Stephen King is the Master of Horror, and he also knows how to create quirky and memorable fictional town names. While most of his novels are set in Maine, he keeps the small towns as fictional as possible, which makes sense considering some of the terrible events that happen. How well can you remember the town names? We have a quiz that is certainly going to put your knowledge to the test.
We know that a couple of the questions were easy to warm you up, but we soon cranked up! If you don’t know the stories all that well, you may not have scored 8/8. Don’t worry if you didn’t. This is the perfect excuse for a Stephen King movie night, and we also highly recommend the novels or short stories they’re each based on!
The Most Iconic Stephen King Towns
There are certain town names that stand out more than others. When we mentioned Derry, there’s no doubt that you know this was from the movie It. The HBO TV series even used the location in the title, as Welcome to Derry. However, it’s not just the town where the killer clown visits. Derry has been used in Bag of Bones and Insomnia because King knows how to make sure you don’t want to go there.
Another town name that you definitely know is Castle Rock. There was a two-season series dedicated to it. But can you remember the movies that this town was named in? Cujo was one of them, but did you know The Dead Zone and Needful Things also used Castle Rock as a setting? Also, did you know the way King came up with the name? He’s a fan of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, and he created the fictional town from the rock formation in the book.
Another town that has been used in more than one story is Little Tall Island. This is likely one of the less memorable ones, as it comes from two of the less popular adaptations. Dolores Claiborne and Storm of the Century are set in Little Tall Island, and you’ll definitely need to check them both out.
Horror fans also love Jerusalem’s Lot, but you’ll be forgiven if you call it by its shorter name, Salem’s Lot. The shortened version comes from the 1975 novel’s title, which was turned into a fun vampire movie.
The next time you’re watching a Stephen King adaptation or reading one of his books, take note of the town name. You never know when we’re going to put random knowledge to the test on our Mental Floss quiz page.
