One of the strangest facets about Derry is how the residents forget past events. The HBO Max prequel, It: Welcome to Derry, highlights the same situation and digs deeper into why this phenomenon happens. It explains why people forget the horrors that occur there. The show and the films treat forgetting as both a plot device and a metaphor for buried childhood trauma.
Why do Derry’s residents forget past events in It: Welcome to Derry?
It: Welcome to Derry, Episode 3 shows how some of the residents remember spending a summer together in town. However, those memories fade once they leave. Frank Shaw and Rose have a conversation about it and discuss how, once they get farther away from town, everything seems to fade away.
This effect, where Derry residents forget what happened to them in It, has become familiar to fans in It: Chapter Two as well. During that time, Mike Hanlon explained how this had happened to him.
But why does this occur? The reason behind it is the supernatural hold of Pennywise. He makes the Derry residents forget their experiences in ‘It‘. He is the reason why anyone who visits the town forgets everything once they leave. However, these memories come rushing back when someone returns or when the town is mentioned.
This can be seen when Bill talks to Mike on the phone. As soon as Derry is mentioned, his memories come flooding back.
Beyond the plot mechanics, the forgetting works on a symbolic level. The story suggests that leaving and forgetting the events of Derry is like erasing painful childhood memories from conscious reach. That is why Mike, who stayed in Derry, retained everything and carried the burden of calling the others back.
It also shows how Pennywise continues to find new victims in town because those who left forget everything about him. As a result, new settlers never know the dark background of Derry.
