Why Netflix’s Locke & Key Modified Lovecraft to Matheson

Netflix & # 39; s Locke & Key welcomes the unfortunate Locke family to the creepy Keyhouse Manor in Matheson – that's right, Matheson, not Lovecraft. Joe Hill, the creator of the two graphic novels and the TV series, originally shot the comics in the strange city of Lovecraft, MA. From book to screen, the first episode was "Welcome to Matheson," although the first story arc is titled Welcome to Lovecraft, However, this decision did not come from the rulers at Netflix. Hill himself changed the name of the city from Lovecraft to Matheson to change from H.P. Lovecraft's legacy and respect for Richard Matheson.

Hill explained his reasoning to fans in a newsletter and wrote: "I've learned too much about Lovecraft since I wrote these first few editions to develop the same feeling for him. And the show seemed like a good opportunity to do the work to honor another, different master of dark fantasy. "

While Lovecraft was not very well known in his day, he had a strong influence on modern creators like Guillermo del Toro. The infamous horror and fiction writer led the Cthulhu myth, a literary universe centered around the monstrous creature Cthulhu. However, Lovecraft was controversial. Lovecraft's work is not only influential, but also openly racist. It also contains derogatory statements against groups such as immigrants and African Americans.

The city in the Netflix series is called Matheson, named after Richard Matheson, a respected author and screenwriter who passed away in 2013. Most horror enthusiasts know Matheson as the author of the vampire thriller novel I am Legend, Matheson also wrote classic episodes of The Twilight Zonelike "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Steel". Matheson's work not only influenced Hill, but also creators like Steven Spielberg, Anne Rice and Stephen King – Hill's father.

"As part of the process of adjusting the story, Joe just wanted to make some aesthetic changes to the material himself," said Carlton Cuse, an executive producer on the Netflix series, in an interview with Decider. "And he was a big fan of Richard Matheson and he felt like Richard Matheson had died before that time."