Wellington

**Wellington**, also known as **Te Whanganui-a-Tara**, is the capital city of New Zealand, and the primary setting of *What We Do in the Shadows* (film) and *Wellington Paranormal*.

## History

Wellington has always had a large amount of paranormal activity. According to Māori legend, two taniwha brothers, Ngake and Whātaitai, lived in Wellington Harbour when it was only a lake. Ngake grew tired of living there and escaped. Whātaitai grew lonely and tried to follow him, but became stranded when the tide fell. Whātaitai’s body turned to stone and his land mass became the suburb of Hataitai.

Wellington currently has a high population of vampires, who enjoy exploring the nightlife. In 2014, the city embraced itself as a vampire-friendly location, encouraging more to visit through the *Vampire’s Guide to Vellington* ad campaign. The werewolf population is particularly high due to the fact that the clouds constantly cover the moon, preventing werewolves from involuntarily transforming. Other beings known to have populated Wellington include witches, zombies, demonic entities, extraterrestrial floras, ghosts, yōkai and robots. Many of these beings socialise at the Unholy Masquerade, a celebratory event occurring every few years. The high number of supernatural incidents led to Sergeant Maaka, leader of the Wellington Central Police Force, to set up the Wellington Police Paranormal Unit to tackle these issues.

In 2018, scary clowns also became a nuisance, despite not being supernatural. In 2019, mysterious vortexes that led to voids also became an issue for its citizens.

## Notable locations

### Regions

* **Miramar Hill**, which features the Wellington Blown Away Sign that was modified for the *Vampire’s Guide to Vellington* ad campaign
* **Wellington Harbour**, home of several large taniwha
* **Hataitai**, a suburb said to be the remains of the legendary taniwha Whātaitai
* The country town of **Hemahema** and its **Parklands Motel**, where a group of extraterrestrial floras cloned themselves in a plot to take over New Zealand
* **Mount Victoria**, where O’Leary was raised, and the location of a radio mast that caused an attempted uprising of mobots

### Streets

* **Cuba Street**, the location of the **Bucket Fountain**, a shrine and gateway to Hell. A pub on this street was also haunted by the ghost of police officer Bill Miller
* **23 Tukariri Street**, a house haunted by the ghosts of party guests for over forty years
* **Kurimarama Street**, where several incidents were caused by the unwitting werewolf Sheena
* **Somerset Avenue** in Naenae, home of Sheena
* **Courtenay Place**, which narrowly avoided a zombie outbreak from police officers Donovan and Laupepe

### Buildings and structures

* **144 Para Street**, home of vampires Viago, Vladislav, Deacon, Petyr and Nick
* **The Cathedral of Despair / Victoria Bowling Club Headquarters**, location of the 2014 Unholy Masquerade
* **Rita Angus Retirement Village**, home of Katherine before she became a vampire
* **Wellington Central Police Station**, headquarters of the Wellington Police Paranormal Unit
* **Wellington Central Hospital**, workplace of Nick
* **St. Carrietta’s Girls High School**, the former school of O’Leary and the location of several incidents caused by a student witch coven, The Briannas
* **Mount Victoria Tunnel**, a tunnel that became haunted by the ghost of Miller
* A **former police station** in **Mount Cook**, now a **student apartment**, which was haunted by Officer Miller
* **Tawa Mall**, a shopping centre which Satan attempted to rule over after being accidentally summoned there

### Land areas

* A **farm** that was taken over by a family of extraterrestrial floras
* **Wellington Botanical Garden**, where the Paranormal Unit faced off Officer Miller

## Notable organisations

* **Wellington Central Police Force** and their **Paranormal Unit**
* The **Te Aro werewolf pack**
* The **Wellington Vampire Association**, hosts of the 2014 Unholy Masquerade
* The **Lower Hutt Vampire/Witch Club**, co- hosts of the 2014 Unholy Masquerade
* The **Karori Zombie Society**, co-hosts of the 2014 Unholy Masquerade
* **The Briannas**, a coven of teenage witches

## Appearances

* *What We Do in the Shadows: Interviews with Some Vampires*
* *What We Do in the Shadows* (film)
* *Vampire's Guide to Vellington*
* *Wellington Paranormal*

## References

Ward, Nick (writer) & Hewison, Dean (director) (16 October 2019). "Taniwha". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 7. TVNZ 2.
Clement, Jemaine & Waititi, Taika (writers and directors) (19 January 2014). *What We Do in the Shadows*.
Hansell, Jessica Coco (writer) & van Beek, Jackie (director) (1 August 2018). "The She Wolf of Kurimarama Street". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 4. TVNZ 2.
Smith, Sam (writer) & Clement, Jemaine (director) (8 August 2018). "A Normal Night". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 5. TVNZ 2.
Yates, Paul (writer) & Hewison, Dean (director) (19 December 2019). "Christmas Special". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 13. TVNZ 2.
Gonzalez-Macuer, Cori (writer) & van Dammen, Tim (director) (6 November 2019). "Copy Cops". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 10. TVNZ 2.
Yates, Paul (writer) & Clement, Jemaine (director) (20 November 2019). "Mobots". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 12. TVNZ 2.
Yates, Paul (writer) & Clement, Jemaine (writer & director) (11 July 2018). "Demon Girl". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 1. TVNZ 2.
Bracewell, Melanie (writer) & van Dammen, Tim (director) (30 October 2019). "Mt. Vic Hooters". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 9. TVNZ 2.
Ward, Nick (writer) & van Beek, Jackie (director) (25 July 2018). "Things That Do the Bump in the Night". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 3. TVNZ 2.
Yates, Paul (writer) & Clement, Jemaine (writer & director) (15 August 2018). "Zombie Cops". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 6. TVNZ 2.
Smith, Sam (writer) & Clement, Jemaine (director) (8 August 2018). "A Normal Night". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 5. TVNZ 2.
Alison, Amanda (writer) & van Beek, Jackie (director) (23 October 2019). "Fear the Briannas". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 8. TVNZ 2.
Bracewell, Melanie (writer) & Clement, Jemaine (director) (18 July 2018). "Cop Circles". *Wellington Paranormal*. Episode 2. TVNZ 2.