It (character)

Last updated

Pennywise
Stephen King character
Pennywise Skarsgard and Curry.png
Top: Tim Curry as Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries
Bottom: Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in the 2017 film
First appearance It (1986)
Last appearance It – Welcome to Derry (2025)
Created by Stephen King
Portrayed by
Motion captureVarious, including Javier Botet [5] [6]
In-universe information
Full nameUnknown (possibly nameless)
AliasesIt (sometimes capitalized as "IT")
Pennywise the Dancing Clown
Robert "Bob" Gray
The Derry Disease
Eater of Worlds
The Deadlights
the Shapeshifter
The Glamour
The Monster
The Eternal
The Taelus
Consumption
SpeciesAlien
GenderFemale (in spider form)
Male presenting (in Pennywise form)
OccupationClown (false identity)
RelativesThe Other (creator)
OriginThe Macroverse

It, commonly known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown or simply Pennywise, is the titular main antagonist of Stephen King's 1986 horror novel It. The character is an ancient, trans-dimensional malevolent entity who preys upon the children (and sometimes adults) of Derry, Maine, roughly every 27 years, using a variety of supernatural powers that include the abilities to shapeshift and manipulate reality. Over the course of the story, It primarily appears in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. A group of Derry children who call themselves the "Losers Club" becomes aware of Its presence after it kills Bill Denbrough's little brother, Georgie. Pennywise was portrayed by Tim Curry in the 1990 television adaptation and by Bill Skarsgård in the 2017 film adaptation, its 2019 sequel It Chapter Two and the upcoming HBO Max series It: Welcome to Derry .

Contents

Inspired by fairytale trolls, King conceived of a shapeshifting entity living in the sewers that could embody whatever frightened its target most. Pennywise became the central form It used to lure children — appearing to be a harmless clown. Scholars and critics have noted the effectiveness of this design as clowns are commonly viewed as uncanny (both in the sense of coulrophobia and in uncanny valleys).

Across the various adaptations of It, Pennywise's visual performance evolution reinforced coulrophobia. Curry's performance in the 1990 miniseries emphasized charm masking a hidden evil, while Skarsgård's version leaned into overt horror with twitchy movements and an inhuman stare. Critics praised Skarsgård's performance as sadistic and alien. Scholars also note how its various forms channeled classic childhood fears while also reflecting deeper social issues.

Concept

King stated in a 2013 interview that he came up with the idea for Pennywise after determining that what children feared "more than anything else in the world" was clowns. [7] [8] After finishing The Stand, King was walking across a bridge in Colorado when he imagined a troll like the one in the children's tale "Three Billy Goats Gruff", [9] [10] though he imagined it living in a sewer system rather than under a bridge. He said the whole story "just bounced" into his head; in particular the fact that It could shapeshift. [10] [11] In 1985, while publishing Skeleton Crew , a book of short fiction, King conceived of the character as a "final exam on horror" featuring various childhood monsters, resulting in a shapeshifting creature that embodies fear. [12] He said he thought he was done writing about monsters, and wanted to "bring on all the monsters one last time…and call it "It" [13] .

In the novel, the Losers believe the creature to be a taelus, a Himalayan creature that reads minds and assumes the shape of whatever its target fears most, similar to a boggart. It scares its victims first because it feeds on their fear, especially that of children. [14] Commentators have thus noted that It is a Lovecraftian horror dwelling beneath Derry. [15]

In the 1990 miniseries, Tim Curry's Pennywise was designed to initially look like a regular circus clown. Special effects artist Bart Mixon avoided making Pennywise look like a monster at first glance, saying "90% of the time he's suckering kids in." [16] [17] He began drawing concepts for how Pennywise would look before Curry was cast, researching the looks of most other clowns for inspiration. [18] Original storyboards for Pennywise featured exaggerated cheekbones, a sharp chin, and a bulbous forehead. [19] There are no overtly inhuman features apparent in Curry's Pennywise until It attacks. Curry and his team found it most effective to let Curry's facial expressions carry the horror instead. [16]

In the 2017 and 2019 films, director Andy Muschietti chose a new interpretation of the character's look and feel. Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise is more overtly creepy, less humorous, and stands out more. Muschietti said that he wanted to stay true to the character's essence, and that Skarsgård caught his attention. [20] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, costume designer Janie Bryant explained that Pennywise's suit was inspired by various historical eras, including the Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan, and Victorian periods. [21] Bryant said she wanted Pennywise to feel more organic, drawing on King's description of him wearing a silvery-gray clown suit. [22] Muschietti said he wanted Pennywise to look older than a typical 20th-century clown, since the creature had existed for thousands of years. He felt that modern clowns looked "cheap" and were too tied to social events and circuses, saying he preferred the look of 19th-century clowns. [23] Thus, he and his sister Barbara (the film's producer) decided to use the 1800s and earlier periods as an inspiration. [24] [25] Muschietti often kept Pennywise hidden in shadows or out of the camera's focus; a critic observed that Pennywise was a "jittering, twitching mess of a monster" whose form is constantly unsettling and unpredictable. [26] Even Pennywise's eyes have unsettling tricks to them, where one eye subtly drifts off into another direction, giving him a not-quite-human stare. [27] One analysis noted that Skarsgård's Pennywise was a "sadistic predator" who took pleasure from killing. [26]

Shapeshifting abilities

It can shapeshift and takes many forms throughout the novel, though its most iconic form is Pennywise the Dancing Clown — described as wearing a silvery suit with orange pom-poms, big white gloves, red hair, and a big clown smile painted over his mouth. [28] [29] Other forms It takes include Georgie (as well as his rotting corpse), [30] a leper, [31] a mummy, [29] [32] and a witch. [29] [33] [a] It is also seen impersonating various children and adults (both living and dead) from Derry in order to scare, taunt, or manipulate its prey, particularly the Losers. [29] [34]

Its true form, however, is unknown. It is said that the closest the human mind can come to perceiving It is the "deadlights," which are capable of hypnotizing or killing anyone who stares into them. [35] [36] [37] The only person to survive the ordeal is Bill's wife Audra, although she is rendered temporarily catatonic by the experience. In the films, it captures Beverly Marsh and shows her the deadlights, causing her to float and temporarily lose consciousness. In It Chapter Two, it is revealed that this experience resulted in Beverly having visions of the future. Ben comes dangerously close to seeing the deadlights and the shape behind the lights for a brief moment. He described it as an endless, crawling, hairy creature made of orange light. [36] The final physical form It is seen in during the Losers' final battle is that of a monstrous giant spider that lays eggs. [36]

Throughout the novel, It is generally referred to as male, even by itself, calling itself "Mr. Bob Gray" and taking a male form as Pennywise the Clown. However, when confronting its spider form, the characters find out that the creature is most likely female, due to its final form in the physical realm being that of a giant female spider that was also pregnant. [14] [36]

Appearances

Appearances in the novel

Ronald McDonald cheers during the Special Olympics opening ceremony at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, Nov 111105-F-ZT401-232 (cropped).jpg
Andy Amyx as Bozo (cropped).jpg
Clarabell the Clown Howdy Doody.JPG
In the novel, Pennywise is described as a cross between Ronald McDonald, Bozo, and Clarabell the Clown.

In the novel, It is a shapeshifting alien billions of years old who usually takes the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, originating in a void containing and surrounding the universe — a place referred to in the novel as the "macroverse". Bill believes that It, along with the Turtle (Its benevolent equivalent), was created by an entity known as the "Other" (a mysterious, benevolent force beyond both It and the Turtle). [38] It came to Earth in an asteroid crash and settled beneath the area that would become Derry. [37] It slept for millions of years, then woke when humans arrived. It began a year-long or two years-long cycle of feeding on fear, taking the form of whatever its victims feared most. After feeding, It would go back into hibernation for about twenty-seven years before reappearing. It prefers to feed on children because their fears are easier to understand, and adults are harder to scare. [14] It can control weak-minded people, either making them ignore the horrors around them or turning them into accomplices, such as when Pennywise manipulates the school bully, Henry Bowers, to eliminate the remaining members of the Losers' Club. [14] It also manipulates Beverly's husband Tom Rogan to capture Audra and bring her to its lair in an attempt to use her as bait for the Losers. [39] [40]

In the novel, It uses the name Robert "Bob" Gray, but is often referred to in the book as "It" with a capital I. [b] The Losers come to believe It may be female after seeing its spider form and the eggs it laid. [14] [36] However, during the Ritual of Chüd, Bill briefly sees its true form: a mass of swirling, destructive orange lights called the "deadlights." [41] [36] [37] The Ritual of Chüd is a psychic and spiritual battle of wills between Bill (and, during adulthood, Richie as well) and It. Bill metaphorically "bites down" on its tongue with humor and childish beliefs such as Santa Claus, and the two engage in a sort of mind-to-mind duel across the macroverse. [42]

In parts of the novel, the story is told from Its perspective, where It sees itself as superior and considers the Turtle an equal and humans mere "toys." [37] Its hibernation periods begin and end with horrific events, such as the disappearance of all 300 settlers from Derry Township from 1740–43 (in which the settlers disappeared without a trace, without explanation) or the ironworks explosion in 1906 (a disaster that killed children during an Easter egg hunt). It woke during a major storm that flooded part of Derry in 1957. Bill's younger brother Georgie was the first of many victims. The Losers eventually fought the creature, and Bill used the Ritual of Chüd to badly injure It and send it back into hibernation. It is continually surprised by the children's victories in battle and near the end of the book, it begins to question its preconceived notions of superiority. However, It never believes that the individual children are strong enough to defeat it, only through the Other working through them as a group could they have won in battle. [14] It is finally killed 27 years later after a second Ritual of Chüd, [36] causing an enormous storm to damage downtown Derry. [43] [44]

Appearances in film and television

In the 1990 miniseries, Pennywise is portrayed by English actor Tim Curry. [45] The story remains mostly the same compared to the novel, except the duration of Its resting periods is extended from 27 years to 30 years. [46]

In the 2017 film adaptation, It, its 2019 sequel It Chapter Two , and its prequel television series It – Welcome to Derry , Pennywise is portrayed by Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård. [47] [48] English actor Will Poulter was originally cast as Pennywise, with Curry describing the role as a "wonderful part" and wishing Poulter the best of luck, but the latter dropped out of the production due to scheduling conflicts and the first film's original director Cary Fukunaga leaving the project. [49] IndieWire's Jamie Righetti says the most obvious difference between the book and the films is the time difference — the novel, for instance, has Georgie's death in 1957 and Its final defeat in 1985, [50] but the films have these events in 1989 and 2016 respectively. Righetti also notes that in the film the characters do not manage to recover Georgie's body. The classic horror movie villains Pennywise shapeshifts into are also gone from the films, although the leper does make an appearance. [50] In It Chapter Two, Pennywise's final form changes from a giant spider to what Forbes' Dani Di Placido described as a "giant clown spider". [51] The storm that ensues after Pennywise's defeat is replaced with the destruction of the house where the battle took place.

Skarsgård's Pennywise appears as a background character in the family-friendly film Space Jam: A New Legacy , which is also distributed by Warner Bros. [52] In 2023, it was originally announced that Skarsgård would not be participating in the prequel series It – Welcome to Derry because he wanted to leave the character behind and focus on other roles, [53] [4] but by 2025 he had changed his mind. [3]

Analysis

Several scholars have interpreted Pennywise as a cultural metaphor for real-world anxieties of the time the story takes place. [54] Scholar Whitney S. May writes that Pennywise's return in the films reflects a broader resurgence of the "evil clown" figure in popular culture. [55] Another scholar similarly sees the character as an embodiment of the 1980s moral panics, resurfacing once every generation to scare adults and children. [54] Independent scholar Erin Giannini writes in an essay that Pennywise embodies the fear of stranger danger, a fear that spans generations and is not tied to a specific era. [56] Writer Keith Currie describes Pennywise's shapeshifting into iconic horror villains as "a dark love-letter to the genre" and considers Pennywise as one of King's most memorable creations. [57] Academic Margaret J. Yankovich also interprets Pennywise as a representation of personal or historical trauma that must be confronted. [58]

Literary scholars have observed that It uses Pennywise to represent the collective evil of Derry. Stephen King scholar Tony Magistrale says that the novel shows how Derry "institutionalize[s] child abuse" so much that "Pennywise's actions merely reflect the town's general indifference towards its children." [59] In this sense, the clown is a mirror to the town's worst impulses. Critic Adrian Daub of the Los Angeles Review of Books notes that King does not distinguish between the supernatural horrors committed by It and the everyday evils displayed by the town's residents, such as racism. [60] These mundane cruelties are not simply caused by It, but are a replica of its nature; the novel frequently draws direct comparisons between Derry and the creature. University of Technology Sydney associate professor Penny Crofts writes that the Derry townspeople are somewhat complicit in Pennywise's crimes through their inaction and inability to stop them. She cites the homophobic murder of Adrian Mellon at the start of the book as an example. [61] Crofts compares the case of Pennywise to real-life convicted sex offender Larry Nassar, writing that both Pennywise and Nassar were shielded by the people around them while they committed crimes "with seeming impunity". [61] Giannini writes that in Derry, there is almost no protection for the Losers or the other children in the town from either Pennywise or from Derry's less supernatural horrors of racism and abuse. [56]

Yankovich also writes that Pennywise was the very origin of the evil that haunted Derry every generation, [58] and another scholar adds that Pennywise and school bully Patrick Hockstetter serve as two sides of the same Stephen King trope: Hockstetter was compared to Derry's raw, human sickness, while she saw Pennywise as an abject supernatural terror. [62] According to Falakata College assistant professor Diganta Roy, Pennywise and Derry act as mirrors of the hatred and psychotic rage of the Derry townspeople. [44] Roy also contends that Pennywise's defeat caries dual meaning: it portrays the Losers as child heroes that challenge the very social norms aimed to protect them, and it marks a turning point in the Losers' transition adulthood. In this view, It is a coping mechanism to help the Losers find a sense of belonging. [44] Yankovich observes that It naturally takes the form of a child's worst fear; for example, it appears to Eddie (a germaphobe) in the form of a leper, a physical manifestation of contamination and disease, or in other words, abjection. [58]

Yankovich also examined the role of amnesia, noting that it was caused by the Derry townspeople denying the reality of the traumatic events they witnessed, which also created mass collective guilt; Pennywise, Yankovich writes, was able to feed off of the people of Derry for so long by making sure they never got to fully face their fears. [58]

Hannah Lina Schneeberger and Maria Wiegel from the University of Cologne argue that although Stephen King never cited John Wayne Gacy as an influence for Pennywise, that the two of them reflect the 1980s American ethos. [63] They point to the interconnectedness of Pennywise, Gacy, and the white middle-class suburb of Derry as a representation of broader American society. Derry is a homogeneous place that represses things which its townspeople see as undesirable using racism and bigotry; hence, according to them, It reflects the anxieties faced by its victims. Both Pennywise and Gacy's clown personas present the illusion of a friendly, everyday clown while concealing something far more sinister. [63] They argue that Pennywise embodies not just Derry, but each of its neighborhoods and sub-communities. [63] In one scene, Bill muses to himself on the flight to Maine from London that Pennywise had been in Derry for so long that perhaps the Derry townsfolk had come to understand the creature. [63] [64] On a related note, Giannini believes that Pennywise embodies the fear of stranger danger. [56] Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns also compared Pennywise to Gacy, concluding that Gacy was a key part of the moral panics of the 1980s. [54] Pagnoni Berns concludes in his essay that Pennywise feeds from the fears of the people of Derry much like moral panics do throughout history. [54]

Scholars have also explored deeper themes behind Pennywise's defeat. In It Chapter Two, the Losers confront the creature not with physical weapons but by standing up to It and mocking it, reducing it from a monstrous figure to a withered shell. One academic essay suggests that It is ultimately about how people relate to their own fears. [65] Pennywise draws strength from fear and imagination, and is therefore weak against those who have overcome their fears. [65]

Reception

Tim Curry cropped (cropped).jpg
Bill Skarsgard by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Tim Curry (left) and Bill Skarsgard's (right) performances as Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries and the two-part film adaptations, respectively, received widespread critical acclaim.

Scholars and critics say that Pennywise represents a turning point in how clowns are seen in popular culture, shifting their image from harmless jesters to scary villains; a 2018 study by Michelle Gompf found that It was pivotal in cementing clowns as inherently evil. [66] While the creature takes many forms, critics such as Currie note that Pennywise is the most memorable. [57] Some scholars suggest that Pennywise's shapeshifting reflects deep psychological anxieties, thus subverting the clown's traditional role as a figure of fun. [57]

The Atlantic said of the character: "The scariest thing about Pennywise, though, is how he preys on children's deepest fears, manifesting the monsters they're most petrified by." [67] British scholar Mikita Brottman has also said of the miniseries version of Pennywise; "one of the most frightening of evil clowns to appear on the small screen" and that it "reflects every social and familial horror known to contemporary America". [68]

Writer James Smythe wrote that Curry's performance as Pennywise largely contributed to the character's enduring fame. [69] Critics on Rotten Tomatoes praised Curry's performance, calling his portrayal "savage, sneering malevolence." [70]

Rolling Stone praised Skarsgård's performance in 2019 as a "phobic masterpiece", adding that "onscreen, he feels like he's burrowing into your psyche". [71] Even Skarsgård and Stephen King themselves were scared by the character, with Skarsgård telling Entertainment Weekly that he started seeing the character in his dreams after filming [72] [73] and King saying in a Reddit post that he would not revisit It because it was "too scary, even for me." [74] On Rotten Tomatoes, critics rated Skarsgård's performance in 2017 as his highest up until that point. [75]

A survey by the University of South Wales indicated that movie clowns such as Pennywise or the Joker contribute at least partially to some people's coulrophobia. [76] Audiences and critics reacted to the 2017 and 2019 film adaptations of It with a mix of fear and fascination; reviewer Katie Kilkenny of Pacific Standard felt that clowns "remain forever terrifying." [57] Gompf's examining of Pennywise's appeal found that a subset of viewers expressed an attraction or affinity toward Skarsgård's Pennywise. She saw this as the result of either the actor himself or a broader pop-culture trend of romanticizing charismatic anti-heroes such as Loki or Hannibal Lecter. [66] Gompf also noted that fans were debating the appeal of Pennywise's new design amongst themselves; early promotional images of Skarsgård in costume divided fans over whether the character was too frightening or not frightening enough. [66] She said that in particular, Pennywise's visual aesthetic, facial expressions, and posture helped create a sense of dread in viewers. [66]

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes lauded Skarsgård's performance for its ferocity and creativity, while still comparing it to Curry's performance in the 1990 miniseries. [77] They felt that Skarsgård leaned more into unnatural and alien-like behaviors (his posture and stillness, for example) to make the audience feel uneasy. [77]

Association with 2016 clown sightings

"I suspect it's a kind of low-level hysteria, like Slender Man, or the so-called Bunny Man, who purportedly lurked in Fairfax County, Virginia, wearing a white hood with long ears and attacking people with a hatchet or an axe. The clown furor will pass, as these things do, but it will come back, because under the right circumstances, clowns really can be terrifying."

—Stephen King's reaction to the recurring clown scare phenomenon. [78]

The character was suggested as a possible motive for two incidents of people dressing up as clowns in Northampton, England and Staten Island, New York, US, both during 2014. [7] [79] In 2016, appearances of "evil clowns" were reported by the media, including nine people in Alabama, US arrested on suspicion of "clown-related activity". [80] Several newspaper articles suggested that the character of Pennywise was an influence, which led to King commenting that people should react less hysterically to the sightings and not take his work seriously. [79]

The first reported sighting of people dressed as evil clowns in Greenville, South Carolina, US was by a small boy who spoke to his mother about a pair of clowns that had attempted to lure him away. [81] Additional creepy clown sightings were reported in other parts of South Carolina. [82] Evil clowns were reported in several other U.S. states including North Carolina, [83] Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming. [84] Later, "clown sightings" were reported in Great Britain, [85] Australia, [86] Germany, [87] Israel, [88] and Latin America. [89]

One hypothesis for the wave of 2016 clown sightings was a viral marketing campaign for Muschietti's 2017 It film. [90] [91] A spokesperson for New Line Cinema (the film's distributor) released a statement claiming that "New Line is absolutely not involved in the rash of clown sightings." [92]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In this form, It introduces Itself to Beverly Marsh as "Mrs. Kersh".
  2. ↑ This is why the "I" in "It" is capitalized in this article when referring to the character.

References

  1. ↑ Paquette, Jenifer (2012). Respecting The Stand: A Critical Analysis of Stephen King's Apocalyptic Novel. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 162–163. ISBN   978-0-7864-7001-3 . Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  2. ↑ "IT: CHAPTER 2 Announces Its Release Date". Nerdist . September 26, 2017. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Andreeva, Nellie (May 30, 2024). "'Welcome To Derry': Bill Skarsgård To Reprise Pennywise Role In 'It' Prequel On Max". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on May 30, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Jacobs, Eammon. "Bill Skarsgard is returning to play Pennywise for the 3rd time. Here's everything we know about 'IT: Welcome to Derry.'". Business Insider. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  5. ↑ Andy Muschietti, director. (September 8, 2017). It (Motion picture). Produced by Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Barbara Muschietti. Screenplay by Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman. Music by Benjamin Wallfisch. Edited by Jason Ballantine. Cinematography by Chung-Hoon Chung. New Line Cinema Presents in Association with RatPac-Dune Entertainment, A Vertigo Entertainment/Lin Pictures/KatzSmith Production. Botet's screen credit as a cast-member portraying the character "Hobo" in "It" (2017) occurs at 2hr 11min 08sec. OCLC   1013560941.
  6. ↑ Andy Muschietti, director. (September 6, 2019). It Chapter Two (Motion picture). Produced by Barbara Muschietti, Dan Lin, Roy Lee. Screenplay by Gary Dauberman. Cinematography by Checco Varese. Edited by Jason Ballantine. Music by Benjamin Wallfisch. A New Line Cinema, Double Dream, Vertigo Entertainment and Rideback Production. Botet's screen credit as a cast-member portraying the characters "Hobo" and "The Witch" in It Chapter Two occurs at 2hr 45min 15sec. OCLC   1126676722.
  7. 1 2 Radford, Benjamin (2016). Bad Clowns. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN   978-0-8263-5667-3 . Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  8. ↑ Chapman, Tom. "Floating The Idea: Stephen King Explains How He Created Pennywise In 'It'". Horror. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  9. ↑ King, Stephen. "IT Inspiration". StephenKing.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  10. 1 2 Collis, Clark (September 30, 2022). "'The Stephen King Ultimate Companion' book: The most interesting things we learned". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  11. ↑ Magistrale, Tony (2003). Hollywood's Stephen King (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 186. ISBN   978-0-312-29320-8.
  12. ↑ Cruz, Gilbert (November 3, 2009). "It | Stephen King on His 10 Longest Novels". Time. ISSN   0040-781X . Retrieved August 24, 2025. I thought to myself, 'Why don't you write a final exam on horror, and put in all the monsters that everyone was afraid of as a kid? Put in Frankenstein, the werewolf, the vampire, the mummy, the giant creatures that ate up New York in the old B movies. Put 'em all in there.'
  13. ↑ Smythe, James (May 28, 2013). "Rereading Stephen King, chapter 21: It". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved August 24, 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 King, Stephen (1986). IT (Amazon Kindle ed.). New York, NY: Viking. pp. 1030–1032. ISBN   978-0-670-81302-5.
  15. ↑ Weiss, Josh (August 8, 2022). "We all float down here: Cast & crew of 'IT' miniseries reflect on Tim Curry's Pennywise in wake of new documentary". SYFY. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  16. 1 2 Barkan, Jonathan (August 25, 2017). "IT Miniseries Makeup Artist Bart Mixon Talks Working With Tim Curry and His Pennywise Design". Dread Central. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  17. ↑ Alter, Ethan (November 17, 2015). "Back to Derry: An Oral History of 'Stephen King's It'". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  18. ↑ Squires, John (July 15, 2016). "Rare Photo Shows Curry Unused Pennywise Concept Makeup". Dread Central . Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  19. ↑ Alter, Ethan (November 17, 2015). "Back to Derry: An Oral History of 'Stephen King's It'". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  20. ↑ Miska, Brad (July 19, 2017). "Here's Why Bill Skarsgård Was Cast as Pennywise in 'IT'". Bloody Disgusting . Archived from the original on July 19, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  21. ↑ Yahoo Movies Staff (August 16, 2016). "'It' First Look: A New Close-Up of Pennywise's Creepy Costume". Yahoo! Movies . Archived from the original on August 24, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  22. ↑ Bowman, Kristen (June 6, 2018). "FASHION, FILM AND A FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATICS". The Brenau Collaborative. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  23. ↑ Cranswick, Amie (August 25, 2017). "New poster for Stephen King's It, director discusses Pennywise design". Flickering Myth. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  24. ↑ Scott, Ryan (August 22, 2016). "Why Stephen King Had Nothing to Do with the IT Movie". MovieWeb . Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  25. ↑ Evry, Max (July 27, 2017). "IT Set Visit Takes Us Back to King Country". Coming Soon. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  26. 1 2 Lore, Justin (September 10, 2017). "Review: IT (2017)". Cinepunx. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Bill Skarsgard's creepy eye trick worked for 'IT': Director". The Times of India. September 9, 2017. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  28. ↑ King 1986, pp. 13–15.
  29. 1 2 3 4 Smythe, James (May 28, 2013). "Rereading Stephen King, chapter 21: It". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  30. ↑ King 1986, p. 1053.
  31. ↑ King 1986, pp. 316–318.
  32. ↑ King 1986, pp. 214–218.
  33. ↑ King 1986, pp. 573–582.
  34. ↑ King 1986, pp. 263–265.
  35. ↑ Gompf, Michelle (January 1, 2020). ""The Disturbing Appeal of Pennywise"". The Many Lives of IT edited by Ron Riekki.
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 King 1986, pp. 1064–1083.
  37. 1 2 3 4 King 1986, pp. 1023–1024.
  38. ↑ King 1986, p. 1070.
  39. ↑ King 1986, pp. 1000–1003.
  40. ↑ King 1986, pp. 1031–1032.
  41. ↑ Loiselle, André (2020). "Wuh-We Do It: The Losers' Club and Collaborative Leadership in It". In Riekki, Ron (ed.). The Many Lives of It: Essays on the Stephen King Horror Franchise (Amazon Kindle ed.). McFarland. Location 4008. ISBN   978-1476680187.
  42. ↑ King 1986, p. 1073.
  43. ↑ King 1986, pp. 1105–1125.
  44. 1 2 3 Roy, Diganta (2022). "Floating Fears: Understanding Childhood Traumascapes in Stephen King's It". In May, Whitney S. (ed.). Encountering Pennywise: Critical Perspectives on Stephen King's IT. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. pp. 43–59. ISBN   978-1-4968-4224-4.
  45. ↑ Paquette, Jenifer (2012). Respecting The Stand: A Critical Analysis of Stephen King's Apocalyptic Novel. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 162–163. ISBN   978-0-7864-7001-3 . Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  46. ↑ Amos, Steve (September 3, 2017). "Stephen King's IT – The Book Vs The 1990 TV Miniseries" . Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  47. ↑ Kroll, Justin (June 2, 2016). "'It' Reboot Taps 'Hemlock Grove' Star Bill Skarsgard to Play Pennywise the Clown". Variety . Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  48. ↑ Squires, John (May 20, 2025). "'Welcome to Derry' Trailer Heads to 1962 and Brings Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise Back to Life". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
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