'Pennywise' Real-Life Inspiration, IT's Evil Clown Based On True Crimes, Phobia And A Serial Killer

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns. According to reports, around 50% of adults experience this through varying degrees of apprehension around clowns. And if the clown is a demonic supernatural entity that brutally slaughters children, creates carnage in its wake, and is named 'Pennywise', then it is safe to assume that the percentage would be much higher. Stephen King created this fictional, evil jester in his 1986 novel IT, which has been the subject of nightmares for children and adults alike. 

However, have you ever wondered where the author found the inspiration to mix dark horror with colourful clown narratives? 'Pennywise' is Stephen King's creative imagination; however, his creation was inspired by many real-life events and people. So, here's everything that we know about It: Welcome to Derry's 'Pennywise'. 

'Pennywise' was inspired by the heightened cases of child kidnappings of the 80s, known as 'stranger danger'

The 80s, when Stephen King wrote IT, were a time when every parent lived in fear for their children's lives. Incessant cases of child kidnappings and murders were witnessed in this decade. Known as 'stranger danger', there was a panic among families. In fact, the U.S.A. President of the time, Ronald Reagan, also had to address these unprecedented rates of crimes against children and campaigned for the safety of families. 'Pennywise' is known to lure children and hurt them. This trait of the demonic clown reportedly stemmed from what Stephen King saw around him and in the news every day. 

Serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who dressed up as a clown, might have inspired 'Pennywise'

John Wayne Gacy was sentenced to death in 1980 after being found guilty of 33 murders. He would dress up as a clown and also perform at birthday parties and children's hospitals. Unfortunately, most of his victims had also been young men and underage boys. After his heinous crimes came to light, John Wayne Gacy was called 'Killer Clown'. Although Stephen King has never mentioned whether 'Pennywise' is based on the serial killer or not, the similarities are too many to ignore. The 'stranger danger' panic of the 80s also sparked more after the crimes of the 'Killer Clown', and made people quite apprehensive of the reality behind the white-painted clown faces, who were easily trusted by children. Also, it is worth noting that Stephen King wrote IT eight years after the death of John Wayne Gacy. 

Stephen King has a phobia of clowns, which helped him to write the scary clown trope of IT: Welcome to Derry's 'Pennywise'

'Pennywise' is a supernatural entity capable of shapeshifting. Fairytale stories of trolls who live under bridges inspired Stephen King as he fleshed out his IT antagonist. However, instead of a bridge, King made the entity live in a sewer and also made him shapeshift into a clown, primarily due to the author's own phobia of them. In a chat with Conan O'Brien, Stephen King said that, as a child, he found the white-painted faces, wide, blood-red lips, and eerie smiles of clowns very unsettling. Apart from that, Stephen King has also mentioned that he used Ronald McDonald, the clown mascot of McDonald's, as inspiration when deciding the external appearance of his character. Describing a strange incident with the mascot, Stephen King had shared:

"The door opens again and Ronald McDonald gets on the airplane. He's fully dressed, sits down next to me, because I attract weirdness, you know? I'm like a weirdness magnet. And I was so weirded out by that point, that I wasn't even surprised. Here he is, orange hair, orange shoes, the whole nine yards. He sits down next to me. Plane takes off, no smoking lights goes off, he pulls out a pack of kents, lights up."

What are your thoughts on these events that inspired Stephen King to create the scary clown trope with 'Pennywise'? 

Also Read: What Did Huda Mustafa Do? New 'Love Island' Controversy With Olandria Carthen Explained

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Get App

AWESOME NEWS! Now you can download BollywoodShaadis app and never miss a story. Choose your device Android or IOS (Apple)