It, a sprawling epic of horror by Stephen King, combines terrifying terror with nostalgic childhood memories. In the novel, a group of misfit friends known as the Losers’ Club face a shape-shifting creature that feeds off their worst anxieties. King skillfully conveys the brittleness and tenacity of youth, crafting a story that is as much about maturing and friendship as it is about facing evil. Derry, Maine, turns into a character in and of itself, its eerie past and dark alleys adding to the sense of dread. The encounter between young Georgie and Pennywise the Dancing Clown in a storm drain early in the book is among the most terrifying:
“‘Hiya, Georgie!’ the clown said brightly. ‘Aren’t you gonna say hello?’ Georgie stared into the clown’s blue eyes, and it smiled. No, he thought, that’s not right. Its eyes should be dancing, but instead they were dead, like the eyes of a shark. He felt the smile grip his insides and twist them.”
King’s creativity is perfectly captured in this passage, which layers the scene with a sense of creeping inevitability while transforming an apparently innocent character into the stuff of nightmares.