Could LBI, Barnegat Bay Compete With 'Us' For 'Haunted' Beaches?

BARNEGAT BAY, N.J. — The new movie 'Us' tells a haunting tale from the beaches of Santa Cruz, Calif. But some residents around the Barnegat Bay and Long Beach Island have their own scary stories from around the beaches.

This article contains no movie spoilers, but it might make you view these destinations differently. Here are some urban legends from local beaches that would compete with Jordan Peele's 'Us.'

Surf City Hotel

The Powhatten Ship sank just off the LBI shore on April 18, 1854. Edward Jennings, owner of The Health Mansion, took all 50 deceased passengers and gave them a proper burial. But in the process, he took everything of value off the corpses for himself.

Jennings was never formally charged, but everyone in town knew Jennings was guilty, and it permanently harmed his reputation, according to a document on the Ocean County website. Jennings apparently became more distant and detached from reality after the wreck.

The public often saw him pacing back and forth on the balcony of the hotel, arguing with someone who wasn't there. Jennings moved to California shortly after and was killed in a San Francisco bar fight.

Some believe the spirits of people he robbed still haunt what is now the Surf City Hotel, according to Out & About Ocean County. A Union soldier with a missing arm is frequently seen walking near the beach, and several have reported glowing orbs all over the area, according to the document.

People have also reported seeing four women linked arm in arm walking together.

Before the original hotel was destroyed, it sat abandoned for years. But people reported seeing lights flicker on and off and shadowy figures floating across the window.

Barnegat Light Shipwreck

A young couple aboard the schooner, Tolck, died in a wreck when it ran aground near Barnegat Light one cold January, according to Out & About Ocean County. Their baby girl was onshore, out of sight from where the boat sank.

According to legend, young couples pushing a baby stroller have been approached by the young man and woman in full period clothing, who stop to admire the baby before disappearing. The couple reportedly walk up and down the beach, often heard lightly singing "In the Sweet, Bye and Bye," forever searching for their daughter.

Battle From Barnegat Inlet

Visions of a centuries-old battle still emerge at Barnegat Inlet, according to the Asbury Park Press. A fight between two bands of privateers emerged as one ransacked a ship along the shore, according to Charles J. Adams III, co-author of "Legends of Long Beach Island" and "Shipwrecks Near Barnegat Inlet."

"That spit of land there at the northern tip of LBI … was the site of a massacre in the Revolutionary War era," Adams told the Asbury Park Press. "To this day, people report seeing… what they believe to be murky figures on the beach, which has changed considerably since those days."

People have heard ghostly moaning from the dunes and witnessed sailors in old-fashioned garb who then disappeared, Adams told the Asbury Park Press.

Kapler's Pharmacy, Beach Haven

In the apartment above the 1950s pharmacy, people have reported a blue orb that splits into the faces of two men, according to the Asbury Park Press. Employees downstairs hear footsteps in the empty upstairs apartment, or hear a radio playing through the ceiling, author Lynda Lee Macken told the Asbury Park Press.

Vintage apothecary bottles stored high on display shelves will end up on the floor in the morning, said Macken, author of "Ghosts of the Garden State" and "Haunted Monmouth County."

"They're not broken. Somebody has just moved them," Macken told the Asbury Park Press. "But you can't get to them without a ladder."

Here are more terrifying tails around "Haunted Ocean County."

Watch the 'Us' trailer below:

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