Is Widow's Bay Connected To Stephen King? The Apple TV Series' Inspiration, Explained

Widow’s Bay is one of the most riveting series on Apple TV+ right now. While it is technically a horror-comedy, the series’ New England small town setting and gruesome supernatural events have already gotten tongues wagging about its similarities to Stephen King’s work. 

But while King’s imagination might be all over Widow’s Bay, the series is not a direct adaptation—although that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. 

Set on a fictional island off the coast of New England, strange things happen in the town of Widow’s Bay. Due to the mysterious nature of the supernatural occurrences that have happened over the centuries, the locals believe that the island is cursed—and that anyone born there who tries to leave will die. 

Widow’s Bay creator Katie Dippold has listed Stephen King as a big inspiration in creating the series—alongside a few surprises, like her previous gig, Parks & Recreation, with which it shares some unexpected parallels. Let’s dive into how Stephen King and other references inspired Dippold’s hit Apple TV+ series Widow’s Bay. Be warned, there are some light spoilers ahead for the first three episodes.

Widow’s Bay Isn’t A Stephen King Adaptation, But He Is An Inspiration

Stephen King’s influence is undeniable in Widow’s Bay. From the New England small-town setting to the creepy killer clown (I’m still not over that basement crawlspace scene in Episode 2), Widow’s Bay practically takes place inside Stephen King’s own mind.

Series creator Katie Dippold has made it no secret that King was a huge influence on the series’ development. In an interview with The Boston Globe (as reported by Realtor.com), she said she “really wanted to tap into that Stephen King atmosphere”, going on to describe how the Driftwood diner in Marblehead, MA that was “out of a Stephen King book” provided the aesthetic for Widow’s Bay: “It was off the sea. There’s just big coffee mugs with old stains and locals in flannel shirts talking about the day. It was very cosy and very lived in, and I just never wanted to leave”.

The first episode starts with an elderly sailor’s boat suddenly becoming enveloped in a thick fog, reminiscent of both King’s novella The Mist and, perhaps even more so, John Carpenter’s The Fog. 

The town’s gruesome history also includes at least two serial killers, one called the Boogeyman and the other a killer clown named William. The latter we get to see briefly in Episode 2, “Lodging”, when Mayor Loftis is forced to spend the night at the local inn to prove to the locals that their superstitions are false, and the inn is safe for tourists. In his brief encounter with the clown, the striking similarity to Pennywise from Stephen King’s IT cannot be denied. 

In another King reference, while Mayor Loftis might seem like he’s all there, Matthew Rhys’s perfect performance gives subtle signs that Tom might be more susceptible to madness than even he believes—a not-so-subtle nod to Jack Torrance in King’s The Shining.

Although Widow’s Bay might be teeming with Stephen King references, Dippold tapped into other sources of inspiration to craft her series. In an interview with Gizmodo, Dippold talked about how the team was inspired by Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws and the feeling of unease by the seaside it captured: “We especially talked about Jaws a lot, and I think it was important for us to feel like [we weren’t doing] a parody of it or doing it exactly—but just [feeling] the spirit of it”. 

Indeed, while Mayor Tom Loftis may have some parallels on the mental health side of things with Jack Torrance, he is even more similar to the mayor in Jaws, who desperately wants to market the town to tourists and pretend that the water is safe (something that literally happens in Widow’s Bay Episode 3, “The Inaugural Swim”).

How A Haunted House Truly Inspired Widow’s Bay

While Katie Dippold’s reverence for Stephen King and other classic horrors is obvious, her journey to Widow’s Bay actually started with a haunted house. In the interview with Gizmodo, she described how her family used to visit a haunted house while growing up in New Jersey in the ‘80s, telling them how it provided the exact feeling she wanted to capture in the series: "...I loved that I would go, and it was terrifying, and I would scream, but we would also laugh, and it’s very communal”.

As a native New Englander, I’ve visited a creepy historic haunted house or two in my time, and can confirm the vibe checks out. And indeed, like the haunted house, Widow’s Bay provides plenty of laughs alongside the terror. It’s the kind of humour that gets you snorting-laughing at a disconcerting detail (like the inexplicable car crash photo in the wolf calendar at the town hall), which in the end makes it all somehow more unsettling.

Why To Watch Widow’s Bay

Widow’s Bay is, without a doubt, one of the most compelling watches on television right now. With a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and glowing critical reviews thus far, this series is hitting its mark—not least with horror fans. While it might not be a direct Stephen King adaptation, fans of his work will appreciate how much it clearly inspired Widow’s Bay. 

From the supernatural mysteries of the island to the hilarious eccentricities of the town locals, this mix of homages to Stephen King, Parks & Rec, Jaws, and Twin Peaks has a little slice of pleasure for everyone.