It (character)

It
Stephen King character
Tim Curry portraying Pennywise
First appearance	It
Created by	Stephen King
Portrayed by	Tim Curry (1990 miniseries) Bill Skarsgård (2017 film)
Information
Nickname(s)	The Clown, The Giant Spider, The Deadlights
Aliases	Pennywise The Dancing Clown, Mr. Robert "Bob" Gray, Mrs. Kersh, Beverly "Bev" Marsh

It, also known as Pennywise The Dancing Clown or Bob Gray, is the title character and main antagonist of Stephen King's 1986 horror novel It. The character is a demonic entity that preys upon the local children of Derry, Maine every twenty-seven years, through a variety of powers that include the ability to shapeshift, manipulate, and possess.

King came up with the idea for Pennywise after asking himself what scared children "more than anything else in the world", which he felt was clowns. The character has been described as one of the scariest clowns in popular culture.

The character was portrayed by Tim Curry in the 1990 television adaptation of the same name; and will be portrayed by Bill Skarsgård in the upcoming 2017 film adaptation.

A monster of unknown origins, It originated before the creation of the universe itself in a dimension named the "Deadlights," and its true form is never revealed. Because of this, the Losers' Club does not know what It actually is, giving the creature its name. It usually takes the form of the sadistic clown Pennywise which is used as a decoy when stalking a child. It takes the form of a monstrous pregnant female black spider in its home under the sewers, which is believed to be close to its true physical shape. Since It controls what happens in Derry, many of the child murders are never solved, as the adults of Derry either act as though nothing is happening or have forgotten about It.

The monster arrived on Earth in the form of an asteroid during prehistory, landing on what later would become the town of Derry, and hibernated there until humans settled and colonized the area. It awoke, fed on the settlers, and started a cycle of hibernation, in which It would sleep for almost three decades and be awake for over two years. Every time It's hibernation stage finished, events of extreme violence happened in Derry. To feed on its prey, It transforms into the shape of whatever the victim most fears. This, the creature informs readers, is the equivalent of "salting the meat."