One of the factors that helps set Locke and Key apart from similar shows on Netflix is its location, with the magical action unfolding inside the whimsically designed Keyhouse as well as in the picturesque town of Matheson.
Indeed, if it weren’t for the murderous demonic entity stalking its streets, Matheson would be a wonderful place to raise a family, which might leave some viewers wondering which locations were used to film the show
While it’s set in the US state of Massachusetts, New England, Locke and Key was actually filmed in Canada, which has become a popular shooting location for American television producers in recent years.
The entire Locke and Key cast are back for the show’s long-awaited second season, led by Connor Jessup, Emilia Jones and Jackson Robert Scott as Locke siblings Tyler, Kinsey and Bode.
Here’s your essential guide to where Locke and Key was filmed, including the real-life locations you can visit – without even using the Omega Key.
Is Matheson a real place? Where is it filmed?
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Netflix’s Locke and Key streaming series takes place in the fictional town of Matheson, Massachusetts, which is based on the (equally fictitious) setting of the comic books, Lovecraft – named after horror writer HP Lovecraft.
Comic book writer and author Joe Hill, who co-created Locke and Key alongside artist Gabriel Rodriguez, explained the name change in a newsletter to fans.
He said: “I’ve learned too much about Lovecraft in the time since I wrote those first issues to feel the same way about him. And the show seemed like a good opportunity to honour the work of another, different master of dark fantasy.”
This most likely is an acknowledgment of the fact that, in recent years, Lovecraft has been criticised for comments and behaviour regarded as racist, homophobic and anti-semitic.
The town’s alternate name for the television show is a nod to another horror writer, Richard Matheson, who is responsible for such stories as I Am Legend, The Shrinking Man, and The Twilight Zone’s Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.
Scenes that take place in the town of Matheson were filmed in Lunenberg, a historic small port town in Nova Scotia, Canada, with production also branching out to other areas of the country.
Where is Keyhouse?
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Bad news for fans of kooky architecture: the jaw-dropping ancestral home of the Locke family – known as Keyhouse – doesn’t actually exist, at least in its entirety.
A front facade of the building (the ancestral home of the Locke children in the series) was built in the Canadian countryside, but the rest of the exterior was created using CGI.
Several memorable scenes have taken place within the walls of Keyhouse, with these being filmed on various soundstages at Cinespace Film Studios in Toronto, Canada.
Where is the Matheson Academy?
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Matheson Academy is the high school attended by Locke children Tyler Locke (Connor Jessup) and his sister Kinsey (Emilia Jones), which was once attended by their father, Rendell (Bill Heck), and uncle, Duncan (Aaron Ashmore).
Rendell’s childhood friend Ellie Whedon (Sherri Saum) is also among an alum of Matheson Academy, who returned to the school later in life to teach gym.
Lucas Caravaggio (Felix Mallard) also attended the school prior to being turned into demonic force of nature Dodge, and he too returns there under the guise of a fictional student named Gabe (Griffin Gluck), created using the identity key.
Scenes set outside and around Matheson Academy were shot at Humber College, part of the Humber Institute of Technology, in Ontario, Canada.
Where is The Drowning Cave?
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The Drowning Caves are located underneath the Keyhouse Manor and contains the Black Door, a gateway to another world which can only be unlocked using the Omega Key.
The exterior of the caves was again shot in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, with the town clearly being a big influence on Matheson’s general aesthetic in this series.
The Drowning Caves get their name for their tragic history of luring people in by appearing safe, only to fill with water when the tide comes in – often proving fatal for those who have wandered in too far.
Needless to say, the Locke and Key cast were not tasked with getting lost in any real-world caves, with interior scenes instead shot from the safety of Cinespace Film Studios in Toronto, Canada.
Locke and Key is available to stream on Netflix. Read our guides to the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix, check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.