The new horror series IT: Welcome to Derry is terrifying audiences, but one of its most shocking scenes is rooted in real-world atrocities. In the premiere episode, a child’s fear makes a bedside lamp come to life with screaming faces, a moment directly inspired by the horrific crimes of the Holocaust.
The prequel series, which premiered on October 26, 2025 on HBO, takes viewers back to 1962 Derry, Maine. The show follows a new group of characters as they encounter the evil entity Pennywise, decades before the Losers’ Club. While the series is full of supernatural scares, the lamp scene stands out for its connection to documented war crimes.
The Terrifying Lamp Scene in Welcome to Derry
In the first episode, a young boy named Teddy Uris is already troubled by the disappearance of his friend. During a family dinner, he asks his father if it’s possible for someone to keep a child hidden underground for months. Instead of a simple answer, Teddy’s father uses the moment to teach him about their family’s painful history.
He tells Teddy about his grandparents surviving the Buchenwald concentration camp during World War II. He shares the horrific detail that Nazi officers used the skin of Jewish prisoners to make lampshades. This true historical account shakes Teddy to his core.
Later that night, as Teddy lies in bed, his fear physically manifests. The plain lampshade on his bedside lamp suddenly transforms, showing human faces with sewn-shut lips. As Teddy screams, the lamp rolls toward him, the faces contorting and the fabric splitting open into a silent scream. The scene uses supernatural horror to reflect the very real trauma of genocide.
The Real-Life Horror That Inspired the Scene
The story Teddy’s father tells him is not fictional. It is based on documented war crimes committed at the Buchenwald concentration camp by its commandant, Karl Otto Koch, and his wife, Ilse Koch.
Ilse Koch, who became known as the “Witch of Buchenwald,” was particularly notorious for her cruelty. Historical records show that she personally selected tattooed Jewish prisoners to be killed. Their skin was then used to create various household objects, including lampshades, photo albums, and gloves. After the war, Ilse Koch was put on trial for her crimes. She was initially sentenced to life in prison, was released, then was tried again and received another life sentence. She died by suicide in prison in 1967.
The series uses this dark chapter of history to show that human evil can be as terrifying as any supernatural clown. By connecting Teddy’s family history to his encounter with Pennywise, the show makes the horror deeply personal.
How the Scene Fits Into Stephen King’s World
IT: Welcome to Derry expands on the world Stephen King created in his 1986 novel. The show is developed by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs, the same team behind the recent IT films. Bill Skarsgård returns to play the terrifying Pennywise.
The series draws heavily from the “interlude” chapters in King’s original novel. These chapters detail the long history of evil in Derry, stretching back centuries before the events of the main story. The show’s creators have acted like detectives, piecing together these historical nuggets to build the town’s backstory.
Showrunner Jason Fuchs explained the approach:
“We’re Stephen King mega fans and IT super fans! The goal was that we never want to be in conflict with the source material. We’ll invent, we’ll extrapolate, but we’re very careful not to do anything that explicitly goes in the face of anything that’s canon.”
A key theme in the IT universe is that the entity feeds on fear, often taking forms that reflect its victims’ personal anxieties and traumatic memories. For Teddy, whose family was directly impacted by the Holocaust, the fear of Nazi atrocities becomes a weapon used against him.
A Deeper Look at the Show’s Setting and Characters
IT: Welcome to Derry introduces several new characters to the cursed town. The story begins in January 1962 with the disappearance of a boy named Matty Clements. His friends, including Teddy Uris and Lilly Bainbridge, start investigating and soon find themselves facing an ancient evil.
The series also introduces Major Leroy Hanlon, who arrives at the Derry military base with his family. He immediately encounters racism and bias, highlighting the very real human evils that exist alongside the supernatural threat of Pennywise. The show uses its 1960s setting to explore the social tensions of the era.
Another key character is Dick Hallorann, a name familiar to Stephen King fans. The character possesses a psychic ability known as “the shine,” which he also has in King’s novel The Shining. His inclusion connects the series to the larger Stephen King universe.
The premiere episode establishes that no character is safe. By the end of the first episode, several children are killed in a brutal massacre at the local Capitol Theater, showing that the series is not afraid to go to dark places.
Fan Reactions to the Horror
The lamp scene and the overall intensity of the premiere have sparked strong reactions online. Many viewers have taken to social media to express how shocked they were by the show’s willingness to confront real historical horror alongside supernatural terror.
One entertainment site noted that the scene is “a reminder of the Holocaust, and that’s why it’s more chilling than the show’s other nightmarish moments.” The scene works because it connects a child’s personal family trauma to the shape-shifting fears that Pennywise exploits.
The series has been praised for its high production value and its commitment to the source material while still finding new ways to scare audiences. By rooting Teddy’s fear in a documented historical reality, the show creates a moment that is more psychologically complex than a simple jump scare.
The creators have stated that the first season is just the beginning of a larger plan. The show is intended to run for three seasons, each moving further back in time to explore different eras of Pennywise’s reign of terror in Derry. Future seasons are planned to cover the years 1935 and 1908, delving deeper into the town’s cursed history.
Also Read: It: Welcome to Derry Shocks Fans with Game of Thrones-Level Twist
