All of the Easter Eggs in Welcome to Derry So Far

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All of the Stephen King references hidden in Welcome to Derry

Co-authored by Amy Bobinger, BA

Last Updated: December 10, 2025 Fact Checked

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Locations

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Characters

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Plot Points

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Passing References

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Opening Credits

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Video

It: Welcome to Derry is the latest entry in the cinematic universe that gave us Pennywise—and while the HBO series is new, it’s already serving up plenty of scary-fun callbacks to the novel and movies. We’re diving deep into the easter eggs that have popped up in the show, covering everything from major locations, characters, and plot points to subtle details. Let’s get started!

This article may contain spoilers for It: Welcome to Derry.

Easter Eggs in Welcome to Derry

Juniper Hill, the asylum in the opening credits, appears in multiple works by Stephen King.
The character Dick Halloran plays a major role in The Shining.
Major Leroy Hanlon and his son Will are likely the grandfather and father of Mike Hanlon, who appears in the novel It.
Turtle symbolism appears throughout Welcome to Derry, a nod to the cosmic turtle Maturin.
A slingshot used to wound the Skeleton Man is a nod to the weapon used by the Losers’ Club in the novel.

Section 1 of 5:

Location Easter Eggs

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1
Juniper Hill The asylum Juniper Hill is shown in the opening credits of Welcome to Derry, and it’s quickly established that the character Lily spent time there after witnessing her father’s death. Juniper Hill is likely familiar to fans of King’s work—here are a few places you might have heard of it:^{[1]
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- Henry Bowers is sent there after encountering Pennywise in the novel It.
- It’s a featured location in the Hulu series Castle Rock.
- In the novel Needful Things, the character Nettie Cobb is sent there after killing her abusive husband.
- In the novel Gerald’s Game, the serial killer Raymond Andrew Joubert (aka “Space Cowboy”) is sent there.
- Charlie Pickering spends 6 months there in the novel Insomnia.
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Secondhand Rose, Secondhand Clothes The thrift shop owned by Rose has appeared in both It and Insomnia. And in the movie It Chapter 2, Stephen King had a cameo part as the store’s proprietor.^{[2]
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- In Welcome to Derry, a young child is shown alphabetizing items in the store—a nod to the character played by King.
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Keene’s Drug Store In Welcome to Derry, we get a glimpse of Keene’s Drug Store in the opening credits, and in episode 3, Ronnie tells Lily they probably won’t be able to get their film developed at Keene’s. Keene’s Drug Store played an important part in It—Eddie got his asthma inhalers from the owner, Mr. Norbert Keene, who eventually tells him it’s a placebo.^{[3]
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- The pharmacist that Charlotte Hanlon sees on the street may be a younger version of Norbert Keene.
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The Barrens The opening sequence shows kids swimming at The Barrens, with a scary creature lurking in the depths. In the It novel, the Losers’ Club hangs out in the Barrens, building both a clubhouse and a dam. It’s also the setting for their final confrontation with Pennywise.
- The area is described as eerie, in large part due to the fact that Pennywise lives in the sewers under the Barrens and uses the area to hunt for children.

Section 2 of 5:

Character Easter Eggs

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Dick Hallorann In Welcome to Derry, the character Dick Hallorann is a soldier who’s using his psychic gifts to help the military find Pennywise. He also appears as an army mess cook in the It novel. But King fans will also recognize him from The Shining and Doctor Sleep as the head chef of the Overlook Hotel.^{[4]
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- In The Shining, Hallorann helps young Danny Torrance learn to use his gift, called the shine.
- In episode 3 of Welcome to Derry, Hallorann sees his grandmother in his vision of Pennywise’s lair. In Doctor Sleep, we learn that Hallorann’s grandmother was also gifted and was the person who taught him to use his psychic powers.
- What's in Hallorann's box? In Doctor Sleep, Hallorann's grandmother teaches him to protect himself from restless spirits by locking them in a mental box. In episode 5, Pennywise appears as Hallorann's grandfather and forces him to open that box.
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Major Leroy Hanlon and Will Hanlon If the name Hanlon seems familiar, it’s for a good reason—Mike Hanlon is the only member of the Losers’ Club who stays in Derry, where he becomes the librarian and devotes himself to researching IT’s cycles. Welcome to Derry features Major Leroy Hanlon and his son Will, who are probably Mike’s grandfather and father.
- An older version of Major Hanlon is a character in the newer It films.
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Teddy Uris Teddy Uris, who appeared in Welcome to Derry episode 1, shares a surname with Stan Uris, a member of the Losers’ Club in the It novel. Teddy and Stan are both also Jewish, so it’s likely that they’re related.^{[5]
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- Teddy and Stan also share tragic fates—and because Teddy meets his at such a tender age, we’re guessing Teddy’s sarcastic older brother Donald will eventually become Stan’s father.
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Stan Kersh Leroy’s wife (and Will’s mother) Charlotte spends some time chatting with the butcher, who introduces himself as Stan Kersh. In the It novel, adult Beverly encounters a creepy “old woman” at her former childhood home, where she sees the name “Kersh” on the doorbell.^{[6]
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- Kersh is also the surname of the nurse who befriended Lily at Juniper Hill.
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Clint Bowers The police chief in Welcome to Derry is named Clint Bowers. He shares a last name with Henry Bowers, the bully who tormented the Losers’ Club in the It novel. Which tracks, since Chief Bowers is portrayed as an antagonist who’s trying to convict Ronnie’s father Hank by any means necessary.^{[7]
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- In It: Chapter 1 and It: Chapter 2, Henry’s father is a cop named Butch, so the police chief is probably Henry’s grandfather (and Butch’s father).

Section 3 of 5:

Plot Point Easter Eggs

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Maturin the Turtle In King’s novel, Maturin is a cosmic force of good—that also happens to be a turtle. Turtles are frequently referenced in Welcome to Derry. For instance:
- Matty gives Lily a turtle charm from a box of Cracker Jacks, and Lily says, “Turtles are lucky.”
- The Derry High School mascot is Bert the Turtle (a real character from the 1950s who taught kids to “duck and cover” in the face of a nuclear attack).^{[8]
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- In the circus scene set in 1908, characters are shown trying to knock down wooden turtles.
- The Shokopiwah tribe buries turtle shells as part of the 13 pillars that prevent Pennywise from escaping Derry.
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Paul Bunyan statue In Welcome to Derry, a Paul Bunyan statue is being built (to mixed reactions from the townspeople). First, a billboard appears announcing the statue, and then construction begins on the statue itself. This is the same statue that comes to life and chases Richie from the Losers’ Club in It: Chapter 2.
- The real-life town of Derry also has a Paul Bunyan statue.^{[9]
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The Bradley Gang’s Car In the It franchise, the Bradley Gang was a group of criminals—headed by brothers George and Al Bradley. In 1935, they were ambushed by a group of townspeople. At the end of Welcome to Derry episode 2, their car is unearthed, complete with bullet holes.
- In the It novel, Mike Hanlon learns that witnesses to the massacre reported seeing a gun-wielding clown during the massacre. The opening credits of Welcome to Derry show Pennywise hanging off a building, shooting into the crowd.
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Slingshot In Welcome to Derry, young Francis (General Shaw) is given a slingshot by his father, but he trades it to young Rose for a drink of water. When Francis is chased through the woods by the Skeleton Man (Pennywise), Rose uses the slingshot to save Francis.
- This is a call-back to the Losers’ Club, who used a slingshot to attack Pennywise with slugs formed from silver dollars.
- Later, Hallorann is given a slingshot (probably the same one used by Rose), which he uses like a divining rod to locate Pennywise.
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Pennywise’s circus wagon When Hallorann has his vision of IT’s lair, he sees an old-fashioned circus wagon in the sewers. It says “Pennywise” on the side, and the lair is filled with floating children. It’s a direct reference to the It novel and movies, giving viewers something familiar to relate to.
- In the same episode, viewers get a glimpse of Pennywise’s gloved hand in the cemetery.

Section 4 of 5:

Blink-and-You’ll-Miss-It Easter Eggs

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These subtle clues help tie together King’s universe. Not all of the Welcome to Derry Easter eggs are obvious. These little details are easy to miss on a first viewing, but they add up just the same:
- Andy Muschietti, the co-creator of Welcome to Derry and director of It: Chapter 1 and It: Chapter 2, has a cameo as the cigarette-smoking piano player inside the circus tent in Episode 3.
- In Episode 3, Francis visits a hall of mirrors at the circus, a reference to It: Chapter 2.
- “Mike loves Christine” is scrawled on a chalkboard, which references the King novel Christine.
- A character is seen drinking Fizz-O-La soda. King’s characters frequently drink Nozz-O-La soda.
- The baking powder cans in the grocery store are the same as the ones in The Shining.
- “Alvin Marsh” is written inside a heart in the girls’ bathroom—this is the name of Beverly Marsh’s abusive father in the It novel and movies.
- The finger reaching up through Lily’s drain may reference King’s short story “The Moving Finger” from Nightmares & Dreamscapes.
- Pennywise sometimes takes the form of the monster from Creature from the Black Lagoon, and a poster from the movie is shown in Phil’s room.
- Chief Bowers offers Hank Grogan a Pall Mall cigarette, which King’s characters often smoke.
- Chief Bowers also threatens to send Hank to Shawshank Prison.
- There’s a portrait of Rita Hayworth in a bar; the novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption was the inspiration for The Shawshank Redemption film.
- A rubbing alcohol bottle at Derry High School is labelled Van Helden, which is the name of both a missing girl in Welcome to Derry and the show’s art director.
- A character in the circus is named Bujok the Mystical Wonder, which is probably a nod to Welcome to Derry’s camera tech, Matt Bujok.

Section 5 of 5:

Easter Eggs in Welcome to Derry’s Opening Credits

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The show’s opener is loaded with Easter eggs. You’ll have to be quick to catch these, but don’t worry—we’ve rounded them up for you. They include:
- A scene from the Kitchener Ironworks explosion, which killed 102 people (including 88 children)
- The statue of Paul Bunyan
- A girl peeking down into a sewer drain (referencing the character Georgie from the novel and movies)
- Kids swimming in the Barrens
- The Well House, where the Losers’ Club encounters Pennywise as adults
- Pennywise shooting into the crowd during the Bradley Gang Massacre
- A child getting a lobotomy at Juniper Hill Asylum