Stephen King has created some of the most famous and terrifying villains in horror. Among those villains is Pennywise, who originates in King’s 1986 novel “IT”. Pennywise is a murderous creature that takes on the form of a clown and kills its victims by shifting into their worst fear and feeding off of said fear. Pennywise is hard to describe as a villain, in the sense that we don’t entirely know what it is. The television and movie adaptations don’t dwell too much on Pennywise’s origin outside of how it only comes back every 27 years. But the novel gives us a bit more insight into the shapeshifting entity, including how it calls itself “The Eater of Worlds”, and what that self-proclaimed title means.
What is Pennywise in ‘IT’?

Image via Warner Bros. 

“IT” is notoriously long, published at over 1000 pages, so we get to know more about what Pennywise is and where it came from. The full explanation is long and complicated, but to put it simply, Pennywise comes from a void called the Macroverse, but it came to Earth hundreds of years ago and lived underground of what would eventually become Derry, Maine — where “IT” is set. Due to Pennywise’s shapeshifting abilities, its true form is unknown, and is also unfathomable to the human eye, and thus its species is known as Deadlights.
Pennywise takes on the everyday form of a clown because it’s one of the most common fears among people, but it has the ability to shift into any person or creature to torment and scare its victims. Pennywise also primarily targets children, since they’re easier to manipulate and frighten, and it prefers its victims to be scared as it “gives more flavor”. In both the novel and its adaptations, Pennywise shifts into many different forms, from a librarian, to a leper, to a woman in a painting, and even some of the Losers, to taunt and manipulate the group of kids. But aside from referring to itself as “Pennywise the Dancing Clown”, it also deems itself “The Eater of Worlds”, which is a much heavier title.
Why is Pennywise Called “The Eater of Worlds”?

Pennywise refers to itself as “The Eater of Worlds” on multiple occasions, and though this isn’t explained in the adaptations, or even fully explained in the book, it does hint at Pennywise’s ultimate goal: to consume all life on the planet. As mentioned, Pennywise feeds on fear. The more scared the victim, the tastier. And, since it can shift into whatever fear the victim has, Pennywise is seemingly unstoppable, something it mentions in the novel when Bill confronts it:

“This is no illusion, you foolish little boy—this is eternity, My eternity, and you are lost in it, lost forever, never to find your way back; you are eternal now, and condemned to wander in the black … after you meet Me face to face, that is.”

If it weren’t for the Losers finding a way to stop it, there was a good chance Pennywise would have gone ahead with its plan of consuming all life on the planet. Or at least, all life in Derry, considering it hibernates for 27 years at a time. Nonetheless, Pennywise has immense power that makes its goals a frightening reality to think about — but it does actually sound like it’s a reality that has happened in other worlds. While we only see the story of Pennywise’s time in Derry, Maine, it is suggested by King that Pennywise has actually destroyed worlds before, so its self-proclaimed title may not be so far-fetched.
As if Pennywise’s origin story wasn’t confusing enough, it also ties into a bigger part of the Stephen King lore. Among King’s novels, there is a universe created by Maturin, a giant turtle who had a stomachache and vomited up said universe. Maturin is good, kind, and wise, and is the only thing Pennywise itself is afraid of due to Maturin’s natural compassion. It’s likely that Pennywise has consumed other worlds purely due to its penchant for chaos and destruction. On the other hand, it could be using the title as a way to instill more fear in its victims. We may never truly know the answer, unless King himself reveals it, but with how evil and menacing Pennywise has proven itself to be on Earth alone, it wouldn’t be surprising if “The Eater of Worlds” title rang true.

It

Release Date

September 8, 2017

Runtime

135 Minutes

Franchise(s)

IT