In 1775[1] during the American Revolution, a group of Rebels, hiding in a sea cave in Massachusetts Bay beneath what will one day be Keyhouse in the town of Lovecraft, discover a portal to another dimension, the plains of Leng.

However, when the demons attempt to enter the real world without possessing someone, they are transformed into "whispering" iron which young smith Benjamin Locke forges into a variety of magical keys.

Rendell Locke's younger brother Duncan follows the group into the cave, but he is mesmerized demons in the open door, and attempts to walk through it.

He also extracts a part of his spirit to be hidden in a jar in the home of Ellen "Ellie" Whedon, one of the surviving friends, as a contingency plan.

The Locke family, children Tyler, Kinsey, Bode, and mother Nina, move across the country to Keyhouse, reuniting with Duncan, and begin discovering the house's secrets.

Now free to explore the house as Bode, Dodge finally finds the Omega Key and plans his takeover during after-prom party in the sea cave.

Dodge is ultimately undone by Tyler, having re-discovered the "whispering" iron from his father; he forges an "Alpha Key" with Duncan's help, which can exorcise a demon from the possessed soul, though it is a fatal to the physical host.

The biggest mysteries of the Locke & Key series are resolved as Clockworks opens, not with a bang, but with the thunderous crash of English cannons.

[45] According to Joe Hill, ...In Pale Battalions Go... was originally supposed to be just two issues, but he quickly realized that it wasn't enough to tell the full story so it was increased to three.

John "Jack" Locke is ten years dead, but that hasn't stopped him from posting the occasional letter home… from Hell.

Now Mary Locke will do anything to save her brother's soul, including cut a deal with Roderick Burgess-the most evil man in England-to search for answers in the House of Mystery and risk the walking nightmare known as the Corinthian to find help in a disintegrating Kingdom of Dreams!

"[56] Of course, the Locke family has always had a knack for making keys…"[59] Joe Hill has stated that the chronological order of the Golden Age chapters is as follows:[62][63] The first arc of World War Key.

[66] A rare Locke & Key short that was published for the first time in IDW: 10 Year Anniversary Comic Book.

Locke & Key was also collected in three hardcover books with all-new cover art and design by Gabriel Rodriguez.

All six arcs (Welcome to Lovecraft, Head Games, Crown of Shadows, Keys to the Kingdom, Clockworks, and Alpha & Omega) of the main story are to be published in one compendium edition, featuring new front and back cover art by Gabriel Rodriguez.

[76] On November 11, 2007, Subterranean Press announced a pre-order for a hand-numbered, signed, limited edition of the six-issue run of Welcome To Lovecraft.

[77][78] This edition was a hardcover release in a specially designed and illustrated slipcase, and featured exclusive dust jacket art by Vincent Chong and reprinted all 250 pages of Joe Hill's script in addition to the actual comic work.

[93] In May 2016, Joe Hill announced he would write a TV pilot, serve as executive producer and pitch the show to various networks and streaming companies.

[95] In February 2010, it was announced that Dimension had lost the adaptation rights to Dreamworks[96] with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci signed on to develop and produce the project.

[97] In August 2010 Steven Spielberg also joined as a producer, and the production became a TV series rather than a movie adaptation, with Josh Friedman writing episodes for the show and acting as show-runner.

[103] Actor and singer Jesse McCartney appeared as Ty Locke, the series' male lead[104] and Ksenia Solo was cast as Dodge.

[105] Mark Romanek directed the pilot episode,[106] which was filmed at the mansion in Hartwood Acres and in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, in February 2011.

[109] On April 20, 2017, Hulu ordered a pilot based on the comic with Carlton Cuse, Scott Derrickson, and Lindsey Springer as producers.

[113] On May 30, 2018, after Hulu had passed on Locke & Key, it was announced that Netflix was nearing a series order for a re-developed version of the show with Cuse and Hill involved once again, and Muschietti as executive producer.

Produced by the AudioComics Company for Audible Studios and directed by William Dufris, the work features voice actors including Tatiana Maslany, Haley Joel Osment, Kate Mulgrew, and Brennan Lee Mulligan, with appearances by series creators Rodríguez and Hill, as well as Hill's father Stephen King, in addition to almost 50 voice-over actors[115] and an original score by Peter Van Riet.