I grew up running around in the woods in Washington State. I’ve always enjoyed the particular flavor of Pacific Northwest-set media. Shows, movies, and games reach for Washington when they want to imbue their narratives with that creepy, “something is watching from the woods” feeling.

I came up with a list of Pacific Northwest motifs, represented by a “Pacific Northwest Bingo” card, and I used it to examine why the Pacific Northwest is always so, so weird.