IT Show Welcome To Derry Could Explore 7 Other Stephen King Stories

The fact that Welcome to Derry’s IT prequel will be set in Stephen King’s infamous small town means that the series could explore more of the author’s stories from this unsettling location. Prolific author Stephen King likes to use the same locations across various novels and short stories. This has allowed the writer to develop an interlinked fictional world with locations like Castle Rock, Derry, Ludlow, and Jerusalem’s Lot recurring throughout his work. In 2018, producers took advantage of this fictional universe with the TV series Castle Rock, which combined elements from many of King’s projects in one location.

Now, the upcoming IT spinoff Welcome to Derry, recently revealed as part of Max’s 2025 TV show premiere line-up, could potentially repeat this trick. First and foremost, Max’s Welcome to Derry is a prequel to director Andy Muschietti’s IT movies, released in 2017 and 2019. However, since the show is set in the titular town of Derry, there are several other Stephen King stories set in the same place that could tie into the show. Derry is implied to be a nexus of negative supernatural energy in IT’s source novel and adaptations, which may go some way to explaining all the creepy occurrences there. However, it is not yet clear whether Welcome to Derry will pull from these King stories.

7 Insomnia (1994)

King’s novel about the Crimson King could crop up

Originally published in 1994, Insomnia is a chilling blend of horror and fantasy that sees an elderly man utilize his increasingly severe insomnia to observe an unseen world of paranormal phenomena. While this setup might sound relatively harmless, Insomnia soon reminds readers that its story is set in the hometown of Pennywise the Clown when the Crimson King comes calling. This god of chaos seeks to bring about Derry’s destruction, so he can rule over the ensuing chaos, leaving the ill-prepared hero and his friend to defend the town against this interdimensional entity.

6 Secret Window, Secret Garden (1990)

This previously adapted novella could be a Welcome to Derry subplot

The novella Secret Window, Secret Garden first appeared in Stephen King’s collection Four Past Midnight and was later adapted into a movie starring Johnny Depp and John Turturro. A bleak psychological horror, this story sees an author struggling with writer’s block living in Derry as he attempts to get his life back on track. The author is horrified when a mysterious figure arrives and begins accusing him of covering up appalling crimes, but all is not as it seems in this blackly comic story. Interestingly, the movie’s ending is significantly darker than King’s original story, although both hinge on the same major twist.

As such, Welcome to Derry’s story could take a break from following Pennywise’s antics to delve into this story and retell the plot with its original ending. Without giving too much away, the novella features a major character who is effectively an evil figure brought to life by the power of imagination. If Welcome to Derry wanted to link the plot of the IT movies to this King story, the character could become one of Pennywise’s many guises, since the evil clown also used imagination and the power of fear to sustain himself.

5 The Road Virus Heads North (1999)

Stephen King’s short story has long deserved a great adaptation

First appearing in the collection Everything’s Eventual, “The Road Virus Heads North” is the creepy story of an unfortunate author who picks up a creepy painting at a garage sale. Since this sale takes place in Derry, it is no great shock when the painting’s subject comes to lie and begins stalking the writer. However, this story’s tense action is extraordinarily effective as King ratchets up the tension with each pit stop. Thus, one of the best stories in Everything’s Eventual could make for a terrifying standalone episode of Welcome to Derry.

4 Bag Of Bones (1998)

Bag of Bones is a Derry-set psychological mystery novel

The meta King novel Bag of Bones utilizes Derry throughout its twisty plot, although it could be tough for Welcome to Derry to incorporate the book’s poignant story into its plot without losing focus. The story follows a troubled author who, after the death of his wife, becomes obsessed with nightmares about a mystery related to his lake house, leading him to leave Derry for the home in Maine’s fictional “TR.” While this sounds like the setup for an effective horror story, Bag of Bones is as concerned with themes of grief and regret as it is with blood and guts. As such, Welcome to Derry would need a lot of screen time and focus to do Mike Noonan’s story justice.

3 11/22/63 (2011)

The sci-fi story’s setting and timeline line up with Welcome to Derry

The time-traveling sci-fi novel 11/22/63 might center on JFK’s assassination, but its story overlaps with Welcome to Derry’s setting and time period. Since Hulu’s TV adaptation of 11/22/63 already did the story justice, any overlap between Welcome to Derry and this King novel will likely consist only of a brief Easter egg. Still, it would be fun to see Jake Epping make his pit stop in Derry, especially because the novel’s hero takes an immediate dislike to the cursed town without even realizing why when he first arrives. Furthering the potential for crossover, King’s novel sees the time-traveling Jake briefly meet teenage versions of IT‘s Richie and Beverly.

2 Dreamcatcher (2001)

This infamously bizarre story could be improved in Welcome to Derry

With the plot set just outside King’s frequent story location of Derry, the 2003 movie Dreamcatcher made an admirable stab at bringing King’s story to life onscreen, but the source novel was simply too weird to be successfully adapted. King himself admitted to Rolling Stone that he barely remembered writing the novel as he was under the influence of Oxycontin during the process thanks to a serious accident. However, Dreamcatcher’s story has long deserved a TV adaptation that might make sense of the dense plot’s many bizarre twists, so it could be a good thing if Welcome to Derry offers another opportunity for the trippy tale of alien invasions to reach the screen.

1 Fair Extension (2010)

This twisted morality tale is right at home in Derry

Originally appearing in the collection Full Dark, No Stars, “Fair Extension” is a grim morality tale that sees its hero make a deal with the devil to offset his fair share of misery on someone else for the rest of his life. As the plot progresses, the protagonist’s life gets easier while the best friend whom he always secretly resented is slowly ruined. This twisted story is effective in short story form, but one Derry-related twist would make it better.

The fact that “Fair Extension” is set in Derry means that the mysterious man who offers the protagonist this shady deal doesn’t need to be the devil. Instead, IT’s villain Pennywise the clown could play this role, as this would tie the tale into the plot of Welcome to Derry. This mean-spirited story would also provide a pretty fitting welcome to life in the small town, where evil lurks around every corner and King’s characters are constantly prepared to stab each other in the back. Thus, Welcome to Derry’s IT prequel couldn’t have a better starting point than this Stephen King story.

Source: Rolling Stone