How Widow’s Bay pulled off the best slasher since 2018’s Halloween

In Widow’s Bay episode 7, Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) finally lifted the curse that had been hanging over his New England island town for centuries. Unfortunately, nobody told his assistant, Patricia (Kate O’Flynn).

With three episodes remaining, Widow’s Bay fans probably could have guessed that the curse wasn’t lifted just yet, but what occurs in Episode 8, “Your Baggage,” still comes as a surprise. The episode consists of the Boogeyman, a Michael Myers-esque monster who used to haunt the locals years ago, suddenly reemerging and chasing Patricia around town for nearly 30 minutes straight.

The result is both scary and funny in a unique way that Widow’s Bay always manages to nail. But for series creator Katie Dippold, a slasher story was almost too much to include in the show’s jam-packed first season.

“I didn’t know for sure if it was right to bring the Boogeyman into this season,” Dippold tells Polygon, “but it just felt like it would be a good time.”

The reason why ultimately came down to one thing: Dippold wanted to write another Patricia episode. (An earlier episode, where Patricia accidentally throws a cult-suicide party after using a demonic book to plan the event, is another standout in a show full of them, and audiences have already honed in on O’Flynn out as breakout star of Widow’s Bay.)

“I wanted to do an episode that was just watching this 40-year-old woman run around the neighborhood being chased by this man,” Dippold says. “That sounded like a fun challenge.”

The episode also features several moments that lean into Patricia’s social anxiety, particularly when she flees the Boogeyman and winds up at a book club gathering of all her old high school classmates that she intentionally wasn’t invited to.

“Patricia’s always afraid of being left out,” Dippold says. “She’s less afraid of dying and more afraid of no one giving a shit if she dies. [Editor’s note: Relatable] And she’s more afraid of no one believing her and her story about what happened with The Boogeyman.”

Ultimately, for Dippold, that’s what Widow’s Bay is really all about. The show’s monster-of-the-week format might be what keeps things interesting, but it’s all in service to the cast of weirdos who call this cursed island their home.

“As much as we’re going into the different horror tropes, I really wanted it to all be about the characters.”

Widow’s Bay is streaming on Apple TV.