Stephen King's the Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance Revised and Updated (86 page)

However, as our
tet
knows all too well, the apparent friendliness of THUNDERCLAP’s Greentown is an illusion. The sun is an artificial spotlight, run by a technological egg timer. The town is surrounded by barbed wire and all of the citizens are prisoners who have become so accustomed to their lot that they no longer question the terrible job that they have been brought here to do. In truth, the psychic residents of the Devar-Toi are eroding the BEAMS so that the DARK TOWER—the linchpin of existence—will collapse. The instability of the multiverse is being generated from this outpost owned by the CRIMSON KING.

VII:209

INDIA

CALCUTTA:

BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA:
In the annals of imperialist history, the Black Hole of Calcutta is infamous. Following the capture of Calcutta by Siraj-ud-Dawalah, nawab of Bengal, in 1756, 146 British defenders were placed in this narrow, airless dungeon, twenty feet by twenty feet. According to the story, only 23 survived the night. The actual details of the event remain controversial, and many historians believe that the true number of Englishmen jailed was probably smaller. However, as SUSANNAH DEAN discovers when she is imprisoned by MIA, the Black Hole of Calcutta remains a fairly accurate description of the horror and desperation a person feels when she is imprisoned without hope of escape or rescue. VI:124

NEW DELHI:
VII:127

IOWA (STATE OF)

V:192

DES MOINES:
VII:279

IRELAND

II:371, V:465

DUBLIN:
The crucifix which FATHER CALLAHAN used to stave off the VAMPIRE BARLOW in ’SALEM’S LOT, MAINE, originally came from Dublin. Callahan’s mother bought it in a souvenir shop, probably at a scalper’s price. During his confrontation with Barlow, Callahan learned that the trappings of religion have no intrinsic worth if the one wielding them does not have faith. V:459

ISRAEL

JERUSALEM:
See
also
MAINE (STATE OF)
: JERUSALEM’S LOT. V:192

ISSAQUENA COUNTY

See
MISSISSIPPI (STATE OF)

ITALY

II:133
(Old Country)

PISA:

LEANING TOWER OF PISA:
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, whose official name is Torre Pendente di Pisa, is an Italian bell tower which was built between A.D. 1173 and 1350. As can be deduced from its name, it lists to one side, a problem that architects through the ages have not been able to rectify.

The Dark Tower series refers to this famous tower in two different contexts. First, in
The Drawing of the Three,
we learn that the neon sign marking BALAZAR’s bar and headquarters is in the shape of this historic monument. Much to EDDIE DEAN’s alarm, the first time Roland sees this sign he thinks he has arrived at his destination—the DARK TOWER itself.

The next time we see the Leaning Tower it takes the form of a photograph (or as Roland would say, a
fottergraf
) pasted to the last page of JAKE CHAMBERS’s English Comp essay entitled “My Understanding of Truth.” Though he didn’t realize it at the time, the Leaning Tower (which he had covered in black crayon scribbles) was his unconscious mind’s version of the Dark Tower.
See also
NEW YORK CITY
: MANHATTAN: LEANING TOWER (BALAZAR’S OFFICE). II:121, V:56

SICILY:
II:114

JAFFORDS RENTALS

See
MAINE (STATE OF)
: OXFORD COUNTY: EAST STONEHAM

JAPAN

SAPPORO:
VI:226

JERUSALEM

See
ISRAEL
;
see also
MAINE (STATE OF)
: ALTERNATIVE AMERICAS AND THE STATE OF MAINE: JERUSALEM’S LOT

JERUSALEM’S LOT

See
MAINE (STATE OF)
: ALTERNATIVE AMERICAS AND THE STATE OF MAINE: JERUSALEM’S LOT

JFK AIRPORT

See
NEW YORK CITY
: QUEENS

JOHN CULLUM’S CABIN

See
MAINE (STATE OF)
: OXFORD COUNTY: EAST STONEHAM

JONESTOWN

See
GUYANA

KANSAS (STATE OF)

The state of Kansas (initial setting for
The Wizard of Oz
) plays an important part in the Dark Tower series. At the beginning of
Wizard and Glass,
BLAINE the Insane Mono crashed into an alternative version of our world’s TOPEKA. The Kansas that our
tet
is forced to travel through is both subtly and not so subtly different from our Kansas. Unlike the Kansas of our world, this Kansas seems still to use the old ATCHISON, TOPEKA, AND SANTA FE RAILROAD. Its former residents drove Takaru Spirits and ate at Boing Boing burgers—cars and fast-food joints we’ve never heard of—but worse yet, they’ve all been wiped out by the superflu, the same disease that killed most of America’s population in STEPHEN KING’s novel
The Stand.

Like HAMBRY—the MID-WORLD town where Roland, CUTHBERT ALL-GOOD, and ALAIN JOHNS battled the BIG COFFIN HUNTERS and the other traitors to the AFFILIATION—this alternative Topeka contained a THINNY. The sight and sound of this warbling DOORWAY BETWEEN WORLDS enticed Roland to tell his new friends about the trials he faced in Hambry, and about his ill-fated love affair with the beautiful young SUSAN DELGADO. Also in this alternative version of Kansas, our
tet
entered the GREEN PALACE and confronted OZ the Great and Terrible—a wizard who turned out to be none other than Roland’s longtime nemesis, WALTER (aka RANDALL FLAGG).

Kansas continues to play a significant role in the final books of the Dark Tower series. In late winter of 1982, PERE CALLAHAN reeled drunkenly through the city of Topeka and landed in a JAIL CELL there. While incarcerated, he had an alcohol-related seizure. Although Callahan joined Alcoholics Anonymous and managed to sober up, he was not destined to settle in this state. In the fall of that year, Callahan saw the first of the LOW MEN’s “lost pet” posters advertising for information about his whereabouts. Callahan left Topeka for DETROIT.

II:229
(Dorothy),
III:139–45
(Charlie the Choo-Choo),
III:258, III:287
(concrete silos),
IV:62–112, IV:335–37, IV:615–51, IV:658, IV:660, V:35, V:106, V:296, V:447, V:456, VI:298, VI:401

ATCHISON:
Atchison is a town in Kansas famous for being the birthplace of both Amelia Earhart and the ATCHISON, TOPEKA, AND SANTA FE RAILROAD. IV:68

DODGE:
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Dodge had a reputation as a rowdy frontier town. III:258, III:373, VII:811

KANSAS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY:
IV:75

LAWRENCE:
VI:401

PHILLIP BILLARD:
IV:75

TOPEKA:
In the children’s story
Charlie the Choo-Choo,
Topeka is the MID-WORLD RAILWAY’s final destination. It also happens to be BLAINE’S destination as well as the place where Mid-World ends and END-WORLD begins.
See entry under
ATCHISON, TOPEKA, AND SANTA FE RAILROAD
. III:139–45, III:199, III:266, III:400, III:404, III:409, III:411, III:413,
III:419, IV:62–112, IV:335–37, IV:615–25, V:36, V:106, V:440, V:445–49, VI:25, VI:103, VII:531

BERRYTON ROAD:
IV:74

BOING BOING BURGERS:
IV:92, IV:617

CRADLE OF TOPEKA:
Like an outdoor LUD. Looks Western. IV:67, IV:72

FORBES:
IV:75

FORBES FIELD:
IV:74

GADDISH FEEDS:
Grain-storage tower. IV:95

GAGE BOULEVARD:
IV:83, IV:84

GAGE BOULEVARD AMTRAK STATION:
IV:75

GAGE PARK:
IV:86–91, V:291, V:449, VII:335

HEARTLAND LANES:
IV:92

HEARTLAND PARK RACE TRACK:
Disposal pit for superflu dead. IV:74

JAIL CELL:
FATHER CALLAHAN was held here for assaulting an officer. While incarcerated, he had an alcohol-related seizure. V:445–49

KANSAS CITY:
V:36

KANSAS TURNPIKE (I-70):
IV:62, IV:63, IV:71, IV:91–112 (ka-tet
follows. Directly mentioned on 92, 94, 104),
IV:623, IV:625, IV:629, IV:635, IV:660, V:35, V:36, V:291, V:516

OAKLAND BILLARD PARK:
Disposal plant for superflu dead. IV:74

REINISCH ROSE GARDEN:
In Reinisch Rose Garden (home of the infamous toy version of CHARLIE THE CHOO-CHOO) PERE CALLAHAN saw some of the LOW MEN’s “lost pet” posters, offering a reward to anyone who could disclose his whereabouts. Callahan left Kansas in a hurry. IV:86, IV:87–89
(and
Charlie the Choo-Choo), V:449

SOUTHEAST SIXTY-FIRST STREET:
IV:74

ST. FRANCIS HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER:
IV:74

STORMONT-VAIL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER:
IV:74

TOPEKA STATE HOSPITAL:
IV:92

TOPEKA ZOO:
IV:89

WAMBEGO:
IV:75

KAW RIVER NUCLEAR PLANT (KAWNUKE):
IV:75

WICHITA:
A town in Kansas accessed by a branch line of the ATCHISON, TOPEKA, AND SANTA FE RAILROAD. Roland sees a sign for it in the alternative TOPEKA that he and his
ka-tet
travel through in
Wizard and Glass. See entry under
ATCHISON, TOPEKA, AND SANTA FE RAILROAD.
IV:72

KANSAS CITY BLUES

See
NEW YORK CITY
: MANHATTAN

KANSAS ROAD

See
MAINE (STATE OF)
: CUMBERLAND COUNTY: BRIDGTON

KATZ PHARMACY AND SODA FOUNTAIN (SUNDRIES AND NOTIONS FOR MISSES AND MISTERS)

See
NEW YORK CITY
: MANHATTAN

KENTUCKY

While traveling along the HIGHWAYS IN HIDING, CALLAHAN worked as a grave digger in Kentucky. His shovel-buddy was a digger named PETE PETAKI. Pete had a taste for seventeen-year-old jailbait. However, the girl who caught his eye turned out to be a TYPE THREE VAMPIRE. Callahan destroyed her before she could sink her teeth into Petaki’s all-too-willing throat.

V:302

ROUTE 317:
V:302

KEYSTONE EARTH/KEYSTONE WORLD

See
KEY WORLD/KEYSTONE WORLD
,
in
PORTALS

KEYWADIN POND

See
MAINE (STATE OF)
: OXFORD COUNTY: EAST STONEHAM

KEZAR LAKE

See
MAINE (STATE OF)
: OXFORD COUNTY: LOVELL

KIDZPLAY

See
GUTTENBERG, FURTH, AND PATEL
,
in
CHARACTERS

KING’S CHILDHOOD BARN

See entry in
PORTALS

KING’S HOUSE IN LOVELL

See
DOORWAYS BETWEEN WORLDS
: CARA LAUGHS,
in
PORTALS

KLATT ROAD

See
MAINE (STATE OF)
: OXFORD COUNTY: FRYEBURG

KOREA

VII:280

LA GUARDIA AIRPORT

See
NEW YORK CITY
: QUEENS

LAS VEGAS

See
NEVADA (STATE OF)

LAWRENCE

See
KANSAS (STATE OF)

LEANING TOWER (BALAZAR’S OFFICE)

See
NEW YORK CITY
: MANHATTAN

LEANING TOWER OF PISA

See
ITALY

LEBANON

BEIRUT:
IV:87

LEWISTON

See
MAINE (STATE OF)
: ANDROSCOGGIN COUNTY

LIGHTHOUSE SHELTER

CALLAHAN worked at this wet shelter (located in DETROIT) from the late autumn of 1982 until December of 1983. According to Pere, it was an almost exact replica of the HOME shelter he’d worked at in NEW YORK CITY, although one without ROWAN MAGRUDER to manage it. Callahan’s workmates at Lighthouse were WARD HUCKMAN and AL McCOWAN. In early December of 1982, Ward received a letter from the SOMBRA CORPORATION, saying that Lighthouse had been awarded a million-dollar grant. However, when the three men arrived at Sombra’s corporate headquarters to discuss the details of their windfall, they discovered that the whole thing was a setup. Huckman and McCowan were knocked unconscious by electrical stunners, and Callahan was left to face the evil RICHARD P. SAYRE and the other servants of the CRIMSON KING alone. Rather than submit to the bites of Sayre’s HIV-infected TYPE THREE VAMPIRES, Callahan jumped out the window of the TISHMAN BUILDING. He died in our world only to awake in MID-WORLD’s WAY STATION.

V:270, V:449, V:450–57
(up to Sayre’s trickery),
V:466

LONDON

See
ENGLAND

LOS ZAPATOS

See
MEXICO

LOT, THE

See
LOT, THE
,
in
PORTALS

LOUISIANA (STATE OF)

NEW ORLEANS:
V:305, V:621

LOVELL

See
MAINE (STATE OF)

LOWELL

See
MASSACHUSETTS (STATE OF)

MACY’S

See
NEW YORK CITY
: MANHATTAN

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

See
NEW YORK CITY
: MANHATTAN

MAGIC SHOP

See
NEW YORK CITY
: MANHATTAN

MAINE (STATE OF)