Widow’s Bay Creator Reveals the Show’s Origin Story

In the wake of Widow’s Bay’s much-deserved season 2 renewal on Apple TV, series creator Katie Dippold has been discussing the horror-comedy show’s evolution from script to screen.

Dippold, who accidentally became internet famous a decade ago after posting an image of herself dressed as the Babadook at her friend’s Halloween party (which unfortunately “had more of a grown ups drinking wine vibe”) revealed to Deadline that Widow’s Bay originally had more of a Parks & Recreation spec script vibe, rather than the deft mix of comedy and geniune scares we’ve come to know and love today.

“I wrote [Widow’s Bay] as a spec script for Parks & Recreation, but that version was much jokier,” she said. “It was more comedic, and I think it gave a good idea of my sense of humor. But I don’t know that I would have watched that show, because I think it could have felt more like a spoof, and as a horror fan, I just wanna be immersed into the island.”

Dippold added, “I wanna feel like I’m in New England. I wanna feel like I am isolated, and I wanna feel like I could go explore this island and find all the little nooks and crannies and terrifying little spots. That’s my dream, but I’m strange. So, that’s sort of how it started.”

Widow’s Bay follows Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) as he comes to accept that his New England island town is suffering under a pact once made between its founder and a demonic entity, but not before he’s been successful in his efforts to turn it into a trendy tourist destination. Loftis and his colleagues at the Mayor’s office are then subject to a range of horror tropes as they try to break the entity’s curse, including visitations from a local sea hag and a slasher killer called the Boogeyman. Against all odds, these encounters are both terrifying and hilarious.

Dippold told the outlet that her efforts to capture the show’s delicate balance of laughs and frights began at an early age.

“I would say the initial spark is a feeling I’ve been trying to capture ever since childhood—I always talk about going to this this boardwalk in New Jersey in Long Branch,” she explained. “Once a summer, I would go with my family, and when I say I was way too young for it, I mean I was like 6, and this place was lawless and terrifying. But I loved it. I was just so giddy, the anticipation of going in, and I would scream and I would laugh.

“And then once we left, I’d run out screaming, but then I would immediately want to go back in again. It was almost kind of a dangerous excitement. I used to get into all sorts of antics when I was young, me and my friends going to check out the abandoned house and then running off, and I just love that feeling because you’re so scared, but you’re laughing so hard, and I just wanted to get that feeling on television. So, that’s sort of where it started.”

Widow’s Bay concludes its first season on Apple TV on June 17.

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