When it comes to producing family-friendly Halloween-themed movies, I think we can all agree that Disney is king, with such beloved favorites as “Hocus Pocus,” “Halloweentown” and “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” under its belt. But now Netflix has thrown its hat into the ring with the recent release of “The Curse of Bridge Hollow.” The sweet tale stars Marlon Wayans as pragmatic, Halloween-hating science teacher Howard Gordon, who moves his wife, Emily (Kelly Rowland), and daughter, Sydney (Priah Ferguson), from an apartment in Brooklyn to a spacious old house in Bridge Hollow, a fictional suburb that Howard explains “smells like apples and a hint of white privilege” and “was named safest small town in the U.S. the last ten years running.”
As the family soon discovers, the burg is also obsessed with Halloween, much to Gordon’s chagrin, with area denizens delighting in the legend of Stingy Jack, a wicked local hanged centuries ago for his bad deeds, who would come back to life each Halloween to wreak havoc until finally being banished to hell by Madam Hawthorne (Nia Vardalos), “one of the preeminent spiritualist mediums of the 20th century.” Shortly after moving into their new digs, Sydney reignites the curse by inadvertently conjuring up Jack’s evil spirit. He, in turn, breathes life into Bridge Hollow’s many Halloween decorations and the town is soon plagued by roaming plastic skeletons, giant synthetic spiders and lint-filled sadistic clowns. It is up to Sydney and her father to save their new community and end the reign of Stingy Jack once and for all.
To create the movie’s idyllic small-town backdrop, director Jeff Wadlow and production designer Michael Perry looked to Georgia, mainly utilizing Monticello, a quaint city situated about 60 miles southeast of Atlanta, to stand in for Bridge Hollow. The enclave’s charming downtown, with its brick buildings and grassy central square, plays front and center in several scenes, including those involving the Stingy Jack Festival. Fun fact – downtown Monticello also appears as the rural Alabama town where Bill Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and Stan Rothenstein (Mitchell Whitfield) stand trial for murder in the 1992 comedy “My Cousin Vinny.”
A handful of spots in Atlanta were used, as well, to complete the onscreen burg. The graveyard scenes, where Sydney first meets the Bridge Hollow High Paranormal Society and where she and Howard later seek the help of Madam Hawthorne, were captured at Greenwood Cemetery in West Atlanta.
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Image Credit: Netflix -
Image Credit: Google The Gordon family’s stunning Victorian home, easily the movie’s most memorable site, can also be found in the ATL. Graced with a gorgeous corner turret, a plethora of stained glass and a sprawling wraparound porch, the residence is endlessly cinematic. It certainly took my breath away as soon as it came onscreen! A quick Google reverse image search using a screen capture from the film identified the dwelling as the Howard House, a popular special event venue and vacation rental nestled on a tree-filled lot at 229 Howard St. NE in the city’s historic Kirkwood neighborhood. (Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.)
The handsome structure began life as a single-family residence in 1890. While obviously historic, little information about its origins can be found online or in newspaper reports from the day. In later years, the abode was divided into a triplex with its flats leased individually and it then served as the Eastern Star Home of Georgia, a facility for the aged, for several decades.
But the pad enjoyed its longest stint as a funeral parlor, thanks to Georgia native Marion W. Dollar, who purchased it in 1971 and transformed it into the Dollar Funeral Home. He continued to operate it as such until retiring in 2005. The property was then put up for sale. Apparently in bad shape at the time, it was marketed as a teardown. The new buyers, who acquired it for $458,400 later that year, recognized its incredible potential and instead opted to restore it to the beauty it is today.
Featuring seven bedrooms and six baths in 5,700 square feet, the ornate structure is a pristine example of turn-of-the-century Queen Anne architecture, with countless original details intact, including nine mantled fireplaces, several period chandeliers and an elaborate entry with a towering wood-framed fireplace, a carved white oak stairwell and exquisite fretwork.
Offering the best of old and new, the structure also features several tasteful updates such as a thoroughly modernized eat-in chef’s kitchen complete with two ovens, a Thermador fridge, a warming drawer, seating for eight, a center island, a vaulted ceiling with exposed beams, and a duel-fuel 48-inch range with six burners.
The grand living spaces, all capped by 12-foot ceilings, consist of two parlors, a lounge, an expansive wood-paneled dining room and a billiard room with a vintage organ and fireplace.
Bedrooms are lusciously appointed, especially the owners’ suite, a large retreat situated upstairs with a fireplace, a private porch and a bath boasting double vanities, a clawfoot soaking tub and a walk-in shower.
Outside, the spacious 1.39-acre lot is outfitted with a rear deck, a patio, a gas grill, a Big Green Egg and a private pecan grove.
Following its restoration, the owners began leasing the site out for weddings. With the option to book the entire property for the bridal party to stay overnight, the home is a unique and intimate place to tie the knot. Corporate retreats soon followed and today, Howard House is a bustling special event venue and vacation rental. Rates for short-term stays start at around $700 per night for groups of up to 12. Reviews are stellar, with past guests describing the home as “magical,” “magnificent inside and out” and “a dream destination in the heart of a small, thriving Atlanta community.”
Onsite amenities include WiFi, a high-end security system, central air, a washer and dryer and even a safe room – just in case Stingy Jack decides to make an impromptu visit.
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Image Credit: Netflix -
Image Credit: Google The Howard House is featured prominently throughout “The Curse of Bridge Hollow,” with the arched tree out front pristinely framing the structure and cutting a perfectly haunting image for the screen.
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Image Credit: Netflix In comparing what is shown in the film to the images posted on Airbnb, it appears the inside of the Gordons’ home was a studio-built set, portions of which were very closely modeled after the Howard House’s actual interior.
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Image Credit: Sony Pictures “The Curse of Bridge Hollow” is not the property’s only cameo. In fact, the residence has turned into quite a popular filming location in recent years. As detailed by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2019, while the owners used to host a massive annual Halloween party known as Scarendipity on the premises, netting profits to the tune of $30,000, they soon discovered they could earn comparable sums far more passively by leasing the place out to film crews.
A few of the pad’s additional onscreen gigs include portraying an abandoned house said to be at 24 Ashley Ln. in Wardenclyffe, N.Y., where best friends Sonny Quinn (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and Sam Carter (Caleel Harris) accidentally bring Slappy the Dummy to life in the 2018 film “Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween.”
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Image Credit: Universal Pictures The Victorian also pops up as the interior of the supposed Birmingham, Ala. residence belonging to Walter Meyers (Danny Glover) in the 2016 holiday-themed comedy “Almost Christmas.” For whatever reason, exterior scenes were filmed across the street at 236 Howard Ave.
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Image Credit: Aviron Pictures And Howard House portrays the home of Hardin Scott (Hero Fiennes Tiffin), where Tessa Young (Josephine Langford) attends a college party in the 2019 drama “After.”