It (novel)

It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The story follows the lives of seven children as they are terrorized by a demonic clown being known as "It" (also known as Pennywise, and Pennywise the Dancing Clown), which exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It" primarily appears in the form of a clown in order to attract its preferred prey of young children.

First edition cover.

The novel is told through narratives alternating between two time periods, and is largely told in the third-person mode. It deals with themes that eventually became King staples: the power of memory, childhood trauma, and the ugliness lurking behind a traditional small-town values.

The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1987, and received nominations for the Locus and World Fantasy Awards that same year. Publishers Weekly listed It as the best-selling book in the United States in 1986.

Adaptations

Popular versions of the novel have been made from a 1990 miniseries in which Pennywise is played by Tim Curry, and a duology movie series: It Chapter One (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019) in which Pennywise is played by Bill Skarsgård. A prequel television series based on the first two movies for the streaming service Max titled It: Welcome to Derry is officially in development, with Skarsgård returning as Pennywise.

The modern incarnation of Pennywise, introduced in the 2017 adaptation, appears as a background character in the family friendly live-action/animated movie Space Jam: A New Legacy, which is also distributed by Warner Bros.

Unreleased content

In 2022, there was going to be an adaptation of It that was planned to be released in India. However, it was cancelled due to not being able to have anyone play as the antagonist.