Even if you are not a fan of scary movies, you have probably seen Pennywise. The creepy horror clown from It has become a staple of pop culture. But he is more than just a demon or ghost.
Stephen King published his novel It in 1986. The book is probably one of his most famous works, which has also been adapted into 3 movies (2 films as a two-part series). This is likely also due to the horror clown Pennywise, who is known even outside of the works he appears in.
If you have read or watched It, you may know that he has more forms than just the clown, but there is so much more behind his existence. With the release of the new prequel series It: Welcome to Derry, we explain everything you need to know about the creature.
A being that is billions of years old
How did Pennywise come to be? The being we know as Pennywise is billions of years old and existed long before the Earth was formed. It is a cosmic entity that originates from the macroverse. One day, millions of years before the events of the novel, it landed on Earth, where the city of Derry would later be founded.
When the first people settled in the area in 1715, the entity awakened and began a cycle. Every 25 to 28 years, Pennywise kills people, preferably children, because they experience fear more easily and thus probably taste better. Once the being has consumed
, it falls back into a kind of sleep.
The entity It is a shapeshifter, and Pennywise is one of its preferred forms. Its true form cannot be described and is only truly visible in the deadlights from the macroverse really
visible. Who looks into it dies or is likely to go insane. Basically, Pennywise can take any form it wants. It primarily uses this to exploit the fears of its victims.
In the novel and films, its final form is that of a female, pregnant spider. However, this seems to only be the physical form that the human mind can see. Thus, It resembles other cosmic beings from H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. There too, the forms of the creatures are often beyond human comprehension.
A powerful entity – with limitations
How powerful is Pennywise? The being from It can not only transform into other beings, it can also look into the memories and feelings of its victims to take on the worst forms. It can create illusions and be invisible. Thus, it can manipulate the perceptions of other people or even control them.
Pennywise also doesn’t seem to be physically bound to a location, as it can quickly move to other places. Despite its non-physical original form, it is quite strong and almost immortal. While it could be injured by weapons, it could regenerate.
Depending on fear and form, Pennywise has limitations based on its current form. If a victim can control their fear, it seems that they can also weaken Pennywise. The monster is also quite arrogant, which is why it often underestimates people and toys with them.
In It Chapter 2 from 2019, the children manage to weaken him by insulting him.
How could Pennywise be defeated? One aspect that is not included in the film adaptations is the other entity that was essential for the defeat of the Losers’ Club. The brother
of Pennywise is the turtle
, a gigantic creature that carries the Earth on its back (Source: Stephen King Wiki).
During the first defeat of Pennywise when the Losers’ Club were still children, Bill (that is, his non-physical body) encountered the brother of the monster in the macroverse. The turtle advised Bill to overcome his fear and defeat him with willpower. Contrary to the turtle’s warning, the children did not kill Pennywise, and he escaped.
27 years later, Pennywise returns, but the now adult Losers’ Club wants to finish him off once and for all. Together with the Ritual of Chüd (a mental tactic that Bill learned from the turtle) and a medicine spray, they manage to weaken the monster. Ultimately, they destroy the eggs that Pennywise laid in his form, and Bill takes the heart of the weakened monster and crushes it (Source: Screen Rant).
However, it is unclear whether Pennywise is really dead, as he is suggested to appear in other works by Stephen King.
Stephen King found clowns scary
Is Pennywise based on real-life events? In a 2019 talk show with Conan O’Brien (via YouTube), Stephen King talked about his relationship with clowns. He ironically explains:
Their faces were pale, their mouths were red, as if they were full of blood. They all scream, their eyes are huge. What’s not to like?
King believes that children found clowns scary, only parents found them funny. Clowns look like monsters. Additionally, King also mentions a personal experience with a clown. When he was supposed to fly back from a book tour, suddenly a man dressed as Ronald McDonald (the mascot of McDonald’s) sat down next to him.
The clown ordered a gin and tonic, lit a cigarette, and King could only think: What if the plane crashes? I will die next to a clown.
A special on another clown can be found here: Everyone knows the Joker, but few know what the villain really is
