The Geography of the Fear Street Series

Welcome to Shadyside: 

Pro Tip... Stay off of Fear Street. But to be entirely honest, you're not much safer anywhere else.

Happy Fear Street Friday! We are trying a new thing here on the blog where we post something on Fridays. It probably won't be every Friday because we're busy and have jobs, kids, other blogs, boyfriends, cats to worry about. But check back on Fridays for fun posts and other content.

So there is something you should know about me. I love maps. Like seriously. More than the average person. I once joked to a friend that I would be perfectly happy wallpapering my apartment with maps. And honestly, I've kind of low key done that. I have about six maps taking up one wall in my apartment.

So in preparation for our future podcasts and to help you all (and myself) get accustomed to the town of Shadyside, Ohio I thought I would share this map and some of the landmarks from the Fear Street series. This is not the best map and it's kind of hard to make everything out but here it is in all it's glory.

Source: robinfear.tumblr.com

Some places of note...

1.) Fear Street
Obviously we have to start at Fear Street. The namesake of the series can be found on the south southwestern part of town. In case you didn't find it right away by the fact that it's COLORED RED! It's that evil I guess. They really leave little to the imagination. Also important to note, the cemetery isn't the entire street. It's actually pretty small. My favorite part about it though is that at the very end of the street is a pretty sweet covered bridge. HISTORIC!

2.) The Burned Out Fear Mansion
Do you see if there in the top left corner? The home of the Fear family that is heavily featured in the Fear Street Saga. In the first book they give the impression it's basically a heap of ashes but in this picture it is literally on fire. They do say there's a fire that won't go out on the street so is that the mansion? Now I'm with Michelle, where is the Unsolved Mysteries guy?

3.) The Old Abandoned Old Abandoned Mill
Wow, that is super close to Fear Street. No wonder shit goes down there. In one book this abandoned mill close to Fear Street is a cool teen hang out probably because R.L. Stine had just watched Footloose and was like "wow, those dance moves are top notch." Then in The Overnight the town has decided to make it a legit dance club because, why no? Although I do appreciate their consideration to reuse abandoned buildings.

4.) North Hills
I know it's confusing because it's pictured in the bottom right but that is the north side of town. North Hills this is the fancy neighborhood where basically all our protagonists live. Because so far only bad things have happened to rich kids. Which honestly, I'm not arguing with. Plus North Hills is another Pittsburgh place that makes us feel like it takes place here.

5.) Shadyside High School
Located just outside of North Hills, this is a fixture in most of the books because they are about teenagers. It is the location of feats of gymnastic prowess, dead cats in lockers, school dances where people get pushed down stairs, Outdoor Club meetings, and play practices where dead bodies appear. Just to name a few. I'm sure there will be me more to report later.

6.) Fear Island
There it is just behind the Fear Mansion and in the absolute middle of nowhere. As we know from The Overnight it's in the middle of the woods, in the middle of a lake which holds up on this map. Plus it's full of maybe not so deep cliffs and is an Indian burial ground. Perfect place for a camping trip, amiright? In a town full of mysterious happens who thinks to go to the most secluded part of time? These dummies I guess.

7.) Division Street Mall
Wow, the mall is super close to the high school. That is either a really good decision or a really bad decision. If I could walk to the mall in high school I probably would have spent way more time there than I already did. But it makes sense that these characters do just that.

That's all the key locations I have for now. There are at least two pizza places lurking around the town but it's hard to zoom in to find them. I'm sure more interesting places will pop up as we read more books. There has to be some sort of beach or pool based on the upcoming summer reads we have planned, and I'm intrigued by what they have labeled the "Old Village."

I hope you enjoyed this proverbial stroll through Shadyside as much as I did. And I hope now, like me, you have a better understanding of what Shadyside looks like and where everything is. Now when they mention stuff we can refer back to this map. That'll be cool, right? No? It won't be. Whatever.

Thanks for stopping by and reading everything. Don't forget to subscribe. You can find us everywhere that podcasts are found. You can also follow us here on the blog for more. But just remember... Come to Fear Street and YOU'RE DEAD!