Who Is Joe Hill, Co-Creator of Netflix's 'Locke & Key'? IT May Surprise You!

We're still trying to process the end of Season 2 of Netflix's wildly popular fantasy show, Locke & Key. The series, which began in February 2020 with an equally as shocking first season, centers around the Locke family, who have recently moved cross country to their ancestral home in Massachusetts. The move was brought on by the murder of their father, but it's at their new home, Keyhouse, where they discover they are the keepers of magical keys forged by their ancestor.

The show is based on the popular comic books of the same name, written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez. It's not surprising that Joe Hill would be drawn to the supernatural. His father also has ghosts, demons, and the occasional terrifying dancing clown in his heart. In case you haven't guessed, Joe Hill is the son of horror author Stephen King, but you need only look at him to know it. So, what else has Joe Hill done?

Following in the footsteps of his father, Joe Hill ends up with a small cameo on Season 1 of Locke & Key, along with his collaborator Gabriel Rodriguez. In the comic books, Gabriel drew himself and Joe in as paramedics within the first chapter. When writing the show, the timelines were shifted around a bit, but the showrunners were still able to include a scene loosely based on the panel featuring Joe and Gabriel.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter about the first season, co-showrunner Meredith Averill elaborated on their decision to include the comic book creators. "When we were breaking the finale, we were discussing how fun it would be to have a cameo for them, but only if it made sense." She went on to explain they knew there was a scene where Bode had to call the paramedics, so they had Joe and Gabriel show up, "That was so much fun, having them on set. It was such a great moment."

First of all, it's crazy to avoid the nearly identical twin elephants in the room, Joe Hill is the spitting image of his father, Stephen King. If we found out that a young Stephen King time-traveled to 2021 to write under the pen name "Joe Hill," we would believe it. However, it's quite unfair to keep comparing Joe to his father.

Joe is an award-winning writer who has published short stories, comic books, and novels. Beyond Locke & Key, his novel NOS4A2 was also adapted for the small screen in the AMC series by the same name. In staying with Joe's interest in the supernatural, NOS4A2 is about a young girl who discovers she has the power to track the seemingly immortal Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto), who feeds off the souls of children.

Joe seems to have an interest in characters who develop supernatural abilities to protect or avenge, as noted by Horns, a book he wrote that was made into a movie, starring Daniel Radcliffe. This time the main character is trying to find his girlfriend's killer after he was accused of doing the deed.

For all you Halloween fans out there, you can check out Joe Hill's episode in the first season of Shudder's Creepshow series, which is titled "By the Silver Waters of Lake Champlain." Fun fact about Creepshow the movie: It was originally an anthology written by Stephen King and directed by George Romero and features a cameo by a young Joe HIll. Like father, like son.

Seasons 1 and 2 of Locke & Key are currently streaming on Netflix.