Pennywise the Clown is a supernatural foe who has all kinds of nightmarish powers at his disposal to terrify his victims. The residents of Derry, Maine are visited by Pennywise every 27 years, exploiting the greatest fears of his victims who tend to be the youngest and most vulnerable citizens of the cursed town.
It feeds off of the fears of its victims, and it takes the shape of those fears in order to terrorize them. It's preferred shape is that of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, through which it haunts children, its preferred victims.
It also known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown was the titular main antagonist of the Stephen King novel and miniseries of the same former name. He was an evil and demonic entity who would almost always disguise himself as a clown to attract children so he can capture and kill them as they are an easier target.
What does Pennywise use to lure his victims in IT?
It will manipulate its prey by promising them what they want, but can also determine their psychological fears and utilize them to provoke or cow those it faces. In the guise of Pennywise, it can be disarming, charming and seemingly nice to the kids it hunts, usually to lure them into secluded spots before attacking.
At some point in the novel, King explained part of IT's backstory but left enough of it untold to raise many questions about it, and everything about Pennywise's origins is a bit confusing, as it's connected to the macroverse and the turtle Maturin, who's the only being IT is afraid of.
A common interpretation of this phrase is that it refers to where the souls of IT's victims go after they die, as they wouldn't go to heaven nor hell, staying instead in the “deadlights”, which would be a sort of limbo, thus “floating” in that middle point for eternity.
Pennywise is just a mask, an act that It uses when convenient. It is the real monster behind the monster. If you want to get technical, It is an alien, but It's origin goes well beyond that. It is actually an ancient cosmic deity.
The cinematic adaptation of Stephen King's IT Chapter Two depicted the satisfying death of Pennywise while subtly hearkening back to Pennywise's first 1988 victim, Bill's brother Georgie.
They reach the conclusion that Pennywise has all of the adults under some sort of spell that prohibits them from seeing him. The adults of Derry are shown to be villainous in their own right as well. The adults of Derry are shown to be true villains of the story in the same way as Pennywise.
In both the book and the films, It is an ancient alien creature, older than civilization, and in King's novel, older than our universe. It feasts on the flesh of humans simply because our fears are easy to manifest and they make us taste better.
Unfortunately, King's imagination ran a little wilder than alluded to in the movies or earlier in the books, and the consequence of that is a pregnant Pennywise.
Pennywise was always evil - or, more accurately, he never really existed. He was just a creation of IT to lure in children so they could be terrified and then eaten. Or so that IT could create chaos, incite riots and spread fear.
In the novel, It claims that its true name is Robert "Bob" Gray, but decided to be named “It”. Throughout the book, It is generally referred to as male, usually appearing as Pennywise. The Losers come to believe It may be female after seeing it in the form of a monstrous giant spider that lays eggs.
Pennywise is an ancient, evil being that originated from the Macroverse and has a specific corner of the cosmic realm called the Deadlights. Pennywise takes the form of whatever its victims fear the most, but its true form has been described as an endless, crawling, hairy creature made of orange light.
Pennywise is female. In Stephen King's book, in the end, Pennywise's true form is a spider that lays eggs to reproduce itself. Throughout the book, It is generally referred to as male due to usually appearing as Pennywise.
It says on the novel, Pennywise's daughter is Mrs Kersh. Mrs Kersh happened when Beverley Marsh visit her old home in Derry. Mrs kersh said : My father used to work in a circus. His name was Mr Robert Gray aka Mr Bob Gray aka Penywise the dancing clown.
He explains to Conan how in his childhood, he used the demonic smile to frighten his little brother after learning his older brother Gustav was also able to point his lip.
The dead lights are what you are seeing in his mouth. While the book gets more meta-physical in the aspects of what the lights are, and what they represent. In the movie they are never named, nor given any significance. They are essentially what IT is.
The Losers confront It about how they have overcome their fears, and are no longer scared of the entity, causing It to shrink to a small weakened Pennywise. Mike rips out It's heart, which he and the Losers crush with their bare hands, finally killing It.
Pennywise is billions of years old and originates from the space beyond the universe. Carried to Earth countless years ago by a meteor, Pennywise found a new home living below the area of land that would eventually become the town of Derry, Maine.
The presence of courage and heart are Its main weaknesses. This appears to have a phycological effect that installs fear and enables it the inability to function properly in its physical form. Given that it feeds on fear, it makes sense that courage and heart can overcome it.
