Horror stories often tempt us to focus on the monster—the sharp teeth, the supernatural abilities, the blood-soaked spectacle. But Welcome to Derry, the upcoming prequel series set in Stephen King’s IT universe, dares viewers to look elsewhere. Beneath Pennywise’s grin lies something far more disturbing: a town whose social structures quietly enable harm. By examining the show through the lenses of Structural Violence and Collective Denial, it becomes clear that Pennywise is not merely an external evil invading Derry—but a reflection of what the town already is.

Structural Violence

The concept of structural violence was introduced by sociologist Johan Galtung in 1969. Unlike direct violence—where harm is intentional and visible—structural violence refers to harm embedded within social systems, institutions, and norms. It occurs when social structures prevent individuals from meeting basic needs or living safely, even when no single person can be blamed.

Structural violence is slow, normalized, and often invisible. It manifests through neglected communities, institutional failures, systemic inequality, and the silencing of vulnerable groups. Importantly, it thrives without villains. Harm happens simply because “that’s how things are.”

Collective Denial

Collective denial, most closely associated with sociologist Stanley Cohen, describes how entire societies can know about harm and yet choose not to confront it. In States of Denial, Cohen outlines how communities use denial to preserve social order and avoid moral responsibility.

This denial takes multiple forms:

  • Literal denial (“Nothing is happening”)
  • Interpretive denial (“It’s not that serious”)
  • Implicatory denial (“It’s unfortunate, but not my problem”)

Together, these theories explain how violence can persist not because people are evil—but because acknowledging harm would require uncomfortable change.

A Town Built on Silence: The Plot of Welcome to Derry

Welcome to Derry explores the town decades before the events of IT, diving into earlier cycles of violence that foreshadow Pennywise’s reign of terror. While Pennywise remains central, the show expands the narrative beyond a single monster, focusing instead on Derry as a living, breathing environment.

Children go missing. Violence erupts. Fear simmers beneath the surface. Yet life continues. Adults remain passive, institutions fail, and the town’s history is quietly buried. Derry is not chaotic, it is eerily orderly. Everything functions just well enough to avoid confrontation.

The series emphasizes that Pennywise does not appear randomly. His awakenings coincide with periods of social tension, neglect, and unresolved trauma. Long before the clown appears, children are already unsafe—bullied at school, abused at home, ignored by authority figures. Pennywise simply gives form to what is already present.

This is where Welcome to Derry becomes truly unsettling. Pennywise does not create fear—he feeds on a town already structured to produce it.

Structural Violence in Derry

Derry’s institutions repeatedly fail children. Law enforcement dismisses disappearances. Schools overlook abuse. Families normalize harm. These are not isolated failures but patterned ones, providing evidence of structural violence at work.

Children hold the least power in Derry, making them the most vulnerable. Their fears are dismissed, their voices discredited. This lack of protection is not accidental; it is built into how the town operates. Pennywise thrives not because he is unstoppable, but because the town’s structures ensure his access to victims.

The 27-year cycle mirrors the cyclical nature of structural violence itself. Harm is not resolved, but only postponed. Each generation inherits unresolved trauma, ensuring that violence resurfaces in familiar forms.

Collective Denial as Survival Strategy

What allows this cycle to continue is collective denial. Adults in Derry are not ignorant; they are willfully blind. They sense that something is wrong but choose silence because acknowledgment would require accountability.

Denial becomes a survival mechanism. Remembering is dangerous. Speaking up disrupts the illusion of normalcy. Forgetting keeps the town intact—even if it costs children their lives.

Pennywise exploits this denial perfectly. He operates openly yet invisibly, knowing no one will intervene. The monster does not need secrecy when society itself refuses to look.

The Monster as a Mirror

Viewed through these theories, Pennywise transforms from a supernatural predator into a symbolic embodiment of Derry’s social failures. He is fear given a face. Trauma made visible. Violence that can no longer remain abstract.

The horror of Welcome to Derry lies in the implication that killing the monster is never enough. Unless the structures that enable harm are dismantled—and the denial confronted—the cycle will repeat. And it always does.

Welcome to Derry reminds us that the most terrifying monsters are not always the ones lurking in the shadows. Sometimes, they are built into the very systems meant to protect us. Through the lenses of structural violence and collective denial, the series becomes a chilling sociological critique—one that asks whether Pennywise is truly the villain, or simply the town’s most honest reflection.

Because in Derry, evil doesn’t arrive from the outside.
It grows quietly.
It’s ignored.
And it’s welcomed home.