The new HBO Max series IT: Welcome to Derry is expanding Stephen King’s horror universe by creating a direct bridge to the world of The Shining and its sequel, Doctor Sleep. The connection centers on a younger version of the character Dick Hallorann and a dangerous psychic technique that will be familiar to fans of the later stories. The series shows how the demonic entity Pennywise exploits this power for its own sinister purposes.
The Arrival of a Younger Dick Hallorann
IT: Welcome to Derry is set in 1962, nearly two decades before the events of The Shining. The series introduces a younger Dick Hallorann, played by Chris Chalk, who is an airman stationed at the Derry air force base. This version of Dick is notably different from the warm, benevolent mentor figure Scatman Crothers and Carl Lumbly portrayed in the earlier films.
Showrunner Jason Fuchs explained that having a younger, colder Hallorann was an intentional choice to show the character’s journey. He described the Dick in Welcome to Derry as “a much colder person than the warm mentor he would become.” Co-showrunner Brad Caleb Kane added, “He is not the genial, kind, warm person that we meet in The Shining and Doctor Sleepโฆ He is looking out for himself.” The traumatic events he faces in Derry are set to change his perspective, setting him on the path to becoming the man who would later guide Danny Torrance.
The Psychic Lockbox from Doctor Sleep
The most significant link to the broader Stephen King universe is introduced through a psychic weapon first detailed in Doctor Sleep. In both the Doctor Sleep novel and the 2019 film adaptation directed by Mike Flanagan, an older Dick Hallorann teaches a young Danny Torrance how to deal with the ghosts haunting him.
He instructs Danny to visualize a lockbox in his mind, a metaphysical container where he can trap malevolent spirits and traumatic memories. Dick explains this concept to Danny, saying:
โYouโre gonna build one just like it in your mind. One even more special. So next time that bitch comes around, youโll be ready.โ
An adult Dan Torrance continues to use this method, creating multiple boxes to contain the various ghosts from the Overlook Hotel that pursue him through his life. This technique becomes crucial in his final battle against Rose the Hat and the True Knot cult back at the Overlook Hotel.
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Pennywise Forces the Box Open
In Episode 5 of Welcome to Derry, Dick Hallorann finds himself in the Derry sewers, where he is psychically attacked by Pennywise. The entity pulls him into a nightmarish vision of his childhood bathroom, where he is confronted by the terrifying specter of his abusive grandfather. This specific backstory for Dick was first established in Doctor Sleep, where he reveals his grandfather was a monstrously cruel man who kept “coming back” even after death.
In the vision, Dick’s grandfatherโwhose face contorts into a Pennywise-like grinโis holding the locked psychic box. Despite protests from Dick’s grandmother, who warns, “You know what’s in there boy. Don’t let him open it!”, the grandfather forces the box open. Chris Chalk, the actor playing Dick, described the contents as all the terror Dick had ever seen, which he had been stuffing into the box since childhood. He explained that once unleashed, these entities are “not happy about being shoved in a box” and their release “changes Dick forever.”
The episode ends with Dick stumbling out of the sewer, shell-shocked, now able to see the reanimated corpse of his dead crewmate, Pauly. The final shot confirms the box is still open in his mind, suggesting that dark forces have been unleashed upon Derry.
Building a Connected Stephen King Universe
This crossover is a deliberate nod to Stephen King’s established multiverse, where many of his stories and characters exist in a shared reality. Dick Hallorann had a small cameo in King’s original IT novel, appearing in a flashback about the burning of the Black Spot nightclub. Welcome to Derry is expanding that connection significantly.
By incorporating the Doctor Sleep lockbox concept, the series deepens the lore of “the shining,” the psychic ability that Dick and Danny share. It shows that those who shine are not only beacons for malevolent forces but can also become targets for ancient evils like Pennywise, who know how to exploit their deepest fears and trapped trauma.
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