What You Need To Know About Ravencroft From Venom: Let There Be Carnage
"Venom: Let There Be Carnage" expanded the Venom-verse in some profound ways. Even beyond that mid-credits sequence, "Venom 2" brought many characters and locales from the comic books to the big screen. We got to see Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham), whose role gets much more prominent in the comics after his initial introduction (via Vulture). We saw St. Estes Home for Unwanted Children, which has a slightly different name in the comics — St. Estes Home for Unwanted Boys — but a similar role in Carnage's origin story. We also visited Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane several times, a place with a rich history on the Marvel pages.
In "Let There Be Carnage," Shriek (Naomie Harris) is taken from Cletus Kasady and put in Ravencroft and busting her out becomes one of the villain's primary goals. The Sony film did a decent job of honoring its source material, but many moviegoers might not be aware of its creepy history or other famous patients who have resided there.
Ravencroft is has creepy beginnings
According to Marvel's official history, the comics introduced the Ravencroft Institute For The Criminally Insane in 1993. Its history, however, dates back to the 15th century, according to "Ruins of Ravencroft: Carnage" #1. The land where Ravencroft was eventually built was home to a cult that worshipped Knull — the dark god responsible for the Collective Mind among Symbiotes. Strange and creepy happenings occurred on the land for several hundred years before the facility was officially built on the property at the end of the 19th century.
Many members of the Spider-Man villain group, the Sinister Six, have bunked at the facility for different periods, including Doc Ock, Mysterio, Electro, and Vulture. Carnage is also a member of the group, as depicted in the ill-fated musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark."
Ravencroft is also the birthplace of Cletus Kasady. In "Web of Venom: Carnage Born," we learn that Kasady's birth at the mental hospital had complications. He was born choking on his umbilical cord and briefly died before being brought back to life. He is institutionalized at the place of his birth after a slew of serial killings, which is a true full-circle moment for the character.