TV's 13 top terror towns, from Collinsport, Maine, to Castle Rock, Maine
Hulu's supernatural series "Castle Rock," which premiered Wednesday, July 25, puts viewers in the middle of a small Maine town where terror lurks around every dark corner. Indeed, horror is by far the main industry in this fictional community designed by Stephen King as the setting for such novels as "The Dead Zone," "Cujo," "The Dark Half" and "Needful Things."
But Castle Rock hardly is the first such terror town featured in a TV series. And it's not the first paranormal program set in a small Maine town. In fact, "Castle Rock" is not even the first series to feature a "ghost town" found in a King novel.
So the arrival of this streaming series inspired by King stories and characters reminds us that the medium has long been enchanted by these monstrous municipalities that, for one reason or another (or no reason at all), have become horror hot spots. These are the favorite haunts of vampires, witches, werewolves, warlocks, shape-shifters, ghosts, demons, zombies and all kinds of creatures of the night.
Eerie, Indiana ("Eerie, Indiana," 1991-92): Omri Katz starred as Marshall Teller, sort of a teenage Carl Kolchak, always encountering strange phenomena, from Bigfoot to dogs planning a takeover, in the aptly named town where his New Jersey family recently moved. The clever but short-lived NBC series was a sly blend of horror, humor, drama, mystery and science fiction.
But Castle Rock hardly is the first such terror town featured in a TV series. And it's not the first paranormal program set in a small Maine town. In fact, "Castle Rock" is not even the first series to feature a "ghost town" found in a King novel.
So the arrival of this streaming series inspired by King stories and characters reminds us that the medium has long been enchanted by these monstrous municipalities that, for one reason or another (or no reason at all), have become horror hot spots. These are the favorite haunts of vampires, witches, werewolves, warlocks, shape-shifters, ghosts, demons, zombies and all kinds of creatures of the night.
Eerie, Indiana ("Eerie, Indiana," 1991-92): Omri Katz starred as Marshall Teller, sort of a teenage Carl Kolchak, always encountering strange phenomena, from Bigfoot to dogs planning a takeover, in the aptly named town where his New Jersey family recently moved. The clever but short-lived NBC series was a sly blend of horror, humor, drama, mystery and science fiction.