'The Outsider': El Cuco, the legend, myth, and folklore share similarities with Stephen King's Pennywise
HBO's new supernatural thriller series 'The Outsider' based on Stephen King's novel of the same name has introduced the villain El Cuco. The released episodes of the series have hinted on how the 'creature' commits its murders and why. The story is about a man named Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman) who was accused of the murder of 11-year-old Frankie Peterson (Duncan E. Clark). However, it was revealed that an 'entity' named El Cuco might have been behind the murders and the investigative team might have to prove folklore to be true.
According to the series (and the book, if you've read it), the suspect is a monster named El Cuco, that has the ability to shapeshift, take on the DNA of another person and take their form. After framing another individual for the crime, it lurks close the gravesite of the victim to feed on the grief of the families. If you're a Stephen King fan, you know that his villains will always leave a bad taste in your mouth because it surfaces the biggest fears you had as a child - your version of the boogeyman. In 'The Outsider,' King gains inspiration from folklore.
El Cuco is considered to be the boogeyman that feeds on sadness and kills little kids. Does this by any chance ring a bell with another of King's villains? Yes, Pennywise from King's 1986 horror novel 'IT'! Pennywise is able to carry out the murders of many children without being caught because he used hypnosis to convince the parents of the town of Derry to not be interested in the children that have gone missing. In the 'IT' narrative, during the investigation of Adrian Mellon’s death, witnesses' account of seeing a clown at the scene was dismissed in court.
The character of Pennywise includes the ability to shapeshift, manipulate and go unnoticed, all of which have been checked off by El Cuco in 'The Outsider.' In 'The Outsider', people who are close to figuring out what the evil might be such as PI Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo) and Detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) are in danger. The entity seems to intimidate and ward off lurking eyes.
According to Refinery29, El Cuco was first explained by Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian. He wrote "that Iberian soldiers would take their enemies’ heads and pierce them through spears as an offering to" El Cuco. This developed into an eerie myth that had parents warn their children that if they showed bad behavior that El Cuco and later, boogeyman, would get them.
King's inspiration from folklore and contribution to horror mythology has been binge-reading worthy, and while 'IT' brought back regressed fears, HBO's 'The Outsider' might have you sleeping with the light on and door closed.
‘The Outsider’ airs on Sundays at 9 pm EST on HBO.