People Are Afraid to Visit This Abandoned Town in New Jersey

Every state has it’s notorious haunts and while New Jersey isn’t often what comes to mind when you think of the most haunted places in the world, it’s definitely a bit sketchy. This notorious ghost town isn’t even much of a town anymore. Even at its peak, there were probably only a few different structures. While the Garden State is home to ghost towns such as Batsto Village, Waterloo Village and Raritan Landing, the abandoned town of Ong’s Hat is unlike anything you’ll ever experience.

Ong’s Hat is an abandoned community in Pemberton Township.

Located in the Pine Barrens, there are quite a few stories surrounding how this town got its name. Some claim that a man by the name of Jacob Ong threw his hat into the air out of anger, which then got stuck in a tree. It’s more likely that the town was actually named Ong’s Hut after a rest area along a transportation route.

This area is actually seen on maps dating back many centuries. Pictured above is a map from 1778. Rumor has it, this little town had a handful of houses and a popular dance hall. However, since industries left the area, Ong’s Hut slowly became abandoned.

The last resident to leave the town left in 1936, but not before strange disappearances occurred.

Polish immigrant, John Chininiski, and his wife lived in the Ong’s Hat. One day without a trace, she disappeared. Just shortly after, he also went missing. A few years later, a single skeleton was found nearby in the woods.

But that’s not all, the story gets even stranger.

According to the local urban legend and a bunch of conspiracy theorists, Ong’s Hat offers a portal to a different dimension. In the 1970’s, a few professors from Princeton fled there after being mocked for their quantum physics theories. This is when they claim to have discovered inter-dimensional travel.

This urban legend first became popular in the 1980s and quickly circulated around the internet. As a matter of fact, it was one of the first online conspiracy theories ever and even inspired a book.

And stranger still…

The book that was inspired by the many conspiracy theorists and urban legends, was titled Ong’s Hat: The Beginning. The book gives some more insight by stating that the Pemberton Township area had ties with cults and was once the site of a bloody battle between the U.S. government and the cult members that were responsible for creating the portal. It is said that those who made it out alive from the raid are now living in an alternate universe.

Whether or not you believe in this kind of stuff, you have to admit that if any state could possibly have an inter-dimensional portal surrounding it, it would be New Jersey.

For a quick peek into Ong’s Hat today, check out the video below: