 | |
| Voorhees residence | |
| Continuity: | Friday the 13th |
| Category: | Residence |
| Continent: | North America |
| Country: | United States of America |
| State: | New Jersey [1] Connecticut [2] |
| County: | Wessex County Cunningham County |
| Residents: | Voorhees family; Pamela Voorhees; Jason Voorhees |
| 1st appearance: | Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday |
The Voorhees residence is a fictional location featured in the Friday the 13th multimedia franchise. It may refer to the original residence of Pamela and Elias Voorhees, who came from Ohio, or it may refer to separate family estate located in Cunningham County. It may also refer to a wooden shack in the woods at Camp Crystal Lake, which was occupied by Jason Voorhees for a time.
Description & History[]
The Voorhees residence was the home of the Voorhees family. It was located in Cunningham County, New Jersey. The home was purchased by Pamela Voorhees from a man named Mister Lasko in September of 1947, just before the birth of her son Jason. [3] Growing up, Jason was a special needs child, and Pamela hired a nanny named Mrs. Cunningham to watch over him. In the summer of 1957, Mrs. Voorhees received a telephone call from at work from Mrs. Cunningham, begging her to return home immediately. When she arrived, she discovered that Jason had mutilated a litter of kittens and displayed them in the front yard of the house. Quick to defend the actions of her only child, Pamela fired Mrs. Cunningham and began taking Jason to work with her at Camp Crystal Lake. [4]
Following the accidental drowning of Jason Voorhees in 1957, Pamela presumably remained at the house though it would be another year before she would return to Camp Crystal Lake. Pamela Voorhees died in 1979 following a murder spree at the campground. She was beheaded by a camp counselor named Alice Hardy. Though the house was largely unoccupied, somebody was keeping up with routine maintenance. Years after her death, the house was still in respectable condition and had electricity.
In the intervening years, Pamela's son, Jason Voorhees, who had actually survived his 1957 drowning accident, had grown up to become a mass murderer, killing scores of people over the span of two decades. Near the turn of the century, Jason's body was destroyed in an FBI sting operation, but the evil that lied within him lived on. His spirit took possession in host bodies, but he could only maintain these bodies for a limited amount of time before they began to "spoil". Though he had not spent any time in the Voorhees house since he was a child, he made use of it when he transferred his essence from the body of an Ohio coroner named Phil, into a Cunningham County deputy named Josh. Even this form could only house Jason's spirit for a short time though. Jason knew that he could only truly be reborn through a Voorhees. He tried to take possession of his half-sister Diana Kimble, but this plan was foiled by the unexpected arrival of a young man named Steven Freeman (the father of Diana's granddaughter). After several more body-swaps, Jason abducted his infant grand-niece, Stephanie Kimble, and brought her back to the Voorhees house. Countering Jason's efforts was a bounty hunter named Creighton Duke and Stephanie's parents, Jessica Kimble and Steven Freeman. Creighton knew that only one who shared the blood of a Voorhees could stop Jason once and for all. He found a mystical dagger which had been in the house and gave it to Jessica. Though they managed to rescue the baby, Jason found another method of resurrecting himself. Diana Kimble's body had been planted inside the basement of the house. Jason's essence took root in the body, and from it, he was reborn in his true form. He fought with Creighton Duke and killed him by breaking his back in a massive bear hug. Jason went out into the front yard of the estate where he had his final battle with Jessica and Steven. Jessica succeeded in stabbing Jason in the heart with the mystical dagger and his soul was sent to Hell. What became of the Voorhees house following this incident remains unclear. [5]
Remake Series[]
In the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th directed by Marcus Nispel, the Voorhees house plays a more prominent role than it did in the earlier series. The house is shown to be located at the actual Camp Crystal Lake camp site. It is a dilapidated old home in a state of severe disrepair and other than Jason, has remained unoccupied since the 1980 slaying of his mother. Though crumbling apart, the house is still filled with all of the furnishings and mementos from Jason's childhood, including a wood-frame bed with Jason's named etched upon the headboard and a scruffy, moldy teddy bear resting near the pillow. Other rooms in the house are filled with various junk and debris such as a rusty tricycle and an old wheelchair. In addition, items that belonged to Jason's victims (including body parts) could be found at various points in the house. The cellar of the house led into a large mine shaft with tunnels that ran beneath the entire campground. Jason made use of these tunnels and had even set up a rudimentary security system that would alert him to the presence of anyone who encroached upon his territory.
In the Spring of 2009, two hikers named Whitney Miller and her boyfriend Mike discovered the house and began exploring it. Mike found a cameo containing a photograph of Pamela Voorhees and remarked about how much Whitney resembled the woman in the picture. They also discovered a human skull nestled inside a hole in the wall. When Jason learned of their presence, he attacked them from the cellar, stabbing Mike multiple times with his machete. Whitney tried to escape, but Jason chased after her, ultimately capturing her. Perhaps it was due to Whitney's apparent resemblance to Mrs. Voorhees, but Jason chose to spare her life. Instead, he abducted her, chaining her up in a dungeon room beneath the house.
Six weeks later, Whitney's brother Clay Miller came to Crystal Lake in search of her. Along with a girl named Jenna, they arrived at the Voorhees house and found Whitney chained up in the tunnels. Clay freed her and they tried to escape on foot. Jason followed them and managed to kill Jenna by stabbing her with his machete. Whitney and Clay managed to climb through a hatch that led to the surface. The opening of the hatch was covered by an overturned bus. [6]
Other versions[]
- Voorhees trailer
- The first "Voorhees residence" was actually a trailer home in Cadiz, Ohio. This was the home of Elias and Pamela Voorhees in the 1940s. Pamela allegedly killed Elias in September of 1947 and burned down the trailer before heading out East to Crystal Lake. [7]
- Jason's shack
- In the early 1980s, Jason Voorhees constructed a crudely-made shack deep in the middle of the woods of Crystal Lake. The shack was made from materials stolen from the nearby campground. The shack was sparse and extremely dirty, but it did include a special room which Jason used as a shrine to his late mother. He placed her rotting head in the center of a table surrounded by candles. He placed the bodies of his victims at the foot of the table as an offering to his mother's memory. This was also where Jason murdered Deputy Winslow who had tracked Jason back to the shack after spotting him in the woods. [8]
Residents[]
- Pamela Voorhees (formerly)
- Jason Voorhees (as a child)
- Elias Voorhees (possibly)
Notes & Trivia[]
- It has never been revealed why the Voorhees family still had power by the time of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. One possible explanation is that Jason's father, Elias Voorhees, was still alive and knew the truth about his son's supernatural origins.
- In addition to the mystical dagger, there are two other notable items found within the Voorhees house, both of which are props featured in earlier films. The first is the Necronomicon, the fabled "Book of the Dead" from Evil Dead fame. The prop used in this film is the same one used in the first Evil Dead movie. In this same scene, a wooden crate labeled "Antarctica Expedition" can be seen. This crate was originally used in one of the segments from the 1982 film Creepshow, appropriately titled "The Crate".
See also[]
Friday the 13th media
The World of Jason Voorhees
References[]
- ↑ The first three films in the series firmly establish that Camp Crystal Lake and its surrounding environs is located in New Jersey. Later installments are a bit more ambiguous concerning its location.
- ↑ Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday places the Voorhees residence in Cunningham County in Connecticut, which is inconsistent with information supplied by earlier films.
- ↑ Friday the 13th: Pamela's Tale #1
- ↑ Friday the 13th: Pamela's Tale #2
- ↑ Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
- ↑ Friday the 13th (2009)
- ↑ Friday the 13th: Pamela's Tale #1
- ↑ Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)