Pennywise is the villain in Stephen King’s It, but even though the creature was defeated, there have been references to the infamous clown in other King books. In 1986, King took readers back to Derry, Maine, to meet the Losers Club, a group of kids who were terrorized by an evil, shapeshifting creature they simply referred to as “It.” The creature fed on the fear of its victims, and for that, it took the shape of their biggest fears. It’s preferred targets were children, as their fears are less complex than those of adults, though it still went after older people.

It’s preferred form was that of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, which it used to haunt the Losers and others in Derry. It hibernated for 27 years and woke up to feed, and so the Losers returned to Derry 27 years after their first encounter with the creature. The surviving Losers were able to defeat It, though that unleashed a destructive storm in Derry and caused their memories to fade, freeing them from all the trauma It caused them. However, despite its defeat, Pennywise has been mentioned in other books by Stephen King, all of them with different meanings and contexts.

7

Gray Matter

Gray Matter Was Published In 1973

“Gray Matter” is a short story published in the October 1973 issue of Cavalier magazine and later in the 1978 collection Night Shift. “Gray Matter” follows a group of men who help the terrified son of local man, Richie Grenadine. The kid tells them some of the terrifying experiences he has been going through with his father lately, as he drank a “bad” can of beer that has been slowly transforming him into a blob-like abomination that hates light and demands to be given warm beer.

At the beginning of the story, the narrator, who is one of the men involved, mentions a friend of his who once worked in the sewers near Bangor, Maine. One day, the man returned from the sewers with white hair and claimed to have seen a giant spider. “Gray Matter” was published 13 years before It, and the latter established that the creature’s true shape, known as the ᴅᴇᴀᴅlights, is quite complex.

The closest to it that the human mind can comprehend is a giant female spider, which is the final shape It takes in the novel. The narrator’s friend, then, most likely saw Pennywise in its truest form, and luckily, he survived the experience, which is most likely because it wasn’t time for the creature to feed again yet.

6

The Tommyknockers

The Tommyknockers Was Published In 1987

The Tommyknockers is a sci-fi novel, and like many other stories by King, it’s set in a Maine town. When a writer stumbles upon a metal object that turns out to be part of a long-buried alien spacecraft, it begins to release an invisible gas into the atmosphere. The gas gradually transforms the town’s residents into alien beings, and the spacecraft also provokes psycH๏τic violence in some people.

At one point in The Tommyknockers, its protagonist, Tommy Jacobs, goes to Derry on a supply run. There, he claims to have seen a clown “with shiny silver dollars for eyes” staring at him from the sewer drains, pretty much like how Pennywise tricked Georgie Denbrough. However, at that moment, Tommy is hallucinating, so even though it’s believable that he could have gotten a glimpse at Pennywise, it could have also been his mind playing tricks on him.

5

Insomnia

Insomnia Was Published In 1994

Insomnia is a horror fantasy novel. Insomnia follows Ralph Roberts, a retiree who develops sleep-maintenance insomnia after his wife’s pᴀssing. Ralph gets to a point where he’s barely able to sleep an entire hour every night, but his insomnia makes him develop other abilities. Ralph begins to see auras and diminutive white-coated beings he calls “little bald doctors”, through which he learns some truths about the universe and some unpleasant beings. Insomnia has strong connections to the Dark Tower series. Insomnia is set in Derry, so it’s not surprising that it references its most infamous villain and the events that led to its defeat.

Insomnia includes references to the events of It, a cameo by Mike Hanlon (the only member of the Losers Club who stays in Derry), mentions of the storm that made Derry collapse, references to the ᴅᴇᴀᴅlights, and a character who refers to itself as “Kingfish”, like Pennywise did. These connections make sense when remembering that the Crimson King, mentioned in Insomnia, and Pennywise know each other, with the former being able to manipulate the latter to destroy worlds.

4

Dreamcatcher

Dreamcatcher Was Published In 2001

Dreamcatcher is a sci-fi horror novel. Dreamcatcher is set near Derry and tells the story of four lifelong friends. During their teenage days, the boys saved an older boy with Down syndrome known as “Duddits” from a group of sadistic bullies. Their new friendship with Duddits lets the rest share his unusual powers, such as telepathy, shared dreaming, and seeing a psychic trace left by the movement of humans. Some time later, when the four friends reunite for their annual hunting trip, they find themselves caught between an alien invasion and an insane retired Air Force colonel.

One of the characters in Dreamcatcher mentions the Derry murders, sharing that the explanation for them was that it was the work of a serial killer who dressed as a clown. Another character takes a detour to Derry and ends up at the water storage standpipe. The tower had been destroyed by then, and a plaque was placed there to honor the victims. However, it was vandalized with the legend “Pennywise Lives.” Even though It was defeated at the end of the novel, this could either hint at its survival or at a survivor in Derry who never forgot about it.

3

11/22/63

11/22/63 Was Published In 2011

11/22/63 is a sci-fi and alternate history novel. 11/22/63 follows Jake Epping, a divorced English teacher who is taken by a friend to a time skip in the back of a diner’s pantry. His friend tells him he has used the time slip to come up with a plan to prevent John F. Kennedy’s ᴀssᴀssination and, with that, stop the Vietnam War as well. Jake takes on his mission and travels back in time to first try to help a friend and later to fulfill his friend’s plan.

One of Jake’s trips to the past is to 1958 Derry, where he attempts to save another friend from deep trauma. There he meets young Beverly Marsh and Richie Tozier, who are in the middle of their nightmarish summer, terrorized by Pennywise. Jake hears them mention the clown but doesn’t quite get what they’re talking about. Maybe if Jake had other plans, he could have helped the young Losers defeat It in the 1950s.

2

Elevation

Elevation Was Published In 2018

Elevation is a suspense novella. Elevation follows Scott Carey, a divorced website designer living in Castle Rock, Maine. Scott faces a mysterious illness that makes him rapidly lose weight, even if he doesn’t go through any physical changes, and he weights the same even if he carries heavy objects. Although he treats this condition with his doctor, Scott starts a countdown to “Zero Day”, the day he will weigh zero. At the same time, Scott helps his friends who are trying to open a restaurant but are facing the disapproval of the community.

As Elevation is set in Castle Rock, its Pennywise reference isn’t as direct as others on this list, but it’s still a fun one. At one point, Scott describes the pᴀssing of the seasons and the town’s excitement for Halloween. The local high school hosts a Halloween dance, with local band Big Top playing – however, because it’s Halloween, the band temporarily changes its name to Pennywise and the Clowns. It’s unlikely they know about the ᴅᴇᴀᴅly clown and this is simply a fun Easter egg.

1

Gwendy’s Final Task

Gwendy’s Final Task Was Published In 2022

Gwendy’s Final Task is an adventure novel by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar, and it’s the third installment in the Gwendy Trilogy. In the trilogy’s final adventure, Gwendy, who becomes a U.S. Senator, takes the “ʙuттon box”, which has caused terrible events all over the world, to outer space, as that’s the only way to keep the planet safe from it.

Some parts of the book are set in Derry, where the residents insist that the town is cursed and make cryptic references to a clown, suggesting Pennywise is somehow still alive. Pennywise caused so much harm to Derry for centuries that it wouldn’t be surprising if its legend lived on, and those who survived seeing the clown pᴀssed on the legend of Pennywise.