Where It All Goes Down
Steepleton, New Jersey
Steepleton might be made up, but it is just like many other small towns across the United States in that it's inhabitants are primarily white, Christian, and upper-crust (read: plenty of money). As much as it's pretty much Anytown, U.S.A., though, the defining trait for our purposes is its size. Because in a town this small, everyone's all up in everyone else's business, and while it makes a mess of people's lives and causes all sorts of drama, there also isn't a whole lot else to do. Unlike an urban setting, the smallness of Steepleton is key to the perpetuation of the rumor mill.
Also, Steepleton is safe. We mean like leave-your-doors-unlocked and let-your-kids-roam-around-at-night safe. And this matters to the people that live here—it's probably part of why some of them live here—which makes it hard for folks to accept the idea that bad stuff can happen in their bucolic little town.
But as with most towns, too, Steepleton also has its rough neighborhood and tough crowd from around the way, in this case the people called the boons (because they're from the boondocks). These kids are not "from" Steepleton in the same way as the wealthy (and popular) kids, and instead they are poor, troubled, put-upon, misunderstood kids just trying to get through the day. So there's a built-in tension to the town, a dynamic that sets up easy targets should, say, someone's kid go missing.