Stephen King Needs Better Security

In case you haven’t heard, someone—no, some thing—nearly broke into his house by maneuvering itself underneath the infamous iron gate, sprinting across the lawn, and bounding up the steps to the front door. It’s partly my fault, because as it turns out, the culprit is Sebastian Stotch Shannon, who was discovered at the scene by someone who is not me. That’s what I get for letting him wander.

^{yeah, that’s actually him falling down the steps}

Honestly, I can’t hold the transgression against him, because ever since he saw Steve’s Corgi Molly, aka the Thing of Evil, disembowel a flamingo… Well, he’s truly believed they’re soulmates. Not only that, but as I hauled his little ass away from the property, he confessed to me that he and Molly are betrothed. They’re meant to have a destruction-themed wedding ceremony officiated by Dipshit the Moose. They’re meant to ride off into the sunset dead of night together and get banned from a number of Petcos.

Unfortunately, I had to break the sad news that Molly no longer lives in Derry (still—Sebastian claims he will never stop chasing her). ANYWAY, all of this brings me to the real point of this week’s post, which is to share…

Five things I learned when I visited Derry, Maine

^{(It’s actually Bangor, Maine but I am choosing to call it Derry. To me, it is real.)}

Stephen King no longer lives in the iconic red Victorian

Steve and his wife, Tabby (Sebastian said it’s cool to call his future in-laws by their nicknames) don’t actually live in the house anymore. Since 2019, it’s been home to the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, which was created in 1986 and continues to provide grants for non-profit organizations in the state of Maine. I will not be providing information about where they live now, because unlike some freaks on the Internet (and Sebastian), I believe the man and his family are entitled to privacy <3

Specific landmarks inspired THESE settings and characters in IT

• Beverly Marsh’s neighborhood: Steve described it as so poor, there are houses behind houses. It’s true. I even visited the specific apartment building that he pictured when he wrote about the Marsh family’s.
• The name Georgie: A headstone at Mount Hope Cemetery reads “Georgie,” which Steve saw on one of his daytime cemetery walks. He liked the name enough that he borrowed it for poor little George Denbrough. May both Georgies be resting in peace.
• Killer Paul Bunyan statue: I was excited to see this and it ended up blowing my mind. When I read about it in the book and subsequently saw the movie versions, I had no idea how big the thing actually was. Like, it makes the one in the movies look like a statue for ants.
• Derry Standpipe: If you’re a King fan, then you’ll know that this one (called the Thomas Hill Standpipe IRL) is actually featured in a few of his books, not just It. One of the tour guides at SK Tours mentioned how accurately it’s represented in HBO’s Welcome to Derry (if you aren’t watching, then what the hell are you doing on Sundays? Football? Gross).
• The Sewer: I was expecting a curb storm drain, but the real one, which is on the corner of Union and Jackson Streets, is small and ordinary. DARE I SAY, QUAINT? Even so—it rocked my fucking world.
• The Barrens: Unlike the statue, I was slightly underwhelmed by the Kenduskeag Stream in terms of what I had pictured in my mind (again, the movies really fuck with these things, don’t they?) but it’s still BEAUTIFUL. The stream, as well as some wooded place where Steve used to play as a boy, inspired the Barrens.

The town’s history inspired a very specific death in IT

You might recall the character Adrian Melon, also briefly depicted in IT Chapter 2 (I think about his Meg Ryan diss at least once a month), who was thrown over the edge of The Kissing Bridge by three hick assholes who discovered he was gay and decided they had *literally* nothing better to do. Adrian’s demise was inspired by the real, devastating murder of Charlie Howard, who was similarly assaulted and pushed from the State Street Bridge in Bangor in 1984. His death was a catalyst for the city’s gay rights movement, and his memory lives on through residents and the memorial that was erected a short distance from the bridge.

Residents don’t really care they live in Derry

Blinded by my love for King’s work, I was shocked that a lot of Bangor residents aren’t aware of the King sites around town because they aren’t fans and don’t read his books. Even my tour guide, who is an EXPERT, has family members who were Steve’s neighbors for years, and they have no idea what she talks about all day. I even chatted with some cool residents who live in the “Marsh house,” and they had no idea what I was on about. Here I was, thinking every day certainly must be a Pennywise party. Dreams crushed.

They don’t care if you walk around as a clown, either

I know this firsthand because I walked around town near my Airbnb (which was about a block from the Victorian), as a clown, and no one batted an eye. I carried balloons. I Waved at passing cars. I bought a large quantity of Slim Jims from the nice man at the corner store. Apparently, these people are desensitized to clowns, whether they know who Pennywise is or not.

Speaking of clowns… I’m excited to announce H.J. Dutton’s Horrific Highlights, a recurring series by my fellow Editorial Assistant. H.J. will be contributing lists of fun content to accompany my blog posts, and his first one brings you horror stories featuring clowns (my favorite)!

---

Three Lovecraftian Horror Stories Featuring Clowns

With HBO’s Welcome To Derry causing another resurgence of interest in Stephen King’s 1986 mega-novel, I think it’s fitting to open this little series of mine with a discussion on a very niche topic: cosmic horror and clowns. More specifically, what is it about the two that makes them compatible? At the heart of all cosmic horror is a nihilistic view of mankind’s position in the universe. We are less than nothing, a speck among an abyss teeming with ancient races and their alien gods. Clowns in modern fiction, by comparison, are often physical manifestations of the absurd. 20th-century Absurdism proposes that the only practical response to the indifference of the universe is not despair or faith, but joy. Both outlooks recognize the meaninglessness of the human race, but they respond in very different ways. In this sense, cosmic horror and clowns both juxtapose and complement each other. Where the scholars in H.P. Lovecraft’s fiction despair over the cold indifference of the cosmos, the clown merely laughs and honks his horn. In a world of cosmic horror, the clown is right at home.

The Last Feast of Harlequin – Thomas Ligotti (1990)

One of Lovecraft’s modern disciples, Ligotti solidified his reputation as one of the giants of weird fiction through short stories such as “Gas Station Carnivals” (1996) and “The Red Tower” (1996). In this story, an anthropologist visits the small New England town of Mirocaw to observe its annual clown festival. Things take a dark turn when the festival’s true purpose is revealed.

Listen to the full story here

The God of Dark Laughter – Michael Chabon (2001)

Unlike the other authors on this list, Chabon is not primarily a horror fiction author. The majority of his resume is in the science fiction, fantasy, and noir genres. He takes a small detour here, using his experience in noir to craft a disquieting occult mystery. On the outskirts of a Western Pennsylvania town, the corpse of a clown is discovered, its head stripped of skin. And that’s tame compared to where this story goes from there.

Read the full story here

Death Wore Greasepaint – Josh Finney (2014)

Though primarily an illustrator of comic books and cover art, Finney published his written contribution to the sprawling Cthulhu Mythos in the anthology Whispers From The Abyss (2014). Wilbur, a performing clown, is granted a segment on a local TV station. Little does the manager Charlie know that Wilbur came across some very dangerous knowledge during his time spent in the East. Knowledge he’s more than happy to share with his audience of children.

2 comments