The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #72

Checklist

And the first complete set of trading cards in my collection has reached its end, with no newspaper ads, books, soundtracks, or related ephemera crossing its posting path. Nothing else to add. Besides, thank you for visiting.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #71

The Haxan Team

In mid-1997, Angela Donahue, Heather's mother, turned over the controversial footage shot by her missing daughter to a company called Haxan Films. Haxan's editors and directors, already familiar with the curious case, assembled Heather's raw material into what has now become "The Blair Witch Project."

Front (left to right): Haxan's Dan Myrick (co-director), Robin Crowie, Gregg Hale (producer), Michael Monello, Edward Sanchez (co-director). 

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #70

Private Investigation

In early 1996, frustrated with the official lack of progress on the case, Heather Donahue's family hired private investigator C. D. "Buck" Buchanan, Jr. Involved in full-time law enforcement/investigative service for 32 years, Buchanan probed into all aspects of the unusual disappearance, inevitably exploring the blood-stained history of Burkittsville. On February 8, 1996, Sheriff Ron Cravens informed Buchanan that he believed the student's footage to be a hoax.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #69

Heather's Journal

The disturbing tape/film footage and Heather Donahue's equally unnerving journal elicited an array of responses. Some psychologists suggested that the starving, fatigued students may have turned on one another; others feel they were most certainly stalked and murdered by unknown assailants. Still others place the blame squarely on the Blair Witch, feeling that the tragedy is merely the latest in a series of bizarre occurrences dating back to 1786. 

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #68

Retrieved Video Camera

Both the video and 16mm footage from the discovered backpack prompted FBI investigators to reopen the case of the three missing college students. A special FBI/local authorities task force was set up, but for the second time in as many years, law enforcement officials abandoned the search. Stung by criticism, Sheriff Ron Cravens insisted that he and his people did everything possible to solve the mysterious case. 

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #67

16mm Footage

October, 1995. University of Maryland Professor David Mercer, an anthropology instructor, was supervising a group of students on a field dig when a hidden backpack was discovered. Inside were 16mm film cans, DAT cassettes, a Hi-8, and a CP-16 camera, as well as a tattered journal. The footage was developed and screened by Sheriff Ron Cravens, providing what appeared to be hard evidence in the disappearance of the three students.

What this card's text does not mention, due to space constraints or an editorial decision, is that the backpack was discovered within the dig itself. I seem to recall one of the documentaries that aired prior to the film's opening that the backpack was discovered in an 'impossible' location, adding another layer of supernatural strangeness to the proceedings.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #66

The Search

After the three students disappeared, separate search teams combed the Black Hills Forest for over a week. Several volunteers, including a few with their own bloodhounds, aided local, state, and federal law enforcement officials, but to no avail. This lack of success convinced many witchcraft believers and historians that the three missing students were the most recent victims of the Blair Witch's ongoing curse. 

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #65

Missing

The "missing" poster was first posted in Burkittsville toward the end of October, 1994. Almost exactly a year later, it was redistributed with the discovery of the students' footage. "It's strange that (something) always happens in a fifty-year pattern," commented Bill Barnes, director of the Burkittsville Historical Society. "She (the Blair Witch) always surfaces, or something surfaces that leads to her..." 

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #64

Finding the Car

The only piece of evidence found by the police was Joshua Leonard's car, parked on Black Rock Road. "We checked the car over completely. Never found any clues with the vehicle," stated Burkittsville Sheriff Ron Cravens who conducted the original search. Cravens has been criticized, off the record, for his handling of the high-profile case by forces within his own department.

Having reached the end of the movie, the cards return to the deleted backstory elements cut from the finished film and that were used to market the movie instead.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #63

Their Fate

Josh's cries for help become more pronounced. "I hear him downstairs!" yelled Mike as he ran through the old house. As he entered what appeared to be the basement, passing walls covered with strange symbols and handprints, Mike's video camera was knocked out of his hands and onto the floor. When Heather entered the room, her 16mm camera recorded the black-and-white image of Mike standing motionless, back to her, facing a wall. Then Heather's camera also hit the ground. 

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #62

Ominous Shadows

Aiming their cameras, Mike and Heather entered the crumbling old house and slowly moved from room to room. The place was a hellhole, with peeling plaster and blackened windows and weird markings all over the walls. Then, suddenly, Mike heard Josh's tortured cries coming from somewhere in the decaying building. With Heather not far behind, Mike began to bolt up the stairs...

Is that a noose? 

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #61

The House

In the middle of their final night, Heather and Mike were awakened once again by the distant, anguished cries of what appeared to be Josh. "Somebody! Please!" the muffled voice shouted. "That can't be him," said Mike. "Somebody! C'mon, help me! Heather!" Mike grabbed the video camera while Heather took the 16mm camera and both followed Josh's voice through the woods. They finally came upon an old, abandoned house...

No tale of the supernatural would be complete without a spectral and spooky dilapidated house for the spirit(s) to infest. Right?

When they arrived at the house, I had no idea that it was supposed to be Rustin Parr's. Parr being the fictitious child murderer mentioned during the interviews with the townspeople.

The filming location was a dilapidated place known as Griggs House. After the release of The Blair Witch Project it became something of a tourist attraction and was being picked apart by opportunistic visitors, which only caused further damage and increased danger of injury to those venturing inside.

Although an attempt was made to preserve the house, it was demolished. So it goes.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #60

Heather's Confession

"I just want to apologize to Mike's mom, and Josh's mom, and my mom. I am so, so sorry for everything that has happened. Because in spite of what Mike says now it was my fault. Because it was my project and I insisted... I insisted on everything. I insisted that we weren't lost. I insisted that we keep going. I insisted that we walk south...everything had to be my way. And this is where we ended up. And it's all because of me that we're here now... hungry, cold... and hunted." 

And here we have one of the most iconic upshots in horror cinema history. Everybody knows it. No pun intended.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card # 59

Sunset

Both Heather and Mike were on the verge of breakdowns as another evening approached. Their stomachs were empty and their nerves were completely shattered. "Tell me you're not eating a dry leaf?" Heather said weakly, observing an out-to-lunch Michael doing exactly that. They watched, almost numbly, as the sun set again, disappearing into the tree-lined distance. They prepared as best they could for yet another night of terror. 

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #58

Blood Offering

Eventually curiosity overtook Heather and she picked up the strange "package" of branches that she had thrown from the tent. She carefully peeled away layers of cloth and twigs but pulled away instantly when a bloody human body part became visible within the tangle. She began to hyperventilate, losing complete control for the first time. Minutes later she managed to calm herself down, washed her hands in the creek, and rejoined Mike without telling him what she discovered.

Trivia Legend has it that Heather Donahue had tossed the bundle without looking to see what it contained, which necessitated her begin instructed to do so.

It was a pretty effective moment in the film. One of the only truly overt 'shocks' it offered, as the rest were implied and left to the individual viewer's imagination.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #57

The Package

Mike and Heather spent another terrifying night in their tent, this time listening to the anguished screams of their missing companion, Josh. the following morning, an unusual object was left in front of the tent. "What the hell is that?" Heather asked aloud, staring at the strange bundle of twigs and cloth wrappings. "I'm just gonna movie it from the front of the tent, okay? I'm taking it away...I'm just going to throw it." 

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #56

What They'd Like

Mike: "Meatball...and a long red glass of wine. Fresh pack of smokes."

Heather: "Smokes would be good...and a long hot bath."

Mike: "And a big pumpkin pie."

Heather: "And a big pumpkin pie with ice cream...warm, with melty ice cream." 

Mike: "What's your favorite thing to do on a Sunday?"

Heather: "It used to be drive to the woods and go hiking. But I think that might change, now..."

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #55

Heather's Journal 10.26.94 Part 2

Josh is gone, it is Mike and I now. Alone. I question why I continue to film. It seems sick almost. Who will see this footage? Will I? ...I am scared. I don't know what is after us. I just know I don't want to be in an unmarked grave beneath a pile of rocks. I don't want to a be a grownup Eileen Treacle... Where is Josh? Maybe he ran off for help like Mike says, but why did he leave all his stuff in the middle of the freezing night... There is no feasible way for 3 people to walk south for an entire day and end up where they started... We are being stalked and whatever is stalking us will at least be documented. Please, God, let someone find our tapes. Please...

According to legend, or Internet trivia, the walk south that had the group end right back where they started was both real and unplanned. With no map or compass to follow, they had inadvertently circled back. That is why, if you find yourself lost in the woods, you need to stay put and wait. Do not waste energy and burn valuable calories searching for rescue. Just stay put and wait.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #54

Heather's Journal 10.26.94 Part 1

Breakdowns. Exhaustion. A giant circle. We hiked 11 hours today in a giant circle. We have no food. Hungry. Despairing. Exhausted. Hating and loving each other extremely and alternately all day long. About to get to sleep now. Sure. After what happened last night. Those children's voices. Fear and exhaustion. Which on will win? I am praying for exhaustion. Whatever comes, comes. We sleep, it wakes us... I am avoiding the subject of my fear... As long as I keep shooting, I feel like all of this has a purpose. Maybe not at the moment but eventually. Shooting is only the way to make this situation good for something as soon as we get out of here... 

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #53

Attacked

The muffled laughter of little children awakened the terrified filmmakers. Reflexively turning on their cameras, they huddled in the tent, Heather quickly pulling on her pants. Then, suddenly, the entire tent around them began to shake violently. All three occupants took flight, running headlong into the woods. Somehow regrouping, they eventually calmed themselves down, turned out their camera lights, and waited anxiously for morning to come.