What Is Pennywise? Stephen King's IT Villain, Explained

Plenty of people might be scared of clowns, but it takes a great character to both intrigue horror fans and make them more curious about clown-kind. The dark history of Pennywise the Dancing Clown tells us he isn't actually a real clown and definitely isn't a mere mortal; as a matter of fact, he's an evil alien that's taken on the form and feature that represents the fears of the person whose energy it's trying to consume. In some versions, he's not an alien being but a cosmic one, made of energy no human can view with their eyes. He's powerful stuff, but real friendship and fearlessness from a group of much-bullied kids is enough to put him down and expel him from their dimension. 

Creepy, and scary enough to scare even the child actors who worked on the "It" miniseries. But there's much more than meets the eye when it comes to Pennywise. Where is he from? What's so special about him? And what does he have against kids, anyway? Here's a compendium of everything you need to know about the wicked, witty, tough little clown. 

According to Stephen King's novel "It," Pennywise the Dancing Clown is a alien who comes from a void that surrounds the universe. He is merciless, cruel and uncaring in his quest to feed off of the energy and flesh of whatever planet has the misfortune of hosting him. He has existed since prehistory, supping off of the energy of Native American tribes when they first entered the area. Once the land that will eventually be settled as Derry, Maine becomes more populous, Pennywise takes up a feeding cycle. The entity hibernates for thirty years at a time, then awakens and feeds for a full year before returning to unconsciousness. 

Since energy is often offered up in big doses of fear, Pennywise has figured out that the best way to get what it wants is to kill children, whose fears are easy to understand, manipulate and ascertain. That means that he must take on the form of what these children fear the most — which requires a special talent only an alien like him can offer up. While the kids never see him out of his clown costume, apparently in his purest form he is a painful kind of energy that cannot be seen with the naked eye without losing one's' sanity — deadlights. Both movie adaptations of "It" generally follow this interpretation of the character, with the creature's final form being a large spider resting on a clutch of eggs in the "It" miniseries and book.

Primarily, Pennywise is a shapeshifting creature who can take on the form of its quarry's biggest fears. Whether that's as an evil clown, a person who is abusing and bullying them, or a horrifying phenomena, Pennywise becomes that creature. When the child is distracted, weakened and shocked, Pennywise then pounces. It's implied in the television version of "It" that Pennywise literally eats his victims, which is much more blatantly portrayed in the 2017 film and Stephen King's book.

Pennywise is also a master of psychological manipulation. If one is mentally weaker than the clown, then he can change reality to match their fears and beliefs, forcing them to do exactly what he wants. That ends up leaving the clown in charge of the destiny of its victims, and ultimately and typically results in their deaths. He can also appear wherever his intended victims dwell, bending space and time to torment them. Talk about being committed to evil! Fortunately, Pennywise has weaknesses — mainly the bravery and fortitude of its opponents as well as their own imagination. That's what the Losers Club uses to defeat him, and what ultimately saves their lives.