Picture this: it’s the summer of 1999. Tony Hawk has just cemented himself as the first person to land a 900 during the summer X Games. JNCO Jeans are still the height of fashion. Final Fantasy VIII is ready to go on your PlayStation.
You are truly Livin’ la Vida Loca.
In an overgeneralization, I’ll say this: 1999 was a simpler time.
The internet was rapidly becoming more accessible, but it was still limited—most people accessed the internet at work, school, or libraries. Or, if you were part of the 40% of U.S. households that had internet access, you could use it whenever…as long as someone didn’t need to make a phone call. 😉
Plus, the internet itself in 1999 was a very different thing. Forums and chat rooms were incredibly popular, and people weren’t yet constantly inundated with information.
So, if your friend told you about a totally real story they heard, you couldn’t go “As if,” whip out your phone, and fact-check it. You just had to believe them—then maybe go look it up later… if you remember.
Enter: The Blair Witch Project.
Premiering in theaters nationwide on July 30th, 1999, The Blair Witch Project is a found footage horror film that was written, directed, and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez.
It was a film that left many asking, “Wait…Is this really real?” and for audiences in 1999, the uncertainty was bolstered by marketing materials ranging from real (fake) documentaries on Sci-Fi, real (fake) missing posters, and real (fake) interviews from police… Just to name a few.
The Blair Witch Project very quickly grew to be one of the most well-known found footage films to date. I mean, there’s literally a picture of The Blair Witch Project when you look up “found footage” in the dictionary.
What Makes The Blair Witch Project So Special?
You may be asking yourself, “Why is a digital marketing agency writing about this?”
Great question!
First and foremost, I *love* The Blair Witch Project.
It’s one of my top 3 favorite movies of all time—and, as a self-proclaimed horror movie aficionado, I’ve seen my fair share of found footage horror films, so that’s saying something.
Which brings me to my second point:
I am genuinely so fascinated (and impressed) by everything that went into making it what it was and still is: a film so iconic, we’re still talking about it 25 years later.
I mean, the story itself is creepy—but what took it from a scary movie to something people genuinely believed in was, you guessed it, the marketing.
They built a robust website, created countless digital assets, and fostered an entire online community—all of which, at the time, were very new methods of marketing. It’s a level of lore building and commitment that, frankly, hasn’t been seen since. (Sorry, Longlegs.)
Through a series of strategic forum posts, meticulously crafted evidence, and a very legitimate website, the masterminds behind The Blair Witch Project were able to successfully leverage this “new fad“ called “the internet” to not only promote their film, but make audiences believe it was real.
And as a result of their effort, what began as an independent film is now a well-known franchise, filled with video games, mockumentaries, books, and some modern reboots.
And I think that’s pretty cool!
So, yes—while it certainly isn’t the first, or even the scariest, found footage horror movie, The Blair Witch Project is still cited to this day (and rightfully so!) as a movie that changed the horror genre—and marketing—entirely.
So, What Happened in The Blair Witch Project?
If you haven’t seen the film, go watch it.
Seriously, I’ll wait.
But, if you’ve seen it and don’t remember, or you don’t want to watch it, I’ll give you a quick rundown.
The film opens up with a message reading: “In October of 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.”
The film is centered around three film students: Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams.
The trio has traveled to the small town of Burkittsville (formerly Blair), Maryland, to make a documentary about the Blair Witch, a longstanding—and somewhat contentious—local legend said to haunt the forest.
After interviewing local residents, they head just outside of Burkittsville to the Black Hills Forest—the source of all Blair Witch encounters—to film the rest of their documentary. All in all, the endeavor was supposed to take 3 days total, with only one night spent sleeping in the woods.
After the first night, the group becomes lost. And as days go by, their supplies dwindle, the map goes missing, and tensions are at an all-time high.
They begin experiencing increasingly sinister disturbances as unknown symbols and unnatural formations appear in the woods and around their campsite.
Everyone is paranoid, disoriented, and desperate.
Josh goes missing.
Things don’t end well.
Marketing for the film—and the film itself—made it seem as though this truly was found footage—as in, what was cobbled together was done so from whatever was recovered from the crime scene.
Creating The Blair Witch Project
Planning The Blair Witch Project actually started in 1993, when Myrick and Sánchez were still attending the University of Central Florida. In just three years, the two had written a 35-page outline, founded Haxan Films with three of their friends, and placed a casting call for what was then called The Black Hill Project, in Backstage magazine.
By the time they began filming in 1997, they were well-prepared with backstories, mythology, and a goal: make people believe.
Is the Blair Witch Real?
Nope. While Burkittsville is a real town in Maryland, the entire legend of the Blair Witch was made up—though, one of the myth’s co-creators mentioned taking inspiration from a real Maryland legend, Moll Dyer.
The Blair Witch is Elly Kedward—a Blair resident who, in 1785, was found guilty of witchcraft. From there, the myth itself is pretty emblematic of any myth from the original 13 Colonies: witch→witch gets sentenced to death→town is cured→witch comes back to haunt the town→repeat.
And the Blair Witch does indeed come back to haunt the town (well, woods). Since 1785, Burkittsville had experienced no shortage of tragedies that many pinned on the Blair Witch herself.
Explore a full detailed timeline that covers everything from Elly Kedward’s accusation all the way up to Haxan piecing together the footage!
The directors didn’t stop at simply creating the myth. They also made and distributed materials and information about the legend—including “expert interviews” and a book called “The Blair Witch Cult.”
It’s important to note that, in the movie, the legend is presented as just that—a local legend. It’s something parents tell their kids to entice them to go to bed on time, or something a wicked camp counselor tells their campers before lights out.
Some townspeople might believe she still haunts the woods, or know someone who swears they saw her—and sure, someone claims to have seen the witch with their own two eyes, but, well… doesn’t every small town have a quirky character?
Filming The Blair Witch Project
Part of the reason why The Blair Witch Project was so believable was that the actors weren’t really acting—it’s like they were genuinely making the documentary. Except for some specific individual directions (more on that later), everything was largely up to them.
They were playing a character, yes, but the actors used their real names throughout filming, improvised their dialogue, and really were reacting to what they were experiencing. So, when Heather, Mike, and Josh look scared, tired, and hungry, it’s because they really are.
There was no camera crew—over the course of 8 days, any and all of the filming was done by the actors on realistic equipment: RC HI-8 camcorders and a 16mm camera.
Everything you see is what they experienced—there was no “Cut!” and a nice relaxing stay at a hotel. They stayed in the woods, ate whatever rations they had, and dealt with whatever the crew threw their way.
Interviewing the Locals
To start, Heather, Mike, and Josh interviewed “local residents” about the Blair Witch—the majority of which were actors, unbeknownst to the main cast. Heather (with Josh and Mike in tow) would approach someone, explain that they’re film students doing a documentary, and ask about the Blair Witch.
Fun fact: the most well-known interview was from a real person—not an actor—and was entirely improvised.
“As we were leaving the diner, the owner told me that three college kids were making a film for class and needed to interview people, but no one wanted to be interviewed. I’m a teacher, so my teacher’s heart compelled me to approach them to ask if I could help with their project… I was given no backstory. I had never heard of the Blair Witch before Heather asked me about it… I didn’t want to let these college kids down… I literally made up everything I said right on the spot.” – Susie Gooch, Behind the Black Hills (Interview)
Not only was her story great, but her three year old daughter, Ingrid, also helped sell the story. Susie was holding her daughter during her interview, and as she began to tell the “creepiest story she’s ever heard,” Ingrid began crying out “No, no!” while covering her mom’s mouth to get her to stop.
Creepy, right?
After filming local residents, the trio made their way to the Black Hills Forest to begin filming the rest of the movie. They were given a GPS, and sent on their way.
Filming in the Forest
Throughout the eight-day shoot, the cast would only be given a set of coordinates to follow each day. As they traveled, they would find set drop-off zones where they’d be able to swap out batteries, and find a container with food, film, and very cryptic directions.
Now, there was a crew shadowing them in the woods, but interaction was kept to a minimum. Outside of being there to give the cast necessities like batteries and food, they had one very important job…
Scare the hell out of the cast.
Like I said, the actors weren’t really acting scared. They were actually scared.
“They let us know that our safety was their concern, but our comfort was not. We knew it was definitely going to be 24/7. We knew that it was going to be uncomfortable. We knew that it was going to be about a witch. We knew that every time we got notes from them, they were designed to generate conflict, and we knew that we should keep the cameras running as much as possible.” – Heather Donahue, on filming
All of this together meant that when it came out, The Blair Witch Project was unlike any other movie—because it didn’t look like a movie. It looked like a documentary gone wrong.
Marketing The Blair Witch Project
The success of The Blair Witch Project is due, in major part to, the marketing.
It was their marketing that made people believe it was real—not based on a true story—real. And trust me, a lot went into it.
Created Materials
Think about what a real missing persons case would have. Think about what a real small town would have. Combine that, and you can have a pretty good understanding of what was created for this movie to become a (fake) true story.
Not only did the directors create an incredibly detailed lore/backstory of the Blair Witch legend, but they created realistic:
- Missing posters
- Newsreels
- News interviews
- Newspaper clippings
- Police reports
- Photos from the search
- Recorded interviews
- Photos (from the students)
- Unreleased footage (from the students)
- Crime scene photos
- Documentaries
- Dossiers
- Photos of the evidence
- Personal objects (like Heather’s journal)
They even created character connections that came together to paint an even more realistic story—such as Mrs. Donahue’s exasperation and anger with the local police, leading her to search for anyone who can help her piece together what happened. (Hint: it’s Haxan Films that steps in and helps.)
The Blair Witch Project Website
Just as War of the Worlds used radio to tell a story so compelling and frightening people believed it, The Blair Witch Project used the internet to do just the same.
The Blair Witch Project website launched in June 1998, and was a hub of information and materials dedicated to driving home the belief that the events surrounding the film were real.
The website featured much of the above listed materials—police reports, interviews, crime scene photos, newly-discovered footage, audio from their trip into the woods, information on the Blair Witch herself, newsreels, photos of Heather’s journal, and real childhood photos of the actors.
Those close to the film began going into various forums and slowly trickling information, often under the guise of seeking information, all while linking back to the website. By August 1999, it had received 160 million hits.
Though the original website is now down, you can (and should!) still click through a recreation on the Haxan website which still has everything I’ve listed.
Selling the Story
Selling the story started before they even had a film made. In a Rolling Stone interview, the crew revealed that when they met with investors, they showed an eight-minute mini-documentary about the disappearance, along with newspaper articles and news footage to make everything feel as real as possible. And, of course, the investors believed them.
So, when Myrick and Sánchez debuted The Blair Witch Project at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, they did so with a plan. To start, the actors didn’t attend any premieres, and all promotional marketing materials for the film had the actors listed as either missing or deceased. At Sundance—and pretty much every event they attended, for that matter—they distributed missing posters and urged viewers to come forward with any information they may have about the missing students, while sharing their website as a source for more resources about the case.
Real (Fake) Documentaries
Rather than going with traditional movie trailers and promotion, they showed small teasers of the film on college campuses—which then spread via word of mouth, and on forums.
They also created and released two documentaries ahead of the film’s release—both of which were, of course, entirely fabricated.
In August 1997, almost two full years before the movie was released, some raw (pre-movie) footage was aired alongside an interview with the directors on the season one finale of John Pierson’s Split Screen. Then, in April of 1998, Split Screen revisited The Blair Witch Project for its season two premiere—this time, showing some footage from the film.
And just over two weeks before The Blair Witch Project was released in theaters, a fake documentary, The Curse of the Blair Witch, was broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel. The documentary was presented as real, and contained manufactured reports, articles, newsreels, and interviews.
Doing all of this work pre-launch meant that it would capture passive curiosity in addition to building credibility. Maybe you were channel-flipping and caught some of the documentary. Then curiosity got the best of you, and so you went and searched for more information and stumbled upon The Blair Witch Project’s website.
See what I mean?
The Release (And Its Aftermath)
The official opening of the film was July 14th in New York City—with about 25 more cities showing the film that upcoming weekend. The film premiered nationwide on July 30th.
Each opening had lines around the block. The early releases only created more excitement and fear for those who had to wait to see it. People left terrified and quickly ran to the website to learn more.
In the opening weekend alone, the film earned $1.5 million dollars. By the end of its theatrical run, their worldwide box office total was $248.6 million—which was over 4,000 times its original budget.
So, basically….It was a huge success. Especially for an independent horror film.
Even the king of horror himself, Stephen King, thought it was all real.
“One thing about The Blair Witch Project: the damn thing looks real. Another thing about The Blair Witch Project: the damn thing feels real… When the lead characters start discovering strange Lovecraftian symbols hanging from the trees, I asked my son to turn the damn thing off. It may be the only time in my life when I quit a horror movie in the middle because I was too scared to go on… Those didn’t look like Hollywood-location woods, they looked like an actual forest in which actual people could actually get lost.” – Stephen King, on “The Blair Witch Project”
The actors weren’t publicly seen until after the film premiered, solidifying the belief that many people had—they were, in fact, missing. This belief, combined with a desire to help, led to events that only furthered the mythos of The Blair Witch Project. There were reports of people starting their own search expeditions to find the missing students, and of police departments receiving calls from people trying to help or provide information.
It even went so far that Heather’s mom received sympathy cards.
Many people only found out (or confirmed) they were alive when the actors began appearing on TV shows and magazine covers… with mixed responses.
“What I’ll get a lot when people find out I was involved was like, ‘I hated that thing! I want my $10 back!’ To which I’m like, ‘I don’t know what you want me to do with that.’” – Joshua Leonard, on the film’s backlash
From there, the jig was up, so to speak. But that didn’t mean the end of all things Blair Witch!
In September of 1999, a book The Blair Witch Project: A Dossier was released. Building on the “true story” angle, the book essentially contained everything from the website, the “documentary” The Curse of the Blair Witch, and even more reports, interviews, photos, and news articles—all of which, of course, were fake.
And just one month later, Sticks and Stones: An Exploration of the Blair Witch Legend, was released on VHS at the same time that The Blair Witch Project was released on home video. Sticks and Stones contained some deleted footage, alternate cuts, and more (fake) interviews.
The Blair Witch Project Timeline
- 1993 — Development and planning of The Blair Witch Project begins
- 1993 — Haxan Films founded
- June 1996 — Casting call advertisement placed in Backstage magazine
- August 1997 — Interview shown on Split Screen season one finale
- October 1997 — Pre-production and filming of The Blair Witch Project
- April 1998 — “Real” footage shown on Split Screen season two premiere
- June 1998 — Website created
- June 1998 — Select footage shown at the Florida Film Festival
- January 25 1999 — The Blair Witch Project premieres at the Sundance Film Festival
- July 11 1999 — The Curse of the Blair Witch “documentary” broadcasted on Sci-Fi
- July 14 1999 — The Blair Witch Project premieres in New York City
- July 30 1999 — The Blair Witch Project premieres in theaters nationwide
- September 1999 — The Blair Witch: A Dossier book is released
- October 1999 — The Blair Witch Project released on VHS
- October 1999 — Sticks and Stones: An Exploration of the Blair Witch Legend released on VHS
Conversations about The Blair Witch Project were still going strong. And, even with many disavowing it for being misleading, the film quickly began to solidify itself in pop culture history.
I mean, even Cartoon Network got in on it! That same year, during their Halloween marathon of Scooby Doo, Where Are You! Cartoon Network showed The Scooby-Doo Project, a short segment satirizing The Blair Witch Project.
You should also watch The Scooby-Doo Project, for what it’s worth.
Why Was The Blair Witch Project Able to Work?
Everything with The Blair Witch Project came together in harmony—all of the promotional materials were created to make people truly believe everything was real. The materials, plus the slow release of information, plus the website, plus the way it was filmed equals… very convincing stuff.
Today, with new horror films breaking records regularly, and new technologies that can bring our greatest imaginations—or greatest fears—to life, it’s easy to look back and think “How did anyone believe this?”
So what made The Blair Witch Project so impactful? What took it from a low-budget film to a house-hold name?
Well, in general, it’s the overall level of planning and execution that went into it that made it an experience—not just a film—that genuinely terrified and concerned audiences.
The Timing
Could the effects of The Blair Witch Project be replicated with a modern equivalent? Probably not. The closest replication (in terms of believability) was Paranormal Activity—and they directly cited their inspiration being The Blair Witch Project.
While their immense dedication and planning made an incredible impact, there’s no doubt that The Blair Witch Project is a great example of “right place, right time.”
Don’t get me wrong—had the planning been anything less than what it was, they likely wouldn’t have seen the same amount of success. But, the timing was key here—any earlier, the web wouldn’t have been as accessible, and thus their web efforts would have fallen short. Any later and scrupulous internet detectives would find gaps in the story, or proof of life of the actors.
The Internet
The Blair Witch Project using the internet as a way to market and spread the story is, hands down, one of the main reasons it was able to be so effective. But, why was the internet so effective? Well, for starters, it was a low-budget way to spread information.
But really, the main reason it was so effective is that it was, for all intents and purposes, still in its infancy. The internet wasn’t developed enough to dig deeper and poke holes, but it was developed enough to spread the story in message boards and chat rooms. So, you get the benefits of fast and widespread distribution, without any of that pesky fact-checking.
The Film Itself
Whether you went in knowing the full backstory or knowing nothing about the film, what made the movie itself effective was the building sense of pure dread and realism.
As Roger Ebert puts it in his review of the film, “At a time when digital techniques can show us almost anything, The Blair Witch Project is a reminder that what really scares us is the stuff we can’t see. The noise in the dark is almost always scarier than what makes the noise in the dark.”
There weren’t any masked men chasing the main characters, no cheesy monsters jumped out—in fact, you never even see the Blair Witch. You don’t see any deaths, or any heroic final scenes. You only see grainy film shot by scared students, and are left to wonder what happened.
What Can We Learn from This?
As Ben Rock, the production designer for The Blair Witch Project puts it: “Aspiring filmmakers, if you take nothing else from all that I’ve written, even if you hate The Blair Witch Project, just remember that whatever it is that you want to do, it can be done. We were a bunch of unconnected newbies from Florida and we managed; so can you.”
Aspiring filmmaker or not, there’s something we can all learn from this.
We’re all looking for ways to make our work stand out, leave a lasting impression, pack a punch…however you want to say it.
The Blair Witch Project doesn’t stand out due to it being the first, or most expensive, or most technologically advanced horror film. It stands out because the marketing and the film itself made many viewers truly believe it was real.
When it comes down to it, had the directors done one without the other—extensive marketing with a bad film, or bad marketing with a good film—the outcome wouldn’t have been the same.
People believed that the tearful apology Heather whispered into the camera was that of a person resigned to their fate.
They believed that her hyperventilating whisper of “I’m gonna die out here,” was the chilling last words of a young woman who was still missing.
Why? Because the—frankly staggering—amount of effort and dedication that went into every aspect of the film and its marketing.
Am I saying that if you want to really knock your next campaign out of the park, you should drop your marketing department in the woods with no cellphones, a camera, and some rations?
No.
And I cannot stress this enough—please do not do that.
But, all jokes aside, there are quite a few things to be learned from The Blair Witch Project that can help you with future marketing strategies.
- Plan, Plan, Plan: Every part of their marketing strategy was carefully thought out and planned. Each piece came together to create a fully fleshed out history, compelling story, and iconic film.
- Explore and Utilize New Mediums: While the directors used a combination of new and old mediums and distribution methods, it was the internet, a new medium, that really drove their points home. (I know, I know—it’s not like something as big as the internet comes around every year.)
- Make Sure You Have Enough Time: The marketing efforts started almost two full years before the movie was released. Had all this come out weeks before, it wouldn’t have had nearly as big of a reach—or impact.
- Cover All Your Bases: Imagine your idea is going to be dissected by your audience. Identify any gaps, and address or account for them. For The Blair Witch Project, it was Haxan’s explanation and backstory for their involvement in the first place.
- Take It Back to Square One: Sometimes, you don’t need all the bells and whistles. The Blair Witch Project took things back to basics, tapping into a nearly-universal nostalgia of a scary witch, and general fear of being lost alone in the woods—and it impacted audiences in a way modern films don’t.
- Build a Community: Identify your audience or community, and focus on creating materials that resonate with them (and maybe even inspire them to spread the word).
- Focus on Authenticity: Most of what I’ve said focuses on the realism of the film. Don’t forget that the people you’re marketing to are, y’know, real people. They appreciate real stories, real examples, and seeing the humanity in the businesses they’re considering using.
- Have a Cool Website: Okay. Maybe “cool” isn’t the best choice of word. But having a website that has exclusive information not found elsewhere will draw people in.
As I’ve said, you probably can’t one-to-one replicate the results of The Blair Witch Project today, in any capacity. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn from it.
Technology (and the way we interact with it) is always evolving, and while every new avenue isn’t going to yield the same results, The Blair Witch Project shows that going “all in” and exploring new areas is worth it. It’s a stellar example of using a blend of tried-and-true and new to create something that, even after 25 years (ow!), is relevant.
So, if you’re up for it, take some time and browse the website—really click through and take in all the materials and evidence. Then, settle in with a bowl of popcorn to watch the marketing (and found footage) masterpiece that is The Blair Witch Project.