355
Filming locations
A documented place where production work occurred.
- Primary basis
- Wikidata property P915 (filming location)
- Read carefully
- This does not imply that the story is set in the same place.
Back to the AtlasResearch notes · Dataset 2026-08-13EVERY PIN
EVERY PIN
NEEDS A REASON.
The Atlas of Dread is a discovery tool, not a claim that every location has the same kind of relationship to a work. Its four layers keep production fact, story geography, editorial history, and computed patterns visibly separate.
Layer definitions
WHAT EACH MARKER ACTUALLY MEANS
291
Story settings
A real-world place or region identified as the location of the narrative.
- Primary basis
- Wikidata property P840 (narrative location)
- Read carefully
- The pin locates the real geography named by the source, not an invented street address.
9
Regional movements
An editorially researched horror tradition associated with a place and period.
- Primary basis
- British Film Institute editorial research
- Read carefully
- These are contextual regions, not claims about one individual production.
15
Archive hotspots
An aggregate of many distinct filming and setting records at the same place.
- Primary basis
- Calculated from the sourced records in this Atlas release
- Read carefully
- A hotspot is a discovery aid, not a qualitative ranking of a city or country.
The data pipeline
REPEATABLE, REVIEWABLE, AND BUILT TO IMPROVE.
The dataset is generated from the public HorroRated archive and external identifiers, then enriched with structured location statements. The build script can be rerun as the archive or source data grows.
- 01Start with published archive records
Only HorroRated titles with usable TMDB identifiers enter the automated location lookup.
- 02Resolve the matching Wikidata work
TMDB movie and television identifiers prevent loose title matching and reduce false joins.
- 03Request the two location properties separately
P915 supplies filming locations. P840 supplies narrative locations. They never become the same layer.
- 04Require coordinates and preserve provenance
Every generated point retains the work source, place source, property used, and precision label.
- 05Add reviewed editorial context
Regional movements use named film-institute research rather than being inferred from a title count.
- 06Validate, publish, and accept corrections
Automated checks verify the shape of the data; human review remains part of every public release.
Precision and restraint
WHAT THE ATLAS DOES NOT CLAIM
No invented accuracy
A country, state, or broad region is labeled “regional.” It is not displayed as though the source identified a building.
No production-setting shortcuts
A film shot in Toronto but set in New York can show both facts, in separate colors and records.
No literal pin for an unmappable fiction
Story settings use sourced real-world geography. Entirely invented towns are not assigned a fake street coordinate.
No claim of permanent completeness
Structured databases have gaps. Missing points mean “not yet sourced,” not “this work has no geography.”
Sources and reuse
OPEN DATA, VISIBLE ATTRIBUTION
Wikidata-derived statements are published under CC0. The interactive basemap is served through OpenFreeMap and carries OpenMapTiles and OpenStreetMap attribution in the map.
Found a problem?
Submit a map correctionHELP US MAKE THE MAP BETTER.
Send the title, location, correct relationship, and a reliable source. Corrections are reviewed before the dataset is rebuilt.