[bvw]

Well, I didn't catch the show -- having learned here on this thread that it wasn't really Pt Pleasant at all, but some California dream fakery. Thanks for your confirming report!

But if one wanted a gothic backdrop for tales of the devil ...

Well, Ocean Grove would be that place. Still have hotels that look like a day from the 1860's there. Only started allowing cars in on Sundays twenty years ago. I remember they still had the rows and rows of summer house tents then too. Before that -- you could not even park your car in the street or in any public view even in a driveway on Sunday.

I also rememebr a cold winter of ice and fire there in Ocean Grove and directly neighboring Asbury Park -- a number of ancient huge ornate Victorian ginger bread-style houses went up in flames in the coldest days of a cold winter -- the fire-fighter's water sprays created intricate icicle palaces for a few weeks.

Raw fleeting moments of grand intricate beauty.

[Cagey]

Ocean Grove still has the rows and rows of house tents every summer. It's quite a site and I believe most of the property owners are decedents of the original Methodist founders. And the Great Auditorium still attracts tens of thousands each year with not only religious events but pop entertainers too.

I do remember when at midnight every Saturday the large chain was rigged across the entrance to Ocean Grove and would remain there until midnight Sunday. There was no mowing with a power mower on Sundays either and a few persistent stories about ambulances not being allowed in the Grove on Sundays. Quite an interesting town.

I remember seeing many photos of some of those famous seaside hotel fires and you're right, they were spectacular, especially the ones on very cold winter days.