Recommended Reading for It: Welcome to Derry fans--
Yes, I know the obvious title is the original novel It by Stephen King. However, some have either already read it or prefer not to read it because of --ahem-- that part, so I thought I'd put down two alternatives for those who need their horror fix after watching WTD.
Up first is When the Night Bells Ring by Jo Kaplan. This novel is part historical horror, part modern dystopian. It is a juxtaposition between two women fleeing California after wildfires leave little left who find themselves stuck in a mine in Nevada and a Pioneer woman by the name of Lavinia whose diary they find in the mine. Much like WTD, the residents of the Pioneer community live with an unspeakable horror in the shadows of their town, but do not speak of it. As the story moves forward, you see that the culture of this little town may be more disturbing than the monsters that lurk in the dark.
Second is The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. This is a historical horror that takes place in Jim Crow Florida. It follows a young Black boy by the name of Robert Stephens who is unjustly sentenced to six months at a segregated reform school for boys with a sinister reputation. And again, in the spirit of WTD, the scariest parts are not necessarily the ghosts or the haints, but the racism that allows for terrible people to get away with terrible things. As an additional note, I actually got the pleasure to listen to Due speak at a book fair about the inspiration behind her novel. She learned about a relative who died in the reformatory her book is based on and this was her way of paying tribute to him and the other victims of the school.
I actually had a pretty fun experience with WTD partly because I finished When the Night Bells Ring before starting the show and read The Reformatory alongside my viewing of WTD. I'm such a nerd in the way that I like to make connections between the different media I consume. If you are the same and you appreciated themes how the themes of colonialism, racism, sexism, and child abuse were handled in the show, I do highly recommend these two readings!
