Welcome to downtown derry, maine
Fans of horror writer Stephen King best know this part of the multiverse as the place where the entity best known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown wakes every 27 years. As Pennywise leaves its lair, IT readers are taken on a tour of terror through the city, experiencing it in great detail. Derry appears in a few other notable moments in other stories as well.
While Derry is (fortunately) fictional, the place on which it’s based, Bangor, is very real. The King family settled in Bangor in 1980 in an Italianate mansion in the Whitney Park Historic District, where Stephen and Tabitha raised their three children. They lived in the house for 37 years. They now spend their time between a home in Florida and a remote rural estate elsewhere in Maine.
In King’s stories, the real Bangor and fictional Derry occasionally exist at the same time as separate places, but Derry’s layout and geography mirrors Bangor’s, and features many of its most iconic landmarks, among them the Barrens, Standpipe, and Paul Bunyan statue. Bangor plays Derry rarely in film, but its many notable locations have been recreated for the big and small screens.
The places that King described so vividly have impacted readers so much that they travel across the world to visit Derry, Maine. From the iconic wrought iron gates around the Kings’ house on West Broadway to the humble sewer drain on the corner of Jackson St. and Union St., people find there’s a little magic everywhere in Derry.
Derry Good Events
A Haunted Evening with Frankie O'Sullivan
Darker Mount Hope Cemetery Walking Tour
Ghostly Bangor Walking Tour
Ghostly Bangor Walking Tour
Ghostly Bangor Walking Tour
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In King’s stories, the real Bangor and fictional Derry occasionally exist at the same time as separate places, but Derry’s layout and geography mirrors Bangor’s, and features many of its most iconic landmarks, among them the Barrens, Standpipe, and Paul Bunyan statue. Bangor plays Derry rarely in film, but its many notable locations have been recreated for the big and small screens.
WHAT TO SEE IN DERRY
Paul Bunyan
This handsome fellow has watched over Main Street since the 1950s. As far as we know, ours has never left the Bass Park area, and he’s never lost the cheerful smile on his handsome face.
In IT, Derry’s statue, possessed and animated by Pennywise, chases young Ritchie Tozier in a horrifying vision.
“In 1979 […] we looked in two places, we looked in the Bramhall district in Portland, and we looked on West Broadway in Bangor, which was the street that we both knew. Tabby from when she grew up in Old Town and would come in to use the library, and me from when I went to the university of Maine and used to come into Bangor to use the library. And we talked about it, and there were things about Portland that we liked very much, but what we liked about Bangor was a sense of community with no frills, a community where people really did seem to care about each other, where we had ties from our university years, where people had learned to get along with us, and to be friends with us in spite of the shrill politics of the late Sixties.“
Stephen King, accepting an award in Bangor in 1992
The Canal
In Bangor, the Kenduskeag Stream runs through downtown to the Penobscot River. The time someone would be most likely to have an incident would be during the spring Kenduskeag Canoe Race, but it won’t be something supernatural — just a whole lot of whitewater.
In IT, The Canal is a section of the Kenduskeag that runs through downtown Derry, which goes through a tunnel under the streets and comes out in Bassey Park. In January 1958, a young Ben Hanscom first encounters IT walking on top of the frozen stream. A few months later, Eddie Corcoran is decapitated here by IT in the form of the Gill-man.
Thomas Hill Standpipe
Visible from many parts of Bangor, the Thomas Hill Standpipe holds 1.75 million gallons of water and regulates downtown water pressure. The stunning building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and named a National Historic Landmark. It is also designated an American Water Landmark (American Water Works Association, and a civil engineering landmark (American Society of Civil Engineers).
Stephen King reportedly wrote parts of IT on a park bench near the base of the tower in the early 1980s. In IT, the Derry Standpipe is where Stan Uris encounters Pennywise and the ghosts of the town’s violent past. The landmark is also referenced in King’s novels Dreamcatcher and 11/22/63. Bangor’s Standpipe has its own eerie history, which reportedly helped inspire aspects of King’s writing.
In 1940, two young boys were racing to the top when one fell over the railing between the water tank and the outer wall, dying of his injuries a day later. People have heard footsteps next to them walking up the tower stairs, and some even report the sound of children laughing when there’s nobody else around.
Typically, the Bangor Water District opens the Standpipe once each season for visitors to climb to the observation deck, however tours are currently cancelled while the building is under repair, and no tours are scheduled for the foreseeable future.
Bangor Public Library
The Bangor Public Library is a must-visit for any King fan. The library houses a dedicated King Lobby, where the Bangor Book of Honor is displayed, with a new page turned each day.
The library was built after the Great Fire of 1911, designed by the Boston architectural firm Peabody and Stearns. The King family has given millions of dollars to its maintenance, preservation, and expansion over the years.
The story The Library Policeman in Four Past Midnight was inspired by his 10-year-old son’s expressed fear of returning overdue books to the Bangor Public Library because of “the library police.”
What else happens in Derry?
Stephen King’s September Birthday Carnival
Bangor celebrates the King of Horror’s birthday with a weekend September near his birthday (Sept 21) with a spooktacular 3-day street party, sponsored in part by SK Tours of Maine and the In Derry, Maine T-shirt company.
Dress up as your favorite Stephen King character (or as your favorite Constant Reader) and join in three days of festivities, carnival games, food and fun.
Movie Nights at The Emporium
From dark comedies to scary musicals, classic horror, and everything in between, gather with like-minded fans for movie nights at The Emporium. On movie nights the shop opens at 6:30pm and start the movie at 7:00pm.
There is no fee, but donations are welcome to offset event costs.
Horror Book Club
The Horror Book Club in Bangor is a monthly reading group dedicated to spine-tingling (Derry-free) novels, hosted by The Briar Patch at BookSpace. Usually Wednesdays at 7:30 PM, but check the calendar for specific dates.
Bangor Historical Society Ghostly Bangor Tours
The Bangor Historical Society’s Ghostly Bangor Walking Tour features tales of unsolved mysteries, murder, and energies that may still linger in the Queen City. Departing from the Bangor Historical Society’s Thomas A. Hill House (159 Union Street, Bangor), tours stroll through the streets of Downtown Bangor and last around 90 minutes.
Advanced tickets are required. Out of season tours are available by private appointment.
Want to learn more about living in Derry, Maine? We suggest this 2025 story by NBC’s Mike Gavin, Jr.
