Abhiroop Das
Created by Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce, ‘Revival’ tells the story of a rural town named Wausau, where people who have died in the past two weeks inexplicably come back to life. As the entire town is forced into quarantine, the Revivers, as they are called, slowly return to their usual lives, hardly even remembering that they are supposed to be dead. This naturally creates its share of friction amongst the townsfolk, but as Deputy Dana Cypress eventually comes to realize, the phenomenon can only be understood if one reacts with kindness and curiosity, rather than hatred and paranoia.
Soon enough, the scientists track down the start of this revival phenomenon to the mystical Moore Creek, located at the isolated edge of Wausau. Many years ago, Dana and her sister, Em, lost their mother in a car accident over the creek, and since then, the place has had a haunting feel to it. This is not unique to just the duo, however, as the entire town seems to have an ambiguous relationship with Moore Creek, and it is soon revealed that it is connected to the spiritual side of the story, one that cannot easily be put into words.
Moore Creek is a Fictional Place Set in the Town Where Writer Tim Seeley Grew Up
Moore Creek is a fictional location created by writer Tim Seeley originally for the ‘Revival’ comic series, with the Luke Boyce and Aaron B. Koontz-led writing team later adapting it to the screen. While the location may be invented, its origins can be traced back to Seeley’s personal experiences, given that he grew up in the real-life Wausau, located in central Wisconsin. Seeley once described the town as “interesting,” but also as having a “legitimately dark side that has resulted in some pretty bizarre crimes.”
However, neither Seeley nor the creators of the TV adaptation have made any specific mention of a real creek serving as the basis for the fictionalized town’s spiritual core. That said, most of the show itself is not filmed in Wausau, but in New Brunswick, Canada, where the forests and rivulets create a naturally fitting aesthetic for the show, instead of tying its identity to any one place. Moore Creek, as such, was likely created specifically to accommodate the supernatural side of the story, serving as a liminal space more than a physical one.
The Real-Life Jim Moore Creek Might be a Reference to Revival’s Elusive Location
Interestingly, the real-life Wasau is home to a place called Jim Moore Creek, which might have served as a partial inspiration for the Moore Creek of ‘Revival.’ Jim Moore Creek is famous for its hiking trails, dense forest cover, and the small stream that moves through Marathon County. While the natural vista is similar in presentation to Moore Creek, neither Seeley nor the creators of the show have spoken on this particular location as a basis. Given that Seeley grew up in Wausau, it’s possible that he may have used the name Moore Creek as a reference point for his own creation, but aside from that, the similarities are largely superficial in nature. Instead, a greater similarity can be found in an iconic TV show that might have inspired ‘Revival’ as a story.
When it comes to iconic supernatural settings in TV, no list can be complete without the mention of the Black Lodge from ‘Twin Peaks,’ which is located, in-universe, in the Glastonbury Grove of the Ghostwood Forest. While Seeley himself has never confirmed whether he drew references from the 90s classic, the overlap between Glastonbury Grove and Moore Creek is apparent. Both locations are characterized as the interstice between the rational world and the supernatural one, and thematically similar TV locations can also be spotted in shows like ‘Lost’ and ‘The Leftovers.’ As such, while the creek might not be a direct nod to ‘Twin Peaks,’ it does fall into a lineage of on-screen renditions of supernatural spaces.
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