Sunnydale, California is the fictional suburban setting for
the popular television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series
creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of the
typical, anonymous, generic suburban city, as well as a narrative
parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror
movies.
Sunnydale is designed largely for comic effect and narrative
convenience. With a population of 38,500, it has one high school
but nineteen gothic cemeteries, and despite having only one modest
main street, it sports a campus of the University of California
system, many dark alleyways, abandoned mansions and factories, a
harbor, an airport, and enough actual witches to keep a magic
supply shop profitable enough to support two employees. Sunnydale
possesses many common horror-movie characteristics, most notably
the divide between it