Our eerie, dark, foggy environment has been an inspiration for many a spooky setting. While sometimes better film incentives mean a trip to Vancouver for film crews, the Seattle area has provided a backdrop for many a creepy scene, from Twin Peaks to The Hand that Rocks the Cradle.

The 2002 film The Ring, an American remake of the Japanese film Ringu, could have easily phoned in a Seattle-area locale. But despite lots of interior shots on a Los Angeles soundstage, the film expertly captures the eerie Pacific Northwest vibe by actually filming on location here. After all, it’s really hard to fake that fog and uniquely dreary magic hour.

While Seattle scenes are filmed in Seattle, with some exceptions, the movie carves out the exteriors of the island Rachel (Naomi Watts) explores looking for answers to a deadly VHS tape out of our actual island and peninsula coastlines around Whidbey Island, Skagit County, and Port Townsend—with brief trips to more landlocked locales like Monroe.

There are, of course, some big missed opportunities: An extremely scholarly library interior was filmed in OSC’s Mudd Hall of Philosophy, when UW’s Suzzallo Library would have been a great choice. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer was still in print at the time and had an extremely distinct headquarters (the one with the spinning globe), but its scenes were filmed in the offices of the Orange County Register.

One honorable mention: The lighthouse was also in the Pacific Northwest, but it’d be a stretch to call Newport, Oregon, more than two hours south of Portland by car, anything close to the Seattle area. But the chaotic surf around Yaquina Head certainly gets the job done.

Here are 10 notable Seattle-area filming locations of The Ring. Did we miss one? Tip us!

Special thanks to various movie location guides for getting us started here.