Stephen King is no stranger to terrifying scenes. As the master of horror, his work has spawned some of the most iconic moments in cinematic history. But even King himself was unsettled by a particular sequence from IT: Welcome to Derry — a series that, as a prequel to IT, brings its own brand of psychological terror to the table. And this unsettling moment doesn’t even involve the infamous Pennywise. Instead, the scene that left King haunted is a completely original creation, one that combines emotional trauma with surreal, horrifying imagery.
In an interview with the New York Post, King praised the Welcome to Derry series, particularly highlighting a supermarket scene that still sticks with him. The moment in question appears in Episode 2, “The Thing in the Dark,” where Lilly (Clara Stack) finds herself trapped in a waking nightmare inside a grocery store. What follows is a traumatic, surreal sequence that evokes the darkest aspects of grief and guilt, something even the King himself found profoundly unsettling.
The Supermarket Scene: Trauma, Grief, and Surreal Horror
In IT: Welcome to Derry, Lilly’s story adds a new layer to the IT universe. Her tragic backstory is revealed through a flashback: her father’s death at the pickle factory where he worked, an accident that has haunted her for years. The grisly urban legend that pieces of his body ended up in pickle jars has tormented Lilly for as long as she can remember. This trauma is exacerbated when her classmates weaponize the urban myth, tormenting her by filling her locker with pickle jars.
In the episode, Lilly’s journey leads her to a grocery store, where her psychological state begins to unravel. What begins as a mundane trip to the supermarket quickly morphs into something straight out of a nightmare. The aisles begin to warp, and Lilly sees disturbing visions — her dead friends appear on cereal boxes, and the store’s loudspeaker mocks her, calling her out for “losing her marbles.”
The real terror begins when Lilly is surrounded by shelves filled with pickle jars. At first, they appear harmless, but inside each jar is a grotesque reminder of her father’s gruesome death. His severed body parts float amongst the pickles, and the jars begin crashing to the floor, forming a massive, tentacled creature made from the pickles and broken glass. This nightmarish entity is both a literal and metaphorical manifestation of Lilly’s grief, guilt, and unresolved trauma.
Key Elements of the Supermarket Scene That Make It Stand Out
| Element | Significance | Effect on Lilly and the Audience |
|---|---|---|
| Pickle Jars | Represents the gruesome urban legend tied to Lilly’s father’s death. | Symbolizes Lilly’s unresolved trauma and grief. |
| Warping Aisles | Reflects Lilly’s mental state unraveling. | Heightens the sense of surreal horror and confusion. |
| Cereal Boxes with Dead Friends | Visualizes Lilly’s guilt and the lingering effects of her past. | Intensifies the psychological terror Lilly faces. |
| Tentacled Pickle Creature | The physical manifestation of Lilly’s repressed emotions. | A chilling, grotesque entity that reflects her inner turmoil. |
The Original Creation That Haunts Stephen King
What makes the “pickle monster” sequence so impressive is that it’s entirely original to Welcome to Derry. While King’s work often involves supernatural horrors tied to deep emotional trauma, this moment is a creation unique to the show’s narrative. It’s not pulled from IT or any other King story, but it feels unmistakably like something he would have dreamed up.
This originality is what makes the scene resonate so deeply with King, who has seen his work adapted countless times. As he told New York Post, the sequence, with its blend of emotional weight and grotesque horror, stuck with him long after he watched it. He noted that the show’s creators, particularly director Andy MuscThe hietti, displayed a “touch of genius” in the way they crafted scares, emphasising how emotional trauma can be the most terrifying force.
Why the Pickle Scene Struck Stephen King So Deeply?
| Factor | Impact on Stephen King’s Response | Why It Resonates with King |
|---|---|---|
| Emotional Core of the Scene | Taps into the universal themes of grief and trauma. | King often explores these themes, making them feel personal and haunting. |
| Surreal Horror Imagery | Combines the grotesque with psychological terror. | King’s horror often uses visual metaphors for emotional turmoil. |
| Originality of the Concept | A completely unique creation that feels like a King-esque nightmare. | King admires the ability to innovate within the horror genre. |
The Emotional Power Behind the Horror
IT: Welcome to Derry doesn’t rely solely on monster-like creatures or the iconic Pennywise to evoke fear. Instead, it focuses on the psychological trauma that shapes its characters. The supermarket scene is a perfect example of this approach, blending emotional depth with visceral horror.
In many of King’s works, the true terror isn’t necessarily found in the monsters themselves, but in how the supernatural forces reflect the internal struggles of the characters. In Lilly’s case, the pickle jars and the monstrous creature are a physical manifestation of her grief over losing her father and the guilt she carries because of it. The emotional honesty in Lilly’s trauma — brought to life by Clara Stack’s performance — is what makes the sequence so powerful and terrifying.
As King himself has noted, it’s not just the “horror” of the scene that makes it stick with him, but the emotional resonance that accompanies it. This is what sets Welcome to Derry apart from other horror series: it uses fear to explore deeper, more universal themes like loss, regret, and the lasting impact of trauma.
Conclusion
While the pickle monster sequence is undoubtedly one of the standout moments in IT: Welcome to Derry, it’s only the beginning of what the series has in store. Stephen King’s praise for this moment, a testament to the emotional and psychological depth of the show, speaks to the power of horror when it’s grounded in real human emotions. With the IT universe expanding and more terror to come, the emotional honesty behind these horrors ensures that Welcome to Derry will continue to haunt viewers for episodes to come.
As the show climbs the streaming charts, it’s clear that IT: Welcome to Derry is bringing a fresh, emotionally complex perspective to the IT mythos, and it’s doing so in a way that even Stephen King can’t forget.
FAQs
In the scene, Lilly enters a supermarket where she begins to experience a waking nightmare. The aisles warp, her dead friends appear on cereal boxes, and the store’s loudspeaker taunts her. The shelves fill with pickle jars that, upon breaking, reveal grotesque images of her father’s severed body parts. These parts come together to form a tentacled creature that attacks her.
The scene is not only terrifying in its grotesque imagery but also deeply tied to Lilly’s emotional trauma. It’s an original creation for Welcome to Derry, and its mix of psychological terror and horrific visuals makes it memorable. It also ties into one of Stephen King’s recurring themes: the horrors that stem from unresolved grief and guilt.
No, the pickle monster sequence is entirely original to IT: Welcome to Derry. While it feels distinctly King-like in its emotional depth and horror, it doesn’t appear in IT or any other King story.
King praised the scene for its emotional resonance and its originality. The sequence blends psychological trauma with surreal, grotesque imagery in a way that King himself often explores in his own work. It also fits seamlessly into the IT universe, capturing the emotional core of King’s storytelling.
