Based on his most famous fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine, Hulu's Castle Rock is a psychological-horror mystery series that became available for streaming in July. The show is based on the stories of Stephen King and intertwines characters and themes from the fictional town of Castle Rock. The series will have eight episodes total and each is filled with Easter eggs from King's literary universe. Here are the references we've seen in the first three episodes.
Castle Rock
The town of Castle Rock is the obvious reference, as the town has appeared in Stephen King's world many times. It is one of three town's in King's fictional Maine setting (the other two being Derry and Jerusalem's Lot), the home of the infamous Shawshank prison, and the epicenter of all the dark terrors that have occurred in the Kingverse.
Opening Credits
The opening-credits sequence is loaded with nods to King's work. This includes a torn page from The Green Mile and snippets from other King classics, including Misery, It, and The Shining.
The Cast
The cast members of Castle Rock are Easter eggs themselves. Bill Skarsgard, who plays the mysterious man found in the prison's abandoned Block F (aka The Kid), also played It in the 2017 horror film adaptation of King's classic novel. Sissy Spacek reunited with King as Ruth Deaver after starring in the 1976 film, Carrie. Melanie Lynskey (Molly Strand) was in Rose Red, Frances Conroy was in the recent TV version of The Mist.
Episode 1: "Severance"
The Marriage of Figaro
As Warden Lacy prepares to kill himself by tying a noose around his neck and driving his car off a cliff, "Sull'aria" plays on the radio. This is from Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro, the same song Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) enjoyed in the warden's office in the 1994 film Shawshank Redemption.
Shawshank Warden's Curse
Shawshank Prison is also a pretty big Easter egg as it was the main setting for King's novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. In the first episode when the new warden (Ann Cusack) is given a tour of the Shawshank Prison, a guard points out, "You can still see the bullet hole where Warden Norton—" before he is interrupted. This is a direct reference to Shawshank Redemption, in which the villain, Warden Norton, kills himself in the warden's office before he can be arrested for his crimes.
Alan Pangborn
Sheriff Pangborn is a recurring character in the Kingverse and the former sheriff of Castle Rock, Maine. He has appeared or been mentioned in many of King's works, such as The Dark Half, The Sun Dog, Needful Things, Gerald's Game, and Bag of Bones. He was played by Ed Harris in the 1993 film adaptation of Needful Things and is now being portrayed by Scott Glenn.
Chambers
When the show opens, Henry Deaver is representing death row inmate, Leanne Chambers. It is revealed that her husband, who she murdered, was Richard Chambers, the main antagonist in Stand by Me and The Body.
Episode 2: "Habeas Corpus"
Boy by the Tracks
In the opening scene of the second episode, the voice of the now-dead Warden Lacy narrates his scheme to rid Castle Rock of evil. In this monologue, he says, "It was the fall after they found that boy's body out by the train tracks." This is a direct reference to King's novella The Body and the film Stand by Me, in which a group of young boys set off on a quest to see a dead body.
A Rabid Dog, a Strangler and Newspaper Clippings
In the same narration by Warden Lacy, he references a rabid dog and a strangler, both references to Cujo and Frank Dodd of The Dead Zone. A main character from The Dead Zone, the first work that King referenced the town of Castle Rock, kills himself in a bathtub, which is partially shown in a montage of bad things that have happened in the town. A nod to Cujo can also be seen when Henry Deaver (André Holland) flips past a newspaper clipping with the headline "Rabid Dog Tears Through Town." The other newspaper clippings include "Shopkeeper Missing After Oddity Store Fire" (Needful Things) and "Anonymous Tip Led to…" (The Body/Stand by Me).
The Mellow Tiger and Nan's Luncheonette
The Mellow Tiger is Castle Rock's only tavern, and a main focal point in the novel Needful Things. Nan's Luncheonette, another establishment that appears in several King stories such as The Dark Half, Needful Things and It is mentioned in the show, though the restaurant has since been shut down.
Episode 3: "Local Color"
Children of the Corn
The masks the children wear in the bizarre house Molly enters in "Local Color" are eerily similar to the masks in Children of the Corn.
The Shining
At the end of "Local Color," Molly Strand walks through her house wielding a large kitchen knife in order to defend herself from a possible intruder, similar to Wendy Torrance in The Shining when she is being pursued by Jack in the hotel. She attempts to lock herself in the bathroom, much like the woman in The Shining who hides in the bathroom, the scene wherein the iconic line "Here's Johnny" is said. Perhaps, however, the most obvious nod to The Shining is Jane Levy, who plays Jackie Torrence, an obvious connection to Jack and Wendy Torrance. Could they be connected?
The Shine
The Shine is referenced throughout King's work, most notably The Shining and Carrie. It is typically represented in characters as telekinesis or clairvoyance. Molly Strand has an unnamed psychic ability in Castle Rock, which could be her connection to The Shine.
Uncommon Knowledge
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