10 Reasons Why Pennywise the Dancing Clown of Stephen King’s IT Deserves Respect”

Greetings and salutations once again counts and countesses of the night, it’s time for another terrifying top ten list straight from me to you my little darlings. This week I’ll be giving you the top ten most terrifying things you should know about Pennywise from Stephen King’s IT, which as we are all aware is hitting theaters this fall. So without any further delay let’s slip into something a little more horrifying shall we?

01- Pennywise likes to disguise itself as a clown. We all know someone who is petrified of clowns, the phobia is a common enough, and if we’re all honest there is something a little off about anyone who paints themselves up with a fake smile and tries hard to ingratiate themselves with you. Stephen King preys on our fear in IT with his Pennywise the Dancing Clown, who at times entrances us into a lull, only to send us reeling back in terror at the monster beneath the paint.

02- Pennywise expresses pure delight at the thought of filling its victims with terror. In horror, we expect our villains and monsters to be terrifying. We expect them to terrify us and ultimately to claim souls, but Pennywise is truly sadistic. Pennywise mentions how it delights in devouring its victims only after they are terrified. Pennywise is a monster that not only eats its victims, but drinks from the darkest depths of their minds in the process.

03- What’s more terrifying than a clown that lives for scaring the hell out of you before ultimately claiming your life as its prize? Well coming in at the number eight spot is its power of persuasion. Pennywise has the power to alter the perception of an entire town, it feeds on the people of the town and all the while keeps them completely blind to the fact that they are being preyed upon. In the world of Pennywise the people of Derry are sheep in a slaughterhouse that they are completely unaware that they are in. Pennywise is able to alter reality for an entire town of people making them forget about their own children or turn a blind eye to evil deeds done in the light of the day. Pennywise can even manipulate others to kill for it as it does with one of the main characters of our story, Henry Bowers.

04- If these aren’t enough to have you in awe of Pennywise, worry not, because at the number seven spot is the ability to enter the dreams of its would-be victims. Now you might say this falls under persuasion, but let me show you where you’re wrong. Pennywise isn’t content with stalking its prey, it likes to prey on the psyche of its victims as well. Pennywise time and again enters the dreams of the people of Derry having them wake up in cold sweats or wide-awake for fear of falling under its spell. Pennywise wears people down making them struggle to maintain a grip on reality and making it hard for them to ever feel truly safe.

05- We’re nearing the halfway mark in our list and we have already got a truly formidable beast to handle here. Coming in at the number six spot is the origin of Pennywise. Pennywise is often interpreted as being a demonic being that exists to torment the living, but this is not a completely accurate interpretation of it. Pennywise is not of this world at all, its origins lie somewhere in the deep, dark, and mysterious vacuum of space. Pennywise is a being from out of this world that possesses an intellect and foresight that eludes mere mortals. Its mysterious origins add to the fear factor that Pennywise brings to the table.

06- The unnatural connection between Pennywise and the town of Derry itself. Pennywise is like a parasite dependent on the town of Derry for its survival and a bane to the town as it preys on the youngest members of the town. Pennywise buries itself deep into the center Derry and its connection to the town is so eerie it makes us wonder if the town itself is the monster all along. Influences on Pennywise or actions taken against Pennywise have adverse impacts on the town itself.

07- We’ve reached the final four spots and we’ve saved the best for last. The longevity of Pennywise is next on our list. If you’ve read the novel, you know that Pennywise has been in the area of Derry since before men arrived in the area. The suggestion that Pennywise has always been around and has been waiting for the arrival of man to feed it suggests a level of immortality and prescience that only serves to add to our unease.

08- Pennywise can only truly be seen by children or those that it allows itself to be seen by. Pennywise can terrorize and prey on the people of its town with impunity as its victims can only see it when Pennywise allows them too. Appearing as a creepy clown or werewolf is horrifying enough, but sometimes it’s the things we can’t see that are the most terrifying of all. The fact that Pennywise can really only be seen by children makes it that much more terrifying because it isolates the most vulnerable among us from those who should protect them.

09- Need another reason to check your closet for our otherworldly denizen? How about the power of shapeshifting? Now as you’ve no doubt guessed Pennywise possesses he ability to shapeshift into whatever form that it desires to take. We mentioned that its clown form is particularly unsettling earlier in our list, but its power over form-changing is truly intimidating. When Pennywise isn’t luring innocents to their deaths in the form of our favorite clown, it’s taking on the form of monstrosities that embody our deepest and darkest fears. The power of Pennywise to slip into the form of people we know and faces we trust is just as terrifying as its power to shapeshift into what we fear the most.

10- The final spot on our list is perhaps the most terrifying aspect of Pennywise, is its deadlights. The true form of Pennywise is a mass of light that is blinding and holds power over the minds of those it wishes to influence. Not only can Pennywise drive its victims mad if they should stare into its deadlights, but prolonged exposure to the deadlights can cost a person their life. So if you should happen to catch a glimpse of bright light zipping across the sky at breakneck speed, be warned it might not be a shooting star, it just might be IT and its deadlights hunting for souls in the shadows.