As an incidental instigator of most rumor-related disappointments, rumors can always be wrong. The wrongness can be drastic (Welcome to Derry) or slight (Hellraiser 3 getting repped). Spec and rumors are not for hope or hype unless you want to be disappointed (and I have Tottenham for that).
Another vital part of spec season is totality. It can be hard to remember how rumors progress throughout the year. Fans tend to view it in snapshots of time when it’s not. It’s a mystery where bits of different rumors may provide a separate truth. So, remembering ALL of the rumors really helps gain a better understanding of what might be actually happening. What do I mean by that? Well, what did first couple of Nightmares spec maps have for the Hollywood and New York zones? An anniversary carnival zone AND a clown zone. The “cemetery” rumor is the new rumor. More so, the *original* verbiage of that rumor was strictly Caretaker/Cindy. The cemetery aspect came later. Is the Shady Oak cemetery aspect a true rumor or Caretaker-based speculation? I don’t know. However, I do see how Caretaker and Cindy, in Hollywood, also fits the idea of a carnival icon zone in Hollywood. Combine that idea with the rumor the icons are getting (potentially) divisive re-designs—and I think making them better fit a carnival environment would fit that bill—maybe the “cemetery” aspect is wrong in Hollywood and the original rumor was accurate.
But what about the NYC platform? Its marble finish definitely implies a potential cemetery, but can it ONLY be a cemetery? Just because there’s a rumored cemetery, doesn’t mean it has to be a cemetery. Again, totality. Could it also just be a stage in a New York park? What about the apparent photo op areas also getting setup around NYC? How, potentially, do photo-ops fit a cemetery? Don’t photo-ops better fit popular characters? Nothing in NYC (so far) fits Fortnitemares, but photo-ops do fit IP clowns. Photo ops could also fit icons, but the icon zone rumor was a carnival which fits Hollywood better. So, until we see a mausoleum or headstones or gates (the visual cornerstone of a cemetery) we don’t actually know NYC is a cemetery. It could still be anything. And, even if it IS a cemetery, I could see a story where Jack and Oddy are “resurrecting” previous characters.
Now, to KKfOS. Let’s just assume, the zone is just a marble stage in a NYC park. What do we do with that? Well, we have two popular, merch-friendly, indie IPs featuring clowns, with HHN-friendly creators. Terrifier takes place in a fictional town near NYC. Killer Klowns can take place anywhere. Cause aliens. So, speculating… what if the zone is the Killer Klowns and Art teaming up to destroy New York? Suddenly, the not explicitly cemetery stage still fits, the rumors remain in place and explained, and the fragments of information give us a different truth.
And even that can be wrong. If you want the truth given to you, you have to wait until everything is announced. If you can accept being wrong, want to work the puzzle, and recognize that the journey is not the destination, that’s speculation.