The Township is a mysterious area in what appears to be Middle America that traps all those who enter it. It is home to the terrifying Creatures that emerge at night and hunt any human caught outside after dark, as well as countless other supernatural threats and horrors that endanger the inhabitants on a near daily basis.
Features[]
The entrance into the Township is marked by the road with the Fallen Tree, near which there are loudly cawing crows. After seeing this, travelers are forced to turn back and then become trapped, and the road leads to the main street of the Town upon which the Township is centered. Any attempt to keep driving merely leads the traveler back into the center of Town on a loop. The Town consists of a number of houses and buildings where most of the people who become trapped live. Uphill from the Town is Colony House, a palatial mansion where a smaller amount of people choose to live in a commune. Underneath the Town are the Tunnels, where the Creatures sleep during the day.
The Town is surrounded by dense forests, which contain even more mysteries. These include Faraway Trees, which have the ability to transport people to various locations. Other notable locations include the Lighthouse and the Dungeon, the latter being the lair of the Musicbox Monster.
There at least two bodies of water located within its boundaries. The Brundles is a small lake near Colony House used by its residents for recreation. Within the forest there is a larger lake with small Settlement consisting of several log cabins by the shore, as well as fields of cabbage and potatoes.
The buildings in the Township have functional electricity and running water, despite the wires not being connected and the Township itself being completely isolated from the outside world. For food, the trapped inhabitants rely on livestock such as chickens and goats that are kept at the Barn, and crops grown by Colony House. The former school building has been converted into a Clinic, where whatever medical supplies that end up in the Township are kept.
Mysteries[]
There are many mysterious and otherworldly aspects to the Township, which the trapped inhabitants attempt to explore and understand to try to find a way back home. The most notable is the nocturnal, unnamed, humanoid Creatures, who viciously kill any human they get their hands on. Furthermore, some people who get trapped, such as Victor, Sara Myers, Jade Herrera, Tabitha Matthews and her son Ethan, are able to see visions that do not seem to appear to or affect others. Victor, Sara and Ethan have all seen a particular vision of a Boy in White, while Jade repeatedly sees a mysterious symbol and Tabitha encounters Ghoulish Children.
In addition to the nocturnal Creatures that hunt the unlucky inhabitants, the Township is also home to a malevolent entity associated with a music box, and disturbing visions of a Ballerina. Not all of these mysteries are evil however, with several characters being impossibly healed of medical conditions during their time, or healing from injuries much faster than normal. Another evil being that seems to be connected to the original source of the mysteries of the Township is the Man in the Yellow Suit.
The Township is not in a fixed location, but seems to be confined to the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. Travelers from all regions of the United States have become trapped in Town, but none have come from other North American countries, such as Canada or Mexico.
History[]
Background[]
At some point in the past, the residents of the Town sacrificed their children in order to gain immortality. One married couple tried to stop them, as one of the children was their daughter, but failed. The residents who participated in the sacrifice became the immortal, unkillable Creatures, while the Township became a mysterious area that traps all those unlucky enough to become trapped within its confines. Meanwhile, the married couple that failed to stop the sacrifice were repeatedly reincarnated, receiving visions of the Township over the course of their lives before eventually becoming trapped.[1]
The sacrificed children became the Ghoulish Children, who appear to the reincarnated versions of the married couple. As the children were sacrificed, they were told a story by their loved ones that gave them hope. As they were sacrificed on the altar, they poured their hopes into the roots which form the Symbol, which in turn became the Farway Trees.[2] The reincarnations of the married couple repeatedly tried and failed to save the Children and undo the evil of the Township.[1]
In the late 1970s, Miranda Kavanaugh began having visions of the Township, including of the previous chosen, being one half of the latest incarnation of the married couple. She and her children, Victor and Eloise, became trapped in the Township.[3] Eventually, Christopher, one of the other inhabitants, and the other half of the married couple, began to have visions of the Symbol, and the Boy in White told him to go through the Bottle Tree to free the children at the Lighthouse. Christopher refused, but was overheard by Victor, who told his mother.[2] That night, she had her children hide in the Root Cellar while she went to free the children. However, Eloise ran after her mother. During the night, Miranda, Eloise, Christopher, and every other inhabitant of the Township was killed by the Creatures, leaving Victor alone for years.[4]
As a child, Tabitha Matthews had recurring dreams of locations within the Township, such as the Settlement surrounded by Totems, marking her as one half of the latest incarnation of the married couple.[5]
In the late 2010s, the Stevens family became trapped in the Township. Boyd and Abby, both veterans, tried to institute a system for hiding places at night. Boyd also began exploring the forest, finding livestock, while Abby became withdrawn. While exploring the forest, Boyd found himself out in the open after nightfall, and took shelter in a stone hut, which contained the Talismans that repel the Creatures from entering. Upon his return, he found his wife committing a shooting spree. As she aimed at their son, Ellis, Boyd was forced to kill her.[6]
The Talismans allowed people to inhabit the buildings in the Town and Colony House. Eventually, two societies formed. People in Town lived under the strict rules of Sheriff Boyd and Father Khatri's leadership, working together to try and get home. Meanwhile Donna Raines established a commune in Colony House, where they lived for the present.
Overtime, residents developed various laws and customs that structure their everyday life in the township.
Season 1[]
After 96 nights without incident, Lauren and Meagan Pratt are killed by the Creatures, with blame for their deaths landing on Lauren's alcoholic husband. The next day, two cars arrive on the same day, a nearly unheard of occurrence.[7] That night, at the behest of mysterious forces, Sara Myers kills Tobey McCray, one of the new arrivals, and leaves the door to the Clinic open for the Creatures, allowing them to kill Gina and Bing-Qian Liu.[8]
The next morning, a Choosing Ceremony is held for the new arrivals. Jade Herrera and most of the Matthews family choose to live in Town, while Julie Matthews chooses Colony House. Meanwhile, Frank Pratt is sentenced to death via the Box for his negligence that led to the death of his wife and daughter. Despite Boyd offering him an out, he accepts his fate, citing the fact that the only people that mattered to him are dead. That night, he is left in the Box, and is attacked and killed by the Creatures. The Matthews take up residence in the Pratts' former home.[9]
The mysterious forces communicating with Sara Myers direct her to kill Ethan Matthews, promising her that it would allow the rest of the inhabitants to return home. After luring him to the Barn, she tries to kill him, but is stopped by her brother Nathan. During the ensuing struggle, she accidentally kills Nathan and flees.[10]
The night Colony House holds a party to celebrate the anniversary of Fatima Hassan's arrival in the Township, Kevin, a lonely resident, is seduced by a Creature going by Jasmine, who convinces him to let her inside. Once he does, she kills him, and leaves the window open for the rest of the Creatures, who attack. Trudy and many others are killed. Victor Kavanaugh helps Julie Matthews escape by leading her to a Farway Tree, which transports her to the Root Cellar. Fatima and Ellis Stevens barricade themselves in the foyer, which is protected by a Talisman. Donna Raines leads a large group of residents in escaping inside the Colony House Van. She drives to Town, where they are helped inside by Sheriff Boyd Stevens and Father Rudra Khatri, the latter of whom is killed before he can return inside.[11]
Boyd decides to venture out into the Forest with Sara Myers, who had secretly been kept in the Church basement by Father Khatri, with the hope of using her unique connection to the Township to uncover its mysteries and find a way home. Meanwhile, Jim Matthews and Jade Herrera lead the townspeople in builiding a Radio Tower to try and signal for help, while Deputy Kenny Liu takes Boyd's place as sheriff.[12]
Season 2[]
Season 3[]
Locations[]
- The Fallen Tree
- The Town
- Colony House
- The Forest
- Farway Trees
- The Brundles
- The Root Cellar
- Talisman Cave
- The Shack
- Bottle Tree
- The Lighthouse
- The Dungeon
- Clairy’s Canned Goods Truck
- Car Graveyard
- The overturned Matthews' RV
- Jade’s Audi
- The Settlement
Residents[]
See also: List of People Trapped in the Township
Trivia[]
- Neither the Town nor its environs are ever named on screen. Thus the Town and the broader area around it are differentiated here by these two names. The Town refers to the Town proper, the area where most people live under Boyd's leadership, while the Township refers to the broader area, which includes the Town, Colony House, the Forest, and all the locations within.
- The Town/Township are often referred to as "Fromville" by fans online.
- The letters above the Clinic's (formerly the school) doors seem to spell West Falls Elementary & High School, although some letters in the actual name are missing, so this is a best guess. If accurate, it could be the name of the Town itself.