October Stephen King Tribute Day 31: It

It was originally published in September of 1986.

Warning, this review does contain spoilers.

The town of Derry is shocked when young George is killed. He was following his toy boat in the rain until it slipped into the storm drain. When he bent down to look for it, he saw Pennywise the Clown holding his boat. Pennywise kills George, pulling him down into the storm drain.

Later, during the summer of 1958, a group of youngsters come together to form a group known as the Losers. They have all faced the abuses of Henry Bowers and his group of bullies. The group becomes friends and they learn that each has had something strange and horrifying happen to them. Beverly, witnesses blood spurting from her sink, only her parents cannot see it. They do some research and learn that an ancient evil has plagued Derry for many years.

The group goes up against the evil entity in the sewers under Derry. Henry and his gang follow them and It kills the other two while Henry escapes. It them takes on the form of a giant spider. Using the ancient Ritual of Chud, Bill injures the spider and it flees. Once the Losers make it out of the sewers, they make a pact to return if It ever comes back.

In 1984, Mike, the only Loser to remain in Derry, calls on the others to honor their pact and return to Derry. Most have forgotten the events of their childhood, but not Stan, who slits his wrists in his bathtub rather than return to Derry. Unknown to the group at the time, another person is returning to Derry, Henry Bowers, who has escaped the mental institution he had been in since being convicted of killing his father and the children killed by It.

Mike is attacked by Henry and severely injured. The remaining five losers realize they must once again descend into the sewers and battle It. Bill and Richie once again perform the Ritual of Chud and injure the giant spider. Eddie destroys the eggs in the lair, but is killed in the process. Bill finally crushes It's heart destroying the evil being.


That may seem like a long summary of the book, but believe me, I only scraped the surface of the complex plot lines of this novel. This is a long book, but not boring at any time. I was enthralled from the very first chapter. Stephen King weaves a complex story of good versus evil, detailing the background and circumstances behind each character.

I have to say that I believe King has ruined clowns for an entire generation with this story. Pennywise is just plain creepy and I know I have had several nightmares because of reading this book. The theme of overcoming bullies is once again present with this story as the group of Losers have their innocence taken from them.

This is by far my favorite Stephen King novel. I hope you have enjoyed reading my month long tribute to this great author. You may not agree with my order of favorite stories, but I'm sure there are a few that you have enjoyed along the way.