Derry is the fictional town in Stephen King’s It, portrayed as a small Maine community. In the story and films, its exact real-world location is not defined, but the town is depicted as being in the vicinity of Bangor, Maine, with some in-universe references and map hints placing Derry roughly in central Maine (near Etna, per some King materials). The cinematic adaptations, however, used real-world locations in Ontario, Canada (Port Hope) to stand in for Derry’s streets and town squares, including main streets and public venues that resemble a late-1980s American small town.

Key points about Derry’s location in It

• In-universe setting: Derry is a fictional town in Maine. Stephen King has indicated Derry’s general location is in central Maine, and some references place it near Etna, with Bangor often cited as a nearby actual city inspiration.

• In the films: Filming locations used Port Hope, Ontario, Canada, to stand in for Derry’s town center and streets, effectively making the on-screen Derry resemble a small New England town rather than a real-world Maine location.

• Real-world “Derry” associations: There is no real town named Derry in Maine; the name is a fictional construct created by King, though it sometimes echoes real Maine towns in geography and culture.

If you’re curious about visiting or following the filming sites

• The films’ Derry locations are commonly traced to Port Hope, Ontario, with specific streets (e.g., Walton Street and Queen Street) and local landmarks reimagined as Derry’s downtown and its nerve centers. Local tours and guides exist that map these sites for fans.

• Some fans note that the town’s “Derry” in the story draws inspiration from Bangor and other central Maine towns, which fans can explore in literature and interviews with King, though these do not correspond to a single real place.

Direct answer

• In the It universe, Derry is a fictional town in Maine, placed in central Maine with rough proximity to Bangor and nearby Etna as part of Stephen King’s fictional geography.

• In the It (2017) films and its sequel, the town serves as the fictional setting for Pennywise and the Losers’ Club, but the on-screen Derry was primarily filmed in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada, to resemble a 1980s New England town rather than a real Maine location.

• The real-world canonical location for the fictional Derry remains undefined beyond King’s fictional Maine placement; Port Hope stands in as the movie Derry in production and contemporary fan mapping.