Fear Street

Fear Street is a young adult horror franchise primarily consisting of a series of novels written by R. L. Stine beginning in 1989. In July 2021, the series was adapted into a live action film trilogy released on Netflix over a period of three weeks.

Fandom
Name:	Fear Street
Abbreviation(s):
Creator:	R.L. Stine (novels), Leigh Janiak (films)
Date(s):	1989-present
Medium:	Novels, Films
Country of Origin:	USA
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Canon

Novels

The original Fear Street novels were written by R.L. Stine between 1989 and 1999. Each novel features teenagers in the cursed town of Shadyside encountering murderers and supernatural foes. Numerous spinoffs of the series have been written by a variety of authors, with Stine returning to pen some installments. The series is often contrasted with Stine's well-known Goosebumps series in that it features more violence and gore.

Films

Three films based on Fear Street, written and directed by Leigh Janiak, were released on Netflix in July 2021. They are set in three distinct time periods with an interconnected storyline. The first film, Fear Street Part 1: 1994, follows estranged teenage couple Deena and Sam and their friends in 1994 as they are pursued by a serial killer as part of a curse placed on the town of Shadyside by a witch, Sarah Fier. In the second film, Fear Street Part 2: 1978, Deena and her brother Josh seek help from the sole survivor of a previous Sarah Fier massacre, who explains the events that happened to her and her sister at a summer camp in 1978. In the final film, Fear Street Part 3: 1666, Deena is given a vision of events in 1666 to learn the truth about the Shadyside curse and what happened to Sarah Fier; armed with this knowledge, she and her friends seek to defeat the true mastermind of the curse and save the town.

Following the success of the trilogy and its mid-credits cliffhanger, creator Leigh Janiak has expressed interest in further films or TV series set in the Fear Street continuity.

Fandom

The Fear Street novels by R.L. Stine were popular among young readers in the 1990s and 2000s; however, the fandom as it exists today is primarily based around the trilogy of Netflix films. Strong critical reviews and positive, diverse character representation have led to the formation of a growing fandom around the films and their characters. As of July 25, 2021, there are 126 fanfics for the film trilogy on Archive of Our Own, where it is currently classified as a TV series and not a film.

Shipping

There exists a vibrant shipping community within the Fear Street film fandom. Four ships have received the bulk of the fanfic and other creative output to date: Deena Johnson/Sam Fraser, the canon femslash pairing in Part 1 and 3 that serves as the central relationship in the trilogy; Ziggy Berman/Nick Goode, a het pairing prominent in Part 2 until the two characters end up on opposing sides in Part 3; Sarah Fier/Hannah Miller, the canon femslash pairing central to the 1666 storyline and the backstory of the trilogy; and Cindy Berman/Alice, a femslash pairing in Part 2 that is not canon onscreen but is supported by the actors, with Ryan Simpkins confirming they played their character this way.

Common tropes and fanon

• Alternate universes and fix-its where dead characters like Kate, Simon, Cindy, and Alice survive.
• Exploring the backstories of some of the 1666 pilgrims, who are played by the same actors as the 1994 and 1978 characters but have only minimal characterization.
• Crossovers with other works such as Stranger Things, which is a similar young adult period horror series that stars two of Fear Street's actors, Sadie Sink and Maya Hawke.
• The idea that Deena and Sam are soulmates and the reincarnation or continuation of Sarah and Hannah's romance in 1666.
• PTSD experienced by the survivors of the massacres.

Fanworks

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.