Black Door

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This article is about the Black Door located in the Drowning Caves. You may be looking for The Black Door, the episode of the Netflix adaptation.

The Black Door is a gateway to another world found in the lower levels of the Drowning Caves. It can only be unlocked with the Omega Key and once unlocked, allows demons — like Dodge — to pass through.

History

The Black Door is in the lower levels of the Drowning Cave, and is outlined with an omega symbol — the same symbol on the head of the Omega Key. It is the last door in the hallway, and is marked with a number eleven. Geographically, it is directly under the Wellhouse.

The Door was initially unknown to the Locke family, who lived above the Caves. The brother of Harm Timmerman theorized the door was a carving left by the Micmac people for nearly a century. Originally, it was sealed by itself for decades, until the cave was first discovered by the Minutemen in 1775, wherein the humans were beckoned to look into the Black Door and become host to the demons, forcing the Minutemen to kill the human hosts. Benjamin Locke attempted to close the door with a lock, but the Door shattered it as soon as Benjamin's goat interacted with the Door and was possessed. Afterward, Benjamin crafted a special padlock with the remains of the demons—Whispering Iron—and its corresponding key, the Omega Key, which proved effective in keeping the Door permanently shut. Later, Benjamin modified the padlock as a permanent part of the Door for greater safety.

For generations, the Locke family used the Black Door and the Omega Key to collect Whispering Iron to forge the many keys. The practice was successful without any incident of demon possession until 1988, when the Tamers of the Tempest failed and Lucas Caravaggio was possessed. The demon that possessed Lucas, Dodge, set out to claim the Omega Key in order to open the Black Door and bring the rest of its kind to Earth. It resumed its terror on the Locke family in 2012, opening the Black Door to release more demons, however, for the purpose of creating more Whispering Iron to craft more keys. Ultimately, the Lockes managed to destroy the demon and sealed the Black Door once more.

Netflix Adaptation

The Black Door is shaped like a keyhole with the omega symbol around and has a blue glow emanating from within. It can only be opened with the Omega Key and has an omega symbol on the doorknob. When the Black Door is open, demons from another world are free to enter.

The portal that would become the Black Door was originally discovered in 1775. A trio of British soldiers were hiding inside the Caves from pursuing American revolutionaries, where they found a crack in the walls of the Drowning Caves; and upon inspecting it, the wall crumbled and revealed a gateway to the demons' realm. The revolutionaries then arrived, among them Benjamin Locke, and a firefight ensued. During this, Frederick Gideon and another soldier named Howe were possessed. Howe was pushed through the portal by a musket round and vanished.

Kinsey comes across the Black Door.

Frederick was soon captured and executed by the colonists. After his hanging, Benjamin returned to the portal with his sister, Miranda, to determine a way to contain it. The two narrowly avoided being hit by a demonic bullet that turned into Whispering Iron. Benjamin decided to use the demon's remains to construct a door to hold back the evil. He succeeds in crafting the Omega Key and seals the portal behind the Black Door.

During Rendell Locke's high school years, he and his friends opened the Black Door to collect Whispering Iron, but an unforeseen consequence leads to Lucas initially being possessed by a demon named Dodge.

Ellie is thrown into the Black Door.

Twenty-five years later, Kinsey discovers the door with Gabe while exploring the Drowning Caves. When the door is opened again by the Locke Children and the Savini Squad, Ellie Whedon is mistakenly thrown through, and another demon enters Earth possessing Eden Hawkins.

The door is briefly reopened by Eden and Josh before the cave collapses. During this time, Ellie returns and, although shocked, closes the door before escaping the collapse. Frederick Gideon would later come upon the rubble, prompting him to screech with rage at the discovery.

Properties

The Black Door serves as a portal to a realm inhabited by malevolent demons. When opened with the Omega Key, it provides way for the demons to pass through and possess hosts to survive.

The door has immeasurable strength, able to reopen by itself whilst it was closed off by several boulders and even by Benjamin's temporary lock, implied to be due to the energy from the Children of Leng. Humans who notice the realm on the other side when the door is open are entranced toward the door and allow a demon to possess them. From 1775 onward, Benjamin forging the Omega Key and its respective lock made any attempt to access the realm without the Key impossible; using other keys will just open into an empty room.

In the Netflix series, it appears the Door can be forcibly pried open, as Eden was somehow able to open it without the Omega Key. While it is never explained why, a human can survive being behind the Black Door for several months, seemingly without having sustenance or being possessed whatsoever.

Notes

• The Black Door has referenced the shared universe of stories by Stephen King, the father of Joe Hill. In the introduction to the Golden Age volume, Joe Hill calls the portal behind the Black Door a "Thinny". In Stephen King's multiverse, a "thinny" is a spot where the fabric that divides two different universes/realities is at its thinnest. This can result in a portal between these two said universes/realities; and allows individuals and entities from both sides to cross into either side. It is unclear if this is a connection with King's multiverse or is simply an allusion.

Gallery

Black Door concept art by Set Designer: Karl Crosby

Black Door concept art by Set Designer: Karl Crosby

Concept Art for how the inside of the Black Door Lock might look. Art by Set Designer: Karl Crosby

Info

• 5 Appearances by Black Door.