In 2008, writer Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodríguez invited comic readers into a magical house filled with mysterious, powerful keys. Locke & Key follows the adventures of the Locke family when they move into a New England mansion that has been in their family for many years. While exploring their new home, the Locke children – Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode – soon discover keys that have extraordinary powers.

The Locke siblings also discover that the allure of the magical keys has affected many people through the years, going all the way back to the Revolutionary War. The kids use the keys to protect their family and friends, and fight demons who wish to use the keys for their own nefarious schemes.

The origin of the keys dates back to 1775 when soldiers hid in a cave in Massachusetts Bay (where Keyhouse would later be built) and found a portal that led to another dimension populated by demons. Once the doorway opened, demons came into our world, but soon learned that if they weren’t possessing someone, they would turn into whispering iron. Benjamin Locke who worked as a smith, used the whispering iron to forge the magical keys. His first key was the Omega Key, which could be used to seal the entrance to the other dimension.

Throughout the comic series, Hill and Rodríguez introduced dozens of keys with varying levels of power. The Alpha Key pulls demons out of possessed people when inserted in their chest. The Head Key can be inserted into someone’s head and lets the user see inside their mind. The Identity Key can change a person’s appearance when inserted under their chin. The Anywhere Key opens a door to wherever the user can picture, and the Mirror Key opens a door to a pocket universe when place in a mirror.

The Timeshift Key controls a grandfather clock that can be used to observe the past. The Ghost Key used in a specific door at Keyhouse turns the bearer into a ghost and their spirit can travel unattached to their body. The Shadow Key gives the user control over shadow creatures and the shadows of other people, and the Snow Globe Key traps the user in a snow globe.

The Small World Key unlocks a dollhouse version of Keyhouse that shows what is happening in the house and any damage done to the dollhouse occurs at the real house. The Creation Key looks like a pencil and anything drawn with it becomes real, and the Echo Key used at the wellhouse brings people back from the dead. The Animal Key turns the user into an animal, and the Mending Key opens a cabinet that can mend broken objects.

There’s a Giant Key that makes one large and the Hercules Key gives someone strength. A Teddy Bear Key animates and controls teddy bears, and a Stamp Key that can send mail through different dimensions and timelines. The Thorn Key controls plants and there’s even an IDW Key that can summon other IDW comic characters.