IT takes on many forms in the miniseries and movie adaptations, but the book truly unleashed the creature, leading to many more transformations. The true genius of IT, at least as far as being scary, is that it can become basically anything, with almost no real limitations. IT can imitate humans, transform into animals, it could probably become a chair and wait for someone to sit down if it so chose. IT can also turn into fictional - within the book's universe - monsters, letting it prey directly on pop culture-based fears.
While IT is far from the only shape-shifting villain in horror history, it's arguably the best, most terrifying example. As Tim Curry's Pennywise put it onscreen in 1990, IT is everything its victims have ever been afraid of, it's their worst dreams come true. The Losers' Club managed to defeat IT by banding together and combining their strength, but had they never united, it's hard to imagine any single Loser surviving against it for long.
IT is a powerful, intimidating foe, and while it might not be invincible, it can sometimes seem that way. That's part of what makes it so fearsome, and as Pennywise has articulated, its prey tastes better when it's afraid. Here's all 30 IT forms found in Stephen King's classic novel.
Pennywise the Dancing Clown
Pennywise the Dancing Clown is of course IT's default form in the book, the miniseries, and the movies. In some ways the Tim Curry version is closer to the book's depiction, but in other ways the Bill Skarsgard version is. Both are equally valid portrayals, but for most King fans, the original rendition will always top them both in terror.
Georgie Denborough
Just as IT does in both adaptations, the monster also assumes the form of Bill Denborough's little brother Georgie in the book, usually to taunt Bill. That's always made all the sicker by the fact that IT was Georgie's murderer, as gruesomely depicted onscreen in the 2017 IT movie. There's a reason Georgie's death is always IT's signature scene.
Dorsey Corcoran
Dorsey Corcoran never made it into the IT adaptations, but the portion of the book putting the spotlight on him and his brother Eddie is absolutely harrowing, not even entirely due to IT. Dorsey was brutally beaten to death with a hammer by his abusive father. IT later targeted Eddie while appearing as the corpse of his little brother.
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
Since the childhood portions of the IT novel were set in the 1950s, the creature turned into several movie monsters of the time, including the titular Creature from the Black Lagoon. IT turns into the Gill-man before killing Eddie Corcoran, but after appearing as Dorsey Corcoran. Eddie's death chapter remains difficult to read.
Betty Ripsom
Betty Ripsom was a young teenage girl taken and killed by IT, with her father later hearing her voice coming from their sink drain. Betty made it into the 2017 movie, seen when the Losers go to the house on Niebolt Street for the first time. Her body has been ripped in half, making her name almost darkly humorous.
Giant Bird
In the book, kid Mike Hanlon first encounters IT in the form of a giant bird creature, which didn't make it into either of the adaptations. The bird is described as being a hybrid of a crow that attacked Mike as a baby and the 1950s movie monster Rodan. In fairness, that wouldn't have been easy to visualize onscreen.
Werewolf
When Bill and Richie first visit the house on Niebolt Street in the book, they encounter the werewolf from the 1950s monster movie I Was a Teenage Werewolf, having recently seen the film. Richie encountered this werewolf in the basement of Derry's school in the miniseries, while looking for Beverly's father Alvin, the school custodian.
Leper
The disgusting leper form of IT that Eddie Kaspbrak encounters at the house on Niebolt Street in the book was left out of the miniseries, but memorably made it into the 2017 and 2019 movies, as played by Javier Botet. In the book, Bill and Richie actually correct Richie's belief that it was a leper, saying its condition more resembled syphilis.
Mummy
Continuing IT's pattern in the book of appearing as old-school movie monsters, it takes on the form of Boris Karloff's mummy from Universal's classic 1932 film when targeting Ben Hanscom. IT appears to Stan as a kind of mummy creature in the miniseries too, although it doesn't resemble Karloff's version, and still has some clown features.
The Crawling Eye
The Crawling Eye is the title monster from the 1958 movie of the same name. The Losers' Club encounters The Crawling Eye when they head into Derry's sewer system for a showdown with IT, after it having been mentioned by one of them earlier in the book. These kids watch too many monster movies, at least more than are safe in Derry.
