Maine

Stephen King, Dudes, Noah Kahan, & Family Reunions in New England.

“There’s nothing like Maine. All year-round, but especially in the summer.” Stephen King tweeted this on June 13th, 2024, and like many things he’s written throughout the decades, I wholeheartedly agree. In August 2018, I was sitting on a small beach in Maine when I read the final page of Stephen King’s IT. It had taken me months to read, as it’s over 1,000 pages long, and I kept taking breaks to read shorter, more light-hearted books in between. However, I couldn’t imagine a better place or time to literally end that chapter and close the book than the very place where Stephen King was born and raised and still lives today.

A few weeks ago, I went back and stayed in the same house, and I was reminded why I love it there so much. I have always felt a deep connection to New England, whether in Maine, New Hampshire (Portsmouth is my favorite little town to stop in), or Salem, Massachusetts. I love where I grew up. I will argue for the rest of my life that New York City has rightfully earned its title of The Greatest City In The World, but there’s an aspect of adventure that feels more powerful in New England. Maybe it’s because Maine is at the very top of the United States, right before Canada. When I stand by the shore looking out at the ocean, it’s like I’m staring out at the rest of the world. It may be full of small towns and no cities comparable to New York City, but it somehow always feels larger than life.

Movies & Maine

IT. 2017. Warner Bros Pictures.

As an avid Stephen King fan, the first movie that comes to mind when I think of Maine is IT. I was a massive fan of the 2017 adaptation, and even though Derry is not a real town and the movie was actually filmed in Canada, the filmmakers did an incredible job mimicking a small Maine neighborhood. However, several other King adaptations were actually filmed in Maine, including The Stand and 1989’s Pet Sematary. 

Interestingly enough, Martin Scorcese’s Shutter Island also utilized parts of Maine for its filming. Most of it was done in Massachusetts, but Acadia National Park was used for the shots of the waves crashing on the cliffs. However, just by being there, I can see how cinematic it is. I, too, would want to make a movie there, and I can understand why Stephen King speaks so highly of it. The ocean is teal, almost always lined with sailboats, and there are few things I love more than little towns full of cute coffee shops and vintage stores. Maine is picturesque, to say the least.

I tried to find further answers on why Stephen King loves Maine so much, but most responses led back to the fact that he has lived there for most of his life. However, one user on Quota put it simply, “Maine has a somewhat mystical quality.” I think this is what keeps King writing about the state and what inspires filmmakers to come all the way up north to Maine and other areas of New England because this mystical quality shines through in every story set in Maine.

I Was Raised Out In The Cold

Noah Kahan.

I’m on a pop music high as much as anyone else is with the rise of Sabrina Carpenter and Chappel Roan, but there’s one artist I listened to more than any other during my trip, and that was Noah Kahan. I saw Noah last September in New Hampshire, and earlier this month, I went to Woodstock to see Shawn Mendes, whose new album seems highly inspired by Noah’s folky “stomp and holler” sound. This made me appreciate Noah’s music more.