Stephen King Finds Inspiration In Bangor, Maine

It’s a bit weird to be linking to a piece from Chronicle, the local TV magazine from my home state of Massachusetts that covers various goings on throughout New England. A mix of travelogue, historical program, calendar of events, and more, Chronicle was a mainstay in my house for a long time (it was eventually usurped first by Simpsons’ reruns and then by Jeopardy!—sorry, Chronicle). But here we are with a piece from earlier this year, February 2022, hosted and produced by Nicole Estaphan in which she examines the history of Bangor, ME and how it has influenced its most famous resident for decades.

Stephen King’s home has long been a tourist destination for his Constant Readers, checking out his bat-adorned wrought iron gates that protect the red Victorian house set back on the lot. This piece looks at that particular neighborhood, and King’s own history of living there, but the Chronicle segment also dives into how King has used the very specific history of the “you can only get there from here” city to inspire much of his own fictional geographies, especially Derry, ME. Yes, home to Pennywise and other nightmares, Derry bears a lot of very obvious similarities in its layout and past to Bangor and Estaphan explores some of that.

If you enjoy the video, consider subscribing to Chronicle’s YouTube Channel or follow them on Twitter (or if you’re in the area, you can watch it weeknights at 730pm on WCVB, channel 5). You can also follow Nicole Estaphan on Twitter as well.