Summary
- Pennywise is a Glamour creature from the Macroverse, billions of years old, and connected to The Turtle.
- Originating in Stephen King's It, Pennywise has shape-shifting abilities and links to the Dark Tower series.
- The upcoming series Welcome to Derry will explore Pennywise's background, revealing dark origins and deeper connections.
Of all of Stephen King’s novels and horror creations, there is nothing more terrifying than Pennywise the Dancing Clown from the novel and film It. Made most famous in recent years thanks to the chilling portrayal of by actor Bill Skarsgard, the clown is a creature from another dimension. However, it has lived in the area that would become the fictional town of Derry, Maine for centuries. Yet fans may not realize just how connected Pennywise is to Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.
Much of Pennywise’s history is a mystery, and other aspects unbelievable due to the lies and deceit that make up its true nature. However, there are some undeniable connections to the larger Dark Tower universe, from where it originates to what it is related to and much more. With the upcoming Max series Welcome to Derry getting ready to explore the history and backstory of the creature during previous cycles before the films, fans may get answers to how this creature (and the subsequent show) will tie into Mike Flanagan’s Dark Tower franchise.
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Pennywise the Dancing Clown, Explained
The true nature of Pennywise the Dancing Clown and its proper form are a mystery, for the creature is part of a shapeshifting race known as Glamours. (Some call them by the name of the power they use, referring to them as Deadlights.) The closest form to its true nature is the giant female spider it appears as in the book, It. The creature came from a void outside of space known as the Macroverse, and while it has lived for centuries on Earth, it is billions of years old.
Pennywise is revealed to be the brother and natural enemy of The Turtle, also known as Maturin. The Turtle is one of the primary guardians of the beams protecting the Dark Tower and an ally of the Creator, known in the books as Gan. Gan would also create the creature known as It.
While mentioned in several books, such as Insomnia, Dreamcatcher, and more, the main events that define Pennywise the Dancing Clown come from the novel It. In that novel, the creature would emerge every 27 years to feast on the local population, mainly children, taking the form of their greatest fears before ending their lives. Thanks to the actions of a local group of kids known as the Loser’s Club (and the Ritual of Chud they completed as adults 27 years later), the creature would finally be destroyed, but not without significant losses.
The Loser’s Club, led by a young boy named Bill, came together after Pennywise took Bill’s little brother Georgie. Together, they were able to stop it before it could complete its cycle. However, when it emerged years later when they were adults, they had to return to Derry and face the creature again. It was in this final battle that the creature showed its true form, a giant female spider. The creature was supposedly “pregnant” at the time, but this could not be confirmed.
It’s Connection to The Dark Tower
The Loser’s Club may have defeated the clown in Derry during the second Ritual of Chud. However, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that it could have survived or moved onto another world and that it shares a significant connection to the larger Dark Tower universe. It originates from the Macroverse, which exists outside space and time and was supposedly created by Gan alongside Maturin the Turtle. Maturin was supposed to have created the known universe, and It sought out the worlds his enemy created to feast upon.
Pennywise’s true form as a Glamour marks it as a shape-shifter as well. This creates connections to other Stephen King villains, such as the Outsider from the novel of the same name and even the Crimson King himself, the shape-shifting devil and embodiment of evil from the Dark Tower series. Even most recently, Stephen King himself has made jokes that Pennywise and Randall Flagg, his two greatest villains, may, in fact, be the same. While this may be a joke, their immortality and work as agents of chaos could tie them both to the services of the Crimson King, but that remains a mystery in itself.
With Welcome to Derry premiering soon, it is only a matter of time before more of It's background is revealed. The strong connections this creature has to the larger fabric of the Dark Tower universe as a whole would make this upcoming prequel an important one. The clues laid out in this series, and the further back each season goes to explore that past, could give answers to Pennywise’s true dark origins, and how he figures into the grand scheme of things in Mike Flanagan’s Dark Tower adaption.
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- Birthdate
- September 21, 1947
- Birthplace
- Portland, Maine
- Notable Projects
- The Shining, Cujo, The Shawshank Redemption, It, Carrie