So, we've reached another one of Mike Hanlon's asides: the Black Spot.
The fire at the Black Spot nightclub was omitted from the mini-series, so there's no real way to avoid spoilers. The short version is the Legion for White Decency (AKA, northern KKK) set fire to a black nightclub in Derry in the thirties, killing 60 people. Mike Hanlon's dad Will helped build the club with his fellow Black airforce members, most of whom died in the fire. It's another terrible chapter in Derry's history.
And of course, if it's something terrible in Derry, IT is involved.
The slightly elongated version is this: Will Hanlon, Mike's dad, dies from cancer a few years after his son's encounter with IT. But before he does, he relates a story (actually several) from his Air Force days in the late 20's and early 30's with Derry's E company (AKA, the black unit). After being banned from the town's 'blind pigs' (think a shitty speakeasy) they are given a shed and transform it into a club so great that white townsfolks come in. A club called the Black Spot.
That's when the Legion for White Decency shows up to scare them by burning the place to the ground. Will speculates that the chants of "Come out N*****" were half warnings, as even in death he can't fathom that each person who came meant to kill as many people as they did.
Will is almost trampled when is life is saved by a young Dick Hallorann. Dick would go on to be the black guy from The Shining. And yes, he uses his shine to find a way out while most of the other people there are trapped inside, burning to death.
The fire at the Black Spot was more than just an act of terrorism by Derry's white elite. It was also the ending of a cycle for IT. IT is not a constant threat in Derry (at least, not actively). Roughly every 27 to 28 years IT comes out to cause havoc and eat kids, each time ending in a horrific tragedy. The explosion on Easter that killed a bunch of kids was the ending to the previous cycle. The fire at the Black Spot is the last cycle before the one in the late fifties is kicked off by Georgie's death.
More tellingly, just before Will drifts into a medicated sleep, he reveals he saw a member of the Legion picked off by a gigantic bird that hovered, with balloons tied to It's wings. This sets Mike apart again, as his father is the only parent to have seen IT (that we know of). Also, the instinctive fear of this bird being passed to his son. There are a lot of reasons the Turtle chose Mike to stay.
I'm excited to see how the movie will pull this off, as hinted at in the trailer:
Join us next time, as Stuttering Bill returns to Derry and takes a cab around town.
Not even close....though it does involve horrible death.
The fire at the Black Spot nightclub was omitted from the mini-series, so there's no real way to avoid spoilers. The short version is the Legion for White Decency (AKA, northern KKK) set fire to a black nightclub in Derry in the thirties, killing 60 people. Mike Hanlon's dad Will helped build the club with his fellow Black airforce members, most of whom died in the fire. It's another terrible chapter in Derry's history.
SPOILERS
And of course, if it's something terrible in Derry, IT is involved.
The slightly elongated version is this: Will Hanlon, Mike's dad, dies from cancer a few years after his son's encounter with IT. But before he does, he relates a story (actually several) from his Air Force days in the late 20's and early 30's with Derry's E company (AKA, the black unit). After being banned from the town's 'blind pigs' (think a shitty speakeasy) they are given a shed and transform it into a club so great that white townsfolks come in. A club called the Black Spot.
That's when the Legion for White Decency shows up to scare them by burning the place to the ground. Will speculates that the chants of "Come out N*****" were half warnings, as even in death he can't fathom that each person who came meant to kill as many people as they did.
Will is almost trampled when is life is saved by a young Dick Hallorann. Dick would go on to be the black guy from The Shining. And yes, he uses his shine to find a way out while most of the other people there are trapped inside, burning to death.
The fire at the Black Spot was more than just an act of terrorism by Derry's white elite. It was also the ending of a cycle for IT. IT is not a constant threat in Derry (at least, not actively). Roughly every 27 to 28 years IT comes out to cause havoc and eat kids, each time ending in a horrific tragedy. The explosion on Easter that killed a bunch of kids was the ending to the previous cycle. The fire at the Black Spot is the last cycle before the one in the late fifties is kicked off by Georgie's death.
More tellingly, just before Will drifts into a medicated sleep, he reveals he saw a member of the Legion picked off by a gigantic bird that hovered, with balloons tied to It's wings. This sets Mike apart again, as his father is the only parent to have seen IT (that we know of). Also, the instinctive fear of this bird being passed to his son. There are a lot of reasons the Turtle chose Mike to stay.
SAFE
I'm excited to see how the movie will pull this off, as hinted at in the trailer:
Join us next time, as Stuttering Bill returns to Derry and takes a cab around town.
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