All the Stephen King Easter eggs in ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’

Like the malevolent clown dancing in its dark heart, IT: Welcome to Derry is a strange creature.

The series is technically a prequel to 2017’s IT and 2019’s IT Chapter Two, which were adapted from Stephen King‘s 1986 epic novel about Derry, Maine, a small town being terrorized by an ancient, child-devouring evil that surfaces every 27 years. According to co-creator Andy Muschietti, who also directed the films, Welcome to Derry will adapt the book’s various interludes, which dig deep into Derry’s violent history and how its namesake creature factors into it.

And while that’s true, the show is also its own beast, deviating greatly from King’s story by weaving in military intrigue, spycraft, and Native American mythology. That gives the creative team ample freedom to flesh out their vision of Derry, all while paying tribute to the breadth of King’s vast oeuvre, which, by virtue of the author’s penchant for cross-pollination, lends itself to Easter eggs.

What an Easter egg is, exactly, is up for interpretation. But for the purposes of this piece, we’re focusing on direct and oblique references to the book IT and King’s work in general. Also, for the sake of clarity, we’ll be calling the story’s nameless shapeshifter Pennywise, the leering clown that often serves as its painted face.

Below are all of the Stephen King Easter eggs in Welcome to Derry. Be sure to bookmark this piece, as we’ll be updating it after each new episode.