essex Historical Society's website, and there are other things to do nearby. I bought powerball tickets that night just in case I was supposed to win and move to Essex/buy the house, but.....yeah, that didn't happen. 

July 8 edit: I noticed another filming location in the home. If you look at the 11th picture on the real estate listing there is a room with a glass table and fireplace. At the end of the séance scene the camera moves from the molding on the left to the panels above the fireplace and then stop at a clock that was sitting on the fireplace mantel.

Additionally, I am now just about positive that the attic scenes were filmed here and the 4th photo from the listing (showing the back of the house) is why. Later in the film Jessica notices that the picture is back in the attic and she walks to that dormered window. She passes a cast iron vent stack that goes to the roof and after a couple of feet she reaches the window. You can see in the current day photo that there is a vent stack in that same spot.

July 16 edit:
Sorry to keep piling on my own post, but I mentioned that the old kitchen stove looks to have been fixed up since the film and found evidence that this happened. The family that I believe is selling the home today mentions the efforts to remove the stove from the kitchen so that it could be restored:

http://www.shorelinetimes.com/articles/2011/12/10/life/doc4ee100b5108d7278613980.txt?viewmode=2

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Awesome work.

As a low-budget film I'm sure they were using whatever they could work with. Somebody thought the Old Saybrook house would make for an awesome horror movie location (it does), but for whatever reason couldn't get access to inside. I imagine those shots probably didn't even have a permit. (And being 40 years old was a permit necessary then?)

They did have access to the Dickinson House (another question being how did they?) and shot scenes accordingly.

More I did into this movie more fascinating it becomes.

I now drive by the Black Whale Antiques shop every day. Nothing like the movie, but I am still planning on stopping in and talking to the owner to see if there is any connection.
Appearance from the outside is it could have been the barn and is now heavily remodeled, but so much has been added since if that is the case.

Another update:
Johnsonville in Moodus (dam location) was for sale and had a buyer, but that fell through. Currently on the market again. Dam still safe, for now.

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Some of the location mysteries have an answer. If you head over to
http://www.letsscarejessicatodeath.net/john.html
John Hancock believes that Bill Badalato helped locate possible filming locations in the area as he owned property there.

Next, if you head to the "I've been to the house in Old Saybrook, Connecticut" thread I posted a link to an old Charles Stannard article from the Hartford Courant where he details filming at the house in Old Saybrook.

I wouldn't think that film permits would have been required in small towns (far from Los Angeles) back then, but this is just a guess. This is especially true if they were filming on private property and had permission from the land owners.

FYI that I have updated my July 6th post since the original post.

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[deleted]

Sorry to disagree but the dam in the film is not the Johnsonville Millpond dam.

Instead we have several pieces from the film that are all in the same place. I figured out the link when I checked out a promotional still from the movie where Jessica and Duncan are standing along a body of water and Jessica is pointing down (as if she is telling him this is where the antiques dealer was.) Two trees behind them in the photo are also visible on the right when the antiques dealer is shown fishing and I started to get the feeling that if we find where he fished that we might find our dam. (These images pop up on Ebay.)

I thought Chester was the place to start since just about every body of water has a dam at one end and the dam from the film is the Jennings Pond dam in Chester, CT. It has been altered since the movie (a large retaining wall was built on the left side, a wall was added to the top right of the dam, and a concrete landing was added at the foot of the dam.)

Here are the comparison shots I took:
http://imgur.com/a/8CcVV

Jessica chases the woman in white and then follows a path in the woods until she hears the dam. She passes an oak tree with a recognizable flaw and the tree still stands today.

Two times we look up at the dam in the film and an angled stone is at the top left. It still is and a large rock in the wall matches the film. Tougher to see are stones that appeared behind Jessica as she speaks with Duncan. Last is a shot of the antiques dealer fishing and the pond today.

One issue is that there are private homes on both sides of the dam and I wasn't sure if I was on public land. There is no way I could see to get down to below the dam so that I could take a picture with an angle that matches the film as the walls are high/steep. The best bet might be to put a kayak in the water further downstream but I didn't have one with me. ☺

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I am happy to pass along details on the apple orchard but please don’t explore here and instead drive by the barn location. The former orchard no longer looks like an orchard at all and borders a private hunting/fishing area: that location is heavily posted with no trespassing signs and I am told that hunting blinds stand in the woods and empty shotgun shells can be found scattered on the ground.

The apple orchard in LSJTD is the former Maly Orchard in East Haddam. The clues in the film about the barn is that water is visible in the top left of the frame when Woody pulls the tractor out of the barn, we never see the barn and an apple tree in the same shot, and a telephone pole is visible as if the barn was on a small hill next to a road.

Here are the aerial photos from 1970 and a couple of photos of the location/stills from the film:
http://imgur.com/a/kXDry

The orchard was located on Hungerford Road (sometimes listed as Petticoat Lane) and looks to have gone out of business in the late 1970s. The orchard now is completely overgrown, not recognizable as an apple orchard, and unfortunately the barn is disappearing as well. I could match up stones in the barn foundation to the film and a couple of boards to the scenes where Duncan looks for items to sell/Emily & Jessica walk from the back of the barn to go swimming.

The aerial photos match up well to the movie. A pond to the left of the barn would have been the water visible in the movie and when you zoom in it looks like the piles of lumber shown in the movie were to the left of the barn in March of 1970 when the aerial photos were taken. There were no apple trees in the barn shots since the orchard was located up the hill, and the barn is near the road (filmed uphill which made the barn look like it was on a small rise.) While the area around the barn was mostly grass in the early 1970s it is more filled in today with brush/trees.

To drive by the location head north on 82 from Hadlyme. Hungerford splits off to the right, you pass Cold Spring Road, and the barn is further up on the left side of the road. The barn side facing the road is partially collapsed (maybe during the snowy winter of 2014-2015 when we got buried up here.) There is also a google street view from 2008 when the barn was standing more than today and you can check it out online which is what I would recommend.

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[deleted]

You know, when I started this whole location post, it was mainly to dispel the stupid assumptions that people were making, such as because the house is so easily found in Old Saybrook, some were saying it was all shot there, with the swimming area being an ocean cove and so forth. And it was frustrating since it was so obviously not all shot in Old Saybrook, and most was around the Chester/Haddam area.

I also knew it would be hard to find all the locations, as after 40 years, so much would be changed. And frankly, while I could spend a few weekend days here and there rummaging around, I just don't really have the time in my life to make the real effort to search everything out.

YOU have been a real blessing, finding all these locations. I was amazed when you matched up the rocks at the Pattaconk Resevoir. (And still so freaking annoyed with myself as that has been one location I have been to numerous times. I was convinced it would be on the CT River, just because it looked like a lot of water movement in the movie.)

To find the orchard is an incredible achievement, and one I could never hope to do myself.

I am still a little bit doubtful the dam is not the one in Johnsonville. The last time I was there, I swear the formations were almost identical. Sure, it would make sense it was one of the dams along the Pattaconk, but if you haven't already checked out Johnsonville, please do. If only to disprove my theory.

I also wish either one of us could find some damn proof that that cemetery fence was replaced with a rock wall.

Finally, have you checked out the Black Whale Antiques? Is there any connection to the movie?

You, sir, have gone above and beyond. My hat to you.

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Thank you, it was a challenge but rewarding after a location gets crossed off the list.

A lot of the stone dams around there look similar. There is one on route 148 in Chester just to the east of Wig Hill Road that looks much like the movie too. Johnsonville was a problem because of the trees. In the movie we see the top left of the dam several times and there are a bunch of trees there. Everyone from the area that I asked could only remember a scattered tree or two to the left of the dam. No one remembered a group of trees to the left (never mind one that was close to the dam.)

Here are a couple of shots of Johnsonville in March of 1970 and the dam at Jennings Pond.
http://imgur.com/a/QGort

I always thought it was a little wide to be a match but that didn't rule it out only because they could have moved the camera around during filming.

News is coming on the antique store.

The First Church Cemetery has a couple of links where you can call/email if you want to chase down the fence. I am betting they have a general idea of when they installed the stone wall.
http://firstchurcheh.org/about-us/first-church-cemetery/

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I am a little embarrassed that I picked up on this quick scene but Jessica hitches a ride into town on Hungerford Road in East Haddam. This is just to the north of where the barn stands:
http://imgur.com/a/syoTE

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