How Dick Hallorann’s “Gift” In It: Welcome To Derry Connect To Stephen King’s The Shining

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Warning: Spoilers ahead for It: Welcome to Derry episode 2!

Dick Hallorann is quickly becoming an important character in the HBO series Welcome to Derry, and his special ability connects to the larger world Stephen King has created. Chris Chalk plays Dick in the first season of the show, which is a prequel to Andy Muschietti’s It movies and set in 1962.

Similar to the films, the Welcome to Derry series is making some slight changes to the established It story, while also developing the characters and plot points from Stephen King’s original 1986 novel in more detail. The show is fully embracing the interconnected world King has created, even including a character who’s appeared in multiple other King books.

The Shining’s Dick Hallorann Appears In It: Welcome To Derry (& Stephen King’s It Book)

In the first episode of It: Welcome to Derry, you catch glimpses of Chris Chalk as Dick Hallorann, but he plays a bigger role in episode 2. Although Chalk is new to the It series, the character of Dick Hallorann is well-established in Stephen King’s work. He first appeared in King’s 1977 novel The Shining, where he was the Head Chef at the Overlook Hotel and met the Torrance family.

Dick Hallorann and Danny Torrance formed a close connection because they both possessed psychic abilities, often called “the shining.” When supernatural forces drove Jack Torrance to threaten his family, Dick saved Danny and Jack’s wife, Wendy. However, in Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of The Shining, Jack killed Dick. The character returned in the sequel novel, Doctor Sleep, revealing that Dick continued to guide and communicate with Danny even after his death, acting as a mentor.

Dick Hallorann’s Gifts In It: Welcome To Derry Explained

As seen in The Shining, Dick Hallorann possesses psychic powers, including telepathy and clairvoyance. In It: Welcome to Derry, he’s working at a military base, often driving around important staff. The second episode reveals more about his job: he’s a crucial part of Operation Precept, a top-secret program attempting to find a powerful entity in Derry that could potentially help the U.S. win the Cold War.

The army is utilizing Dick and his unique ability to locate hidden signals connected to a mysterious, powerful force – the same entity at the heart of Stephen King’s It. While Dick’s involvement in Operation Precept grants him certain benefits, his commanders are growing impatient. By the end of the second episode of It: Welcome to Derry, however, his powers finally pay off, leading them to an old car connected to the notorious Bradley gang.

How Dick Hallorann Originally Ended Up In Derry

Some viewers were surprised to see Dick Hallorann in It: Welcome to Derry, but the character actually originated in Stephen King’s It novel. He doesn’t appear in the main story, but is referenced during a flashback to Derry’s past. The book reveals Dick was an Army cook who helped start The Black Spot, a place that was destroyed in a racially motivated arson, possibly involving Pennywise.

Season one of It: Welcome to Derry will probably show us more about how Dick arrived in Derry. Right now, the story seems to be building towards the events of The Black Spot fire, though the location hasn’t appeared on screen yet. That could change now that Dick has lived in Derry for over four months. In the original story, Dick used his psychic abilities to rescue people from the fire, including the father of Mike Hanlon, Will.

Because the story’s timeline has shifted and Dick is now working directly with Leroy Hanlon at the military base, It: Welcome to Derry will likely change some of the characters. We can probably expect this version of Dick, set in 1962, to leave Derry after the Black Spot fire and eventually arrive at the Overlook Hotel by the late 1980s.

New episodes of It: Welcome to Derry release Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.

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2025-10-31 12:58