It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The story follows the lives of seven children as they are terrorized by a demonic clown being known as "It" (also known as Pennywise, and Pennywise the Dancing Clown), which exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It" primarily appears in the form of a clown in order to attract its preferred prey of young children.
The novel is told through narratives alternating between two time periods, and is largely told in the third-person mode. It deals with themes that eventually became King staples: the power of memory, childhood trauma, and the ugliness lurking behind a traditional small-town values.
The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1987, and received nominations for the Locus and World Fantasy Awards that same year.[1]Publishers Weekly listed It as the best-selling book in the United States in 1986.
Adaptations
Popular versions of the novel have been made from a 1990 miniseries in which Pennywise is played by Tim Curry, and a duology movie series: It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), including the prequel television series It: Welcome to Derry (2025–present) in which Pennywise is played by Bill Skarsgård.
The modern incarnation of Pennywise, introduced in the 2017 adaptation, appears as a background character in the family friendly live-action/animated movie Space Jam: A New Legacy, which is also distributed by Warner Bros.
Unreleased content
In 2022, there was going to be an adaptation of It that was planned to be released in India. However, it was cancelled due to not being able to have anyone play as the antagonist.
Carrie (1974)•'Salem's Lot (1975)•The Shining (1977)•The Stand (1978)•The Dead Zone (1979)•Firestarter (1980)•Cujo (1981)•Christine (1983)•Pet Sematary (1983)•Cycle of the Werewolf (1983)•The Talisman (1984; with Peter Straub)•It (1986)•The Eyes of the Dragon (1987)•Misery (1987)•The Tommyknockers (1987)•The Dark Half (1989)•Needful Things (1991)•Gerald's Game (1992)•Dolores Claiborne (1992)•Insomnia (1994)•Rose Madder (1995)•The Green Mile (1996)•Desperation (1996)•Bag of Bones (1998)•The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999)•Dreamcatcher (2001)•Black House (2001; with Peter Straub)•From a Buick 8 (2002)•The Colorado Kid (2005)•Cell (2006)•Lisey's Story (2006)•Duma Key (2008)•Under the Dome (2009)•Blockade Billy (2010)•11/22/63 (2011)•Dr. Sleep (201X)
The Gunslinger (1982)•The Drawing of the Three (1987)•The Waste Lands (1991)•Wizard and Glass (1997)•Wolves of the Calla (2003)•Song of Susannah (2004)•The Dark Tower (2004)•The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)
Rage (1977)•The Long Walk (1979)•Roadwork (1981)•The Running Man (1982)•Thinner (1984)•The Bachman Books (1985)•The Regulators (1996)•Blaze (2007)
Short fiction collections
Night Shift (1978)•Different Seasons (1982)•Skeleton Crew (1985)•Four Past Midnight (1990)•Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)•Hearts in Atlantis (1999)•Everything's Eventual (2002)•Just After Sunset (2008)•Full Dark, No Stars (2010)
Non-fiction
Danse Macabre (1981)•Nightmares in the Sky (1988)•On Writing (2000)•Secret Windows (2000)•Faithful (2004; with Stewart O'Nan)
E-books
Riding the Bullet (2000)•The Plant (2000; unfinished)•Ur (2009)•Mile 81 (2011)
Sorry, Right Number (1988)•Golden Years (1991)•It (1991)•The Stand (1994)•The Shining (1997)•
"Chinga" (1998; with Chris Carter)•Storm of the Century (1999)•Rose Red (2002)•Kingdom Hospital (2004)•Desperation (2006)
Collaborations with musicians
Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997; with Michael Jackson)•Black Ribbons (2010; with Shooter Jennings)•Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (2012; with John Mellencamp)
Graphic novels
Creepshow (1982)•The Dark Tower (2007)•The Stand (2008)•The Talisman (2009)•American Vampire (2010)•N. (2010)•Road Rage (2012)
Related articles
Unpublished and uncollected works by Stephen King•
Media based on Stephen King works•
Books about Stephen King•
Tabitha King•
Naomi King•Joe Hill•
Owen King•Peter Straub•
Rock Bottom Remainders•
Dollar Baby•It•
Jerusalem's Lot•
Castle Rock, Maine•Derry, Maine•The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red
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