A Story of Derry (2026) takes viewers back hundreds of years before the events of IT: Welcome to Derry. This Halloween special reveals how the terrifying creature known as IT became trapped in the land that would eventually become Derry. It also explains the mystery behind the thirteen pillars, the strange dagger that frightens the creature, and the role played by Maturin, the cosmic turtle.
The story follows Necani, a young member of the Shokopiwah tribe who refuses to abandon her ancestral home. Her journey into the forbidden Western Wood leads to a discovery that changes the history of her people forever.
The special also introduces a darker side of the creature’s past. Long before it became famous as Pennywise, IT was already using fear, grief, and deception to hunt its victims.
A Story of Derry (2026): Movie Details
Despite often being called a movie, A Story of Derry is a standalone Halloween special connected to HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry. Released on October 31, 2026, the approximately 30-minute story explores the ancient history of the Shokopiwah people and their connection to IT.
What Is A Story of Derry About?
The story begins with the history of the Shokopiwah tribe. Their people have passed down a gentler version of their past to protect younger generations from the terrifying truth. However, an ancient creature called the Kollu has haunted their land for generations.
The main character is Necani, a young girl who does not want her people to leave their ancestral home. Food is becoming difficult to find, and the tribe’s leaders are considering moving somewhere safer.
Necani believes the forbidden Western Wood might hold the answer to their problems. Despite the warnings about the forest, she enters it with two friends.
Their journey quickly becomes dangerous when they encounter a creature capable of changing its appearance and using people’s deepest fears against them.
Just when the children seem to have no chance of escaping, a mysterious warrior arrives and drives the creature away using a strange dagger.
At first, the warrior appears to be their protector. However, his real intentions turn out to be much darker.
Who Is the Mysterious Warrior, and Why Does He Have the Dagger?
The mysterious warrior, played by Zahn McClarnon, claims that the creature destroyed his village. He tells Necani and her friends that IT feeds on fear and enjoys making its victims suffer before killing them.
The most interesting thing about him is the dagger he carries. Unlike an ordinary weapon, this blade has a connection to the ancient history of IT.
The warrior explains that a powerful cosmic being named Maturin once defeated the creature and imprisoned it. However, the prison eventually broke apart, scattering its fragments across the land.
Maturin revealed the location of these fragments to the warrior, who used some of the material to create his dagger.
This explains why IT reacts so strongly whenever it sees the weapon. The dagger is made from material connected to the prison that once held the creature captive.
However, the warrior is not the hero he initially appears to be.
Why Was the Warrior Feeding People to IT?
Necani and her friends gradually begin to notice strange things about the warrior’s camp. Their biggest discovery comes when they realise that the meat being served to them is human.
The warrior has been feeding people to IT.
Instead of protecting others from the creature, he has become its servant. He treats the monster almost like a god and believes that it must receive sacrifices.
This revelation completely changes how we understand his character. He knows how dangerous IT is, but rather than fighting it, he has chosen to cooperate with it.
Necani and her friends realise that they could become the next victims. They steal the dagger and escape from the camp.
Without his special weapon, the warrior is left defenceless. Eventually, IT turns against him and kills him.
His death proves that the creature does not care about loyalty or worship. It only uses people when they are useful.
How Does IT Kill Sesqui?
While Necani and her friends are trying to escape, their disappearance worries the entire tribe. Sesqui, Necani’s mother and the leader of the Shokopiwah community, joins the search for them.
Unfortunately, IT knows exactly how to manipulate people.
Instead of attacking Sesqui immediately, the creature appears in the form of her deceased husband. This vision brings back painful memories and makes her emotionally vulnerable.
The creature then changes its appearance again, taking the form of a baby before launching a violent attack.
Sesqui is badly injured.
Necani eventually reaches her mother with the dagger. As soon as IT sees the weapon, it retreats. However, Necani arrives too late to save Sesqui.
Her mother dies in her arms.
This is one of the most heartbreaking moments in the special. Necani has spent the story trying to protect her family and community, but she cannot save the person who means the most to her.
Sesqui’s death also shows how dangerous IT really is. It does not simply attack people physically. It studies their emotions and uses their memories, fears, and personal losses against them.
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What Is Maturin, and How Does Necani Find Him?
After losing her mother, Necani understands that carrying the dagger is not enough to protect her people. The creature can still attack the tribe, and there is no guarantee that anyone will survive another encounter.
She remembers the warrior’s explanation about Maturin and decides to seek help from the mysterious cosmic being.
Maturin is a giant cosmic turtle from Stephen King’s fictional universe. It represents creation and order, making it a powerful opposite to IT, which represents destruction, fear, and chaos.
When Necani encounters Maturin, she learns the truth about the creature’s arrival on Earth.
IT originally came to Earth inside a prison designed to contain it. However, the prison crashed and broke into several pieces. These fragments remained scattered around the area where the creature landed.
Maturin explains that the fragments still hold the power to restrain IT.
Necani realises that her people do not need to destroy the creature with ordinary weapons. Instead, they must find the broken pieces of its original prison and use them to rebuild the barrier.
What Are the Thirteen Stone Fragments?
The thirteen fragments are the most important part of the special’s ending.
After learning about the prison, Necani discovers that its broken pieces are scattered around the cave in the Western Wood. These fragments are connected to the supernatural power that once held IT captive.
She understands that collecting them could stop the creature from spreading beyond the forest.
The fragments are placed inside turtle shells and buried at important locations around the area. Together, they create a powerful supernatural boundary.
These thirteen locations eventually become connected to the protective pillars associated with Derry.
The pillars are not ordinary stones. They are part of an ancient containment system created from the remains of the prison that originally held IT.
This also explains why the Shokopiwah people have such an important connection to the land. Their ancestors were not simply living near a dangerous forest. They were protecting the wider world by keeping the creature contained.
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| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | A Story of Derry |
| Release Date | October 31, 2026 |
| Runtime | Approximately 30 minutes |
| Genre | Horror, Supernatural |
| Director | Tazbah Chavez |
| Writers | Cherie Dimaline and Jasmyne Flournoy |
| Connection | IT: Welcome to Derry |
| Main Character | Necani |
| Cast | Kiawentiio, Morningstar Angeline, Zahn McClarnon, Isabel Deroy-Olson and others |
| Main Creature | IT (Kollu) |
| Important Characters | Necani, Sesqui, Maturin |
A Story of Derry Ending Explained: How Was IT Finally Trapped?
The ending reveals how IT became trapped in the area that would eventually become Derry.
After learning the truth from Maturin, Necani decides that her people must act instead of abandoning their home. She understands that the creature cannot be defeated through normal weapons, but its original prison still holds the power to contain it.
Necani and her people gather the thirteen scattered fragments and place them at important locations around the Western Wood. The fragments are buried inside turtle shells, creating a supernatural barrier around the creature’s territory.
Once the barrier is established, IT can no longer freely leave the area.
This is the biggest revelation of the entire special. The reason IT remains connected to Derry is not simply because it chooses to live there. The creature is trapped within a boundary created from the remains of its original prison.
The thirteen fragments become the foundation of the protective system that later generations will associate with Derry.
However, the ending does not mean that IT has been destroyed. The creature is still alive, and its ability to attack people within the boundary remains a serious threat.
Necani’s victory is about containment, not complete destruction.
Her actions also create a responsibility for future generations. The Shokopiwah people must protect the barrier because disturbing it could allow the ancient evil to spread beyond its limits.
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Why Is IT Afraid of the Dagger?
The dagger is one of the most mysterious objects in the special. Whenever IT sees it, the creature reacts with fear and retreats.
The reason becomes clear when the story explains its connection to Maturin.
The blade is made from material taken from the broken prison that once contained IT. This means that the weapon carries the same ancient power that previously restrained the creature.
IT recognises this material because it is connected to its original defeat.
However, the dagger should not be understood as a weapon that can automatically destroy IT with one strike. Its real importance comes from its connection to the creature’s prison.
It is a reminder that the ancient evil is not completely invincible and that powerful forces exist beyond its understanding.
How Does A Story of Derry Connect to IT: Welcome to Derry?
A Story of Derry works as a missing piece of the mythology introduced in IT: Welcome to Derry.
The main series explores the history of the Shokopiwah people and their discovery of a way to contain IT using special pillars. However, the Halloween special goes further by explaining where those pillars came from and why they have supernatural power.
The story reveals that the pillars are connected to the broken prison that originally held the creature.
It also explains the historical importance of the dagger and introduces Maturin as a major figure in the conflict between IT and the forces that oppose it.
The special takes place hundreds of years before the events of the main series. It shows that the struggle against IT began long before Derry became the town viewers recognise.
This also gives more meaning to the later attempts to interfere with the pillars. The containment system is not just an old tradition. It is the reason IT cannot freely spread beyond its territory.
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Does Pennywise Appear in A Story of Derry?
No, Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise does not appear in the Halloween special.
The story takes place centuries before the events of IT: Welcome to Derry, so viewers see the creature in its ancient form rather than its familiar dancing clown appearance.
However, the absence of Pennywise does not mean the special is disconnected from the films or television series.
The creature encountered by Necani is the same supernatural evil that eventually becomes known as Pennywise. Its ability to change forms, manipulate emotions, and feed on fear already exists during this period.
In fact, the special helps explain that Pennywise is only one of the many forms IT can take.
It is a standalone Halloween special connected to IT: Welcome to Derry. It runs for approximately 30 minutes and was released on October 31, 2026.
IT was trapped by the Shokopiwah people using thirteen fragments from its original stone prison. They placed the fragments inside turtle shells and buried them at different locations, creating a supernatural barrier around the Western Wood.
Necani is the young central character played by Kiawentiio. She discovers the truth about the creature and helps her people establish the barrier that keeps IT trapped.
The dagger is made from material connected to IT’s original prison. The creature recognises this material and retreats because it has the power associated with the force that once contained it.