Centralia in the Arts
The Centralia mine fire has inspired an astonishing number of novels, plays, films, poems and photography exhibits in the past 25 years. Here are the ones I know about:
Novels
“The Planets,” by James Finney Boylan. Uses Centralia as a backdrop. Poseidon Press, 1991. Author has since become a woman and writes under name Jennifer Finney Boylan.
“The Constellations,” by James Finney Boylan. Uses Centralia mine fire as backdrop. Random House, 1994.
"Strange Highways," by Dean Koontz, 1995.
“Those Who Favor Fire,” by Lauren Wolk. Uses a town like Centralia and elements of the Centralia story as backdrop for a love story. Random House, 1999.
“The Revolutionary’s Confession,” by George Grayson. Lost Chinese treasure and the mines beneath Centralia. The fate of the world is at stake. Poseidon Press, 2000.
"Coal Run," by Tawni O'Dell. One of the best literary fiction writers you've never heard of, unless you caught her appearance on Oprah, O'Dell lives and sets her novels in the coal country of western Pennsylvania. "Coal Run" is about people in Centresburg, which O'Dell says was inspired by Centralia. The fictional town has a mine fire, but the story doesn't dwell on that and you'll have to search hard for references. But you'll enjoy her writing while you do. 2004.
"Dirty Blonde," by Lisa Scottoline. U.S. District Judge Cate Fante, the main character in this crime novel, grew up in Centralia before going away to college and becoming a Federal judge in Philadelphia. In one part of the book, she returns to Centralia to visit her mother's grave in St. Ignatius Cemetery and to view what little is left of her ruined hometown. Lisa hired me to check her manuscript for accuracy, which was pretty good even before the minor changes I suggested. Harper. 2006.
Drama
"Copperhead," an original play by Erik Brogger, directed in its initial incarnation by Gregory S. Hurst, and starring Ann Wedgeworth, a Tony Award-winning, veteran actress best-known as the next-door neighbor in "Three's Company." This version played at the Pennsylvania Stage Company in Allentown from Jan. 18-Feb. 12, 1984. Revived in June 1987 at the WPA Theatre in New York City. This incarnation was directed by Mary B. Robinson and starred Campbell Scott, son of George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst. Miss Wedgeworth was replaced by Kathleen Nolan, a veteran television actress who won an Emmy in 1959 for her work in "The Real McCoys." Inspired by a 1981 article in the New York Times by William Robbins, "Pennsylvania Town Lives With Fire That Won't Stop." 1984 and 1987.
“The Root of Chaos,” by Douglas Soderberg. Performed Off-Off Broadway, 1987. Summerworks, Toronto, 1992.
“Centralia,” by Deryl B. Johnson. Performed at Kutztown University, 1998.
“Centralia,” a play about “the town that’s been on fire for 39 years.” WestBeth Theater, New York City. I don’t know anymore about this. The 39 years would place it in the summer of 2001.
“Inferno,” the Squonk Opera, Pittsburgh. As if Fellini or Ken Russell did the Centralia story. A rock opera. Very good. 2003.
Films
“Centralia Fire,” directed by Tony Mussari. Documentary, part of PBS’ Matters of Life and Death Series. 1984. Narrated by Martin Sheen. Dariusz Wolski, most recently director of photography on “Pirates of the Caribbean 1 & 2,” was an assistant camera. I was the consultant.
“Made in USA, “ a feature film starring the late Christopher Penn (brother of Sean), Adrian Pasdar and Lori Singer. Filmed in Mount Carmel, Centralia, and Harrisburg, Pa. Released direct-to-video in 1988. Re-released on video, 1999. About two dudes who get fed up with life in a town with a mine fire and head out across country.
"Silent Hill," 2005, directed by Christopher Gans, starring Radha Mitchell, who also starred in Woody Allen's "Melinda & Melinda." Based on the horror-survival video game series, "Silent Hill" does tell the story of a town with a mine fire burning beneath it. But the similarities to Centralia end there, despite "Centralia" being the working title of the film. Writer Roger Avary says his father told him stories about the Centralia mine fire as a boy. It was filmed in Ontario and doesn't look anything like the real Centralia, except for the spookiness when fog and steam filled the air. Still, as these things go, a good guilty pleasure sort of film.
"The Town That Was," 2007, directed by Chris Perkel and Georgie Rowland. A feature-length documentary that tells the story of the death of Centralia and focuses on John Lokitis, Jr., a man in his mid-30s who is among the last dozen or so inhabitants of what was Centralia. A poignant look at a lost cause.
Poetry
“The Centralia Mine Fire,” by Leonard Kress. Flume Press, 1987. A collection of poetry, but only the title poem is about Centralia.
Photography
“Centralia,” by Stephen Perloff, editor then and now of Photo Review magazine, Philadelphia, Ten gallery exhibitions, the first major one in 1984.
“Slow Burn,” a photography book by Renee Jacobs that includes interviews with Centralia residents. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986. Currently out-of-print, but occasionally available from used-book websites such as Amazon.com and alibris. Jacobs’ Centralia photographs were exhibited in the Book Trader Gallery, Philadelphia, in December 1986. She currently lives in Los Angeles.
Comic Book
“Carbon Knight,” by Chris Ring, 1998. Centralia fire chief Kyle McKnight fights corrupt forces who want to let the mine fire continue burning. They throw him into a burning pit and leave him for dead. Thirty years later, he rises from the fire as a half-man, half rock creature with super powers.
Other Books
"Centralia," by Dr. Deryl Johnson of Kutztown University, Arcadia Publishing. Dr. Johnson also wrote the play "Centralia" mentioned elsewhere on this page. His 128-page softcover book is a tribute to the borough of Centralia and its people and contains many historic photos. 2004.
"The Day the Earth Caved In," by Joan Quigley, an SEC lawyer. Random House. Another non-fiction account of the Centralia story. It has its moments, but her theory of how the mine fire started is unsourced and dead wrong. 2007.