IT: Welcome to Derry: Everything We Know So Far About the Evil Lurking Beneath

November 10, 2025 5 Min Read

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Something wicked has returned to Derry, Maine, and this time, the story isn’t about who will defeat IT—but who will survive discovering it. HBO’s Welcome to Derry, the chilling prequel to Stephen King’s IT, dives into the origins of the nightmare that made Derry infamous, peeling back its history decades before the Losers’ Club ever faced Pennywise.

Set in 1962, the series follows the Hanlon family, who arrive in Derry seeking a fresh start. Major Leroy Hanlon, recently stationed at the nearby Air Force base, brings with him his wife Charlotte, a passionate former history teacher, and their curious teenage son. But their attempt at normalcy quickly unravels. The town’s unsettling rhythm—missing children, strange whispers, and unseen eyes—sets in, and Leroy soon realizes Derry isn’t a place where you can simply start over. Every lead he chases vanishes into cover-ups, leaving him torn between duty as a soldier and desperation as a father.

At the same time, three local teens—Lilly, Teddy, and Phil—find themselves drawn into the town’s growing unease. In the series premiere, The Pilot, their lives take a disturbing turn: Lilly discovers a bloody finger floating in her bathwater, Teddy hears a lampshade screaming, and Phil swears he hears children singing from the sewers. Their shared fear—and curiosity—binds them together, as they begin to see what adults refuse to acknowledge.

By The Thing in the Dark, those eerie threads tighten. Major Hanlon’s investigation collides with the kids’ search for answers, revealing a pattern that points to something ancient lurking beneath Derry. But as the group inches closer to the truth, they realize this evil doesn’t just haunt the town—it feeds on it.

Then comes Episode 3: Now You See It, where the horror reaches back further than anyone imagined. The episode opens with a haunting flashback to a 1908 carnival, introducing a boy named Francis, whose fascination with the freak show leads to a terrifying encounter in the woods. He’s rescued by a young girl named Rose, who uses a slingshot to drive off a monstrous creature—an act that ties directly into Derry’s future and connects her to the present-day Rose, the antique shop owner from earlier episodes.

Back in 1962, Lilly returns from Juniper Hill under heavier medication, haunted by visions no one believes. She finds unexpected support from Madeleine Stowe’s unnamed caretaker, who tells her, “If you tell me you’ve seen the impossible, I believe you.” That moment of empathy becomes the spark Lilly needs to keep fighting. Reuniting with Ronnie, the two set out to capture photographic proof of Derry’s supernatural presence—determined to expose the truth, even if it puts them in greater danger.

Meanwhile, the Hanlons’ world collides with something far more cosmic. At the Derry Air Force Base, Colonel Fullerand General Shaw uncover the remains of the Bradley Gang’s car during a dig, linking it to strange events that seem to occur in 27-year cycles—a detail that will make IT fans’ blood run cold. Shaw, revealed to be an older Francis, still carries the slingshot that once saved his life, believing it to hold power over the entity.

Enter Dick Hallorann, a psychic whose “shine” connects him to Derry’s dark energy. Tasked with flying over the town as a “human compass,” Dick experiences a chilling vision that transports him into the cistern beneath Derry—the same lair Pennywise would later call home. Surrounded by glowing eyes and ghostly children, Dick’s grandmother’s spirit warns him: “He’s coming, Dickie. Get out now.” It’s the closest we’ve come yet to seeing Pennywise return, and though the camera pulls back just before his full reveal, the dread it leaves behind is unmistakable.

On the ground, Leroy confronts Dick, realizing he’s not only connected to the base but possibly to the psychic invasion into his own mind. Their uneasy alliance deepens as they both sense Derry’s evil closing in. Meanwhile, Charlotte Hanlon’s backstory—her activism and refusal to stay silent in a town built on prejudice—adds a crucial layer to the series’ exploration of fear. Her perspective mirrors Derry’s moral decay, showing that the town’s real monsters may be the people who choose not to see.

The younger cast also takes center stage. Will, Rich, Ronnie, and Lilly form a fragile version of a “Losers’ Club,” determined to uncover what’s killing Derry’s children. Their plan to summon and photograph the creature leads to a haunting nighttime ritual at the cemetery. When the ground trembles and the dead rise, the group captures a chilling photo that may finally prove the monster’s existence. Whether it’s Pennywise or something older remains to be seen—but the image confirms that the horror is far from over.

By the end of Now You See It, Welcome to Derry ties together the show’s multiple timelines and themes. The slingshot, passed through generations, becomes a symbol of resistance against a seemingly endless evil. The military’s involvement hints that Derry’s darkness may have been studied—or even weaponized—while the children’s courage mirrors the earliest sparks of rebellion against fear itself.

What makes Welcome to Derry so effective isn’t the jump scares—it’s the slow dread. Director Andy Muschietti captures that same unsettling beauty that made IT unforgettable: flickering lights, pipes that hum with life, and shadows that move when no one does. The horror feels alive, feeding off grief, prejudice, and silence.

Three episodes in, Welcome to Derry has transformed from an origin story into a chilling meditation on how fear evolves—and how easily it spreads. Beneath the surface, the show is about more than Pennywise’s birth; it’s about the people who let monsters grow by refusing to look. Because in Derry, ignorance isn’t bliss. It’s bait.