the Losers and it didn’t – and here’s why. Stephen King is known as the master of horror, and through his novels, he has taken readers through a variety of scenarios to explore (and discover) some of their deepest fears. In 1986, he introduced the world to a one-of-a-kind antagonist in IT, through which he also explored various common fears as the title villain is an evil, shapeshifting entity with a very complex and mysterious origin.
IT tells the story of a group of kids self-named “The Losers Club” by alternating between 1957 and 1985, following the Losers when they were kids and as adults. With Derry, Maine as the main setting, IT follows the Losers as they come across an evil entity living in the sewers which wakes up every 27 years to feed, and to make it worse, the creature feeds off the fear of its victims and it can take any shape it desires. The Losers refer to this creature as “IT”, and while it takes the form of its victims' biggest fears in order to torture and catch them, its preferred shape is that of Pennywise, the Dancing Clown. The Losers manage to defeat IT temporarily during their younger years, but they are forced to reunite 27 years later when it reemerges, leading them to confront their past traumas.
Throughout the novel (and its adaptations), IT kills many, many people, mostly children as their fears are easier to represent (as explained in the novel, the fears of adults are more complex and abstract, making it more difficult for IT: Chapter 2), as in the book these were objects in which the Losers put all their faith in, essentially turning them into weapons that helped them keep IT away.
Other explanations are rooted in how IT operates. As mentioned above, the only creature IT is afraid of.
IT didn’t kill the Losers when they were children and it had the chance to, but it did contribute to Eddie’s death in 1985 (or 2016 in IT 2) when it bit his arm off (in the movie, he’s impaled), and it also contributed to Stan’s death to an extent, as the trauma and fear from that summer came back to haunt him, leading him to commit suicide. Why IT/Pennywise didn’t kill the Losers when it could is a question that can be answered in different ways, so in a way, it’s up to every reader and viewer to decide which explanation fits best.
