It’s been a hot moment since we’ve seen new material from the demonic clown Pennywise. Honestly, it was worth the wait until now.
HBO’s Welcome to Derry has delivered the good goods from episode 1, and fans are left on a cliffhanger of fear when the end credits roll. Directed by Andy Muschietti, the series acts as the prequel to the 2017 film It.
Based on Stephen King’s most successful novel, the killer clown has cemented him in pop culture, spawning movies, merchandise, and other weird material.
If there’s nothing like the feeling of existential dread when you spot that wandering red balloon flash on the screen, then read further…
Visit an Escape Room
Don’t discredit escape rooms as child’s play. Many players have come out looking worse for wear.
The integration of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) makes every thrill, every jump scare, every fear feel real. Using immersive technology and intricate puzzles, you’re literally living the experience. And that, our dear reader, is more terrifying than any movie.
Hotel on Route 66, an escape room in HHLA (formerly the Promenade at Howard Hughes Center, L.A.), has gained serious attention, and the plotline explains why. For more than a century, strange and unfortunate accidents regularly happened to anyone who stayed in room 301 until it was closed for good.
The building, initially built as a mansion, transformed from a happy family home to a murderous hotel. Sounds eerily familiar, doesn’t it? With a minimum age of 14, you know this isn’t your mediocre game, explains 60out Escape Rooms. Enter at your own risk, if you dare.
The Ghost Town that Inspired Silent Hill
And here you thought the horror video game Silent Hill was 100% fictional, except for one tiny detail.
Dubbed ‘America’s creepiest ghost town,’ the games and subsequent movies were reportedly inspired by Centralia, Pennsylvania. The abandoned town’s eerie atmosphere is created by an underground coal mine fire, burning since 1962. How’s that for sending shivers down your spine?
Despite efforts to distinguish the fire, Congress decided to invoke eminent domain on the town and evacuate the remaining holdouts. Or, so we thought. Several years ago, Cracked.com interviewed one of Centralia’s last remaining residents.
Poisonous gas spewing from below causes illness. The folks know not to go near it. The tourists, not so much, and “go into the damn thing”.
Hit Up a Cemetery
Welcome to Derry’s most seminal scenes were filmed in the town’s cemetery. Although it is a fictional place, Stephen King tends to place lots of emphasis on graveyards as plot devices.
Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine, was the primary filming location for the 1989 movie Pet Sematary. And its connection to Pennywise? King was said to have used names from the cemetery for characters in his books, including Georgie from It.
Stories from the 78 states that you can find the exact location as seen in Pet Sematary on the State Street side of the burial ground, nestled against a steep hill. Once you get past the Grateful Dead factor, Mount Hope’s history is as interesting.
The graveyard was designed to be a peaceful, beautiful place for final rest. Filled with ornate tombstones and mausoleums, its landscaped gardens were inspired by the 19th-century Rural Cemetery Movement. The layout was aimed at making cemeteries feel like natural, park-like spaces, offering remembrance and beauty.
Welcome to (Fictional) Derry
Fortunately for us, Derry isn’t a real town. However, all horror fans know that ghostly settings are inspired by real life.
Which is why Bangor, Maine, once again, makes it onto our list. According to Mashable, this quiet enclave is where King was living when he wrote It. In a note at the end of the book, King explains that he began writing It in Bangor in 1981 and finished about four years later.
He’s also said in interviews that Derry is essentially a fictionalized version of Bangor, shaped by the streets, people, and eerie atmosphere he knew so well. “Bangor became Derry,” stated King. He pointed out that there’s a Bangor in Ireland, located in County Derry, which inspired him to borrow the name.
In his words, the fictional town of Derry lines up almost exactly with the real Bangor, a one-to-one match in many ways.
Duck and Cover
Season one of Welcome to Derry may be coming to a close, and it’s only a matter of time till the second installment starts production.
Still, we’ve learned a lot about Pennywise’s origin story, and judging by the direction Muschietti is taking things, there’s tons to uncover. Screen Rant confirms that the series has been greenlit for two more seasons.
In the meantime, you can add the above locations to your scare fest bucket list. And don’t forget, kids, to “duck and cover”.
