Stephen King’s 1986 horror novel IT has had multiple vastly different adaptations while continuing to focus on the fear of its terrifying clown, and not everyone knows that there was a real-life Pennywise who inspired this monster. While the story contains various themes of the paranormal, supernatural, and even science-fiction, the real-life inspiration that influenced King’s creation of Pennywise has remained the most horrific. The novel was initially adapted into a made-for-television miniseries, and in 2017 and 2019, Andy Muschietti took on the task of adapting the novel again for theatrical release.

Both found success among King fans. Staying true to the source material, both follow the “Losers Club” as children and adults as they battle an evil clown known as Pennywise, who is murdering children in the town of Derry, Maine. While King was writing the novel, the influences of his surroundings and the headlines plastered all over news stations impacted the creature. A shape-shifting clown from another dimension is scary enough. However, the real-life influences that created him are even more disturbing and add an unnerving depth to the familiar horror icon Pennywise.

The John Wayne Gacy Murders

This Serial Killer Murdered At Least 33 Young Men & Boys

John Wayne Gacy was a notorious serial killer and sex offender who often dressed as a clown. He regularly performed at children’s hospitals in his clown attire under the name “Pogo the Clown” or “Patches the Clown.” On December 21, 1978, Gacy was arrested and convicted of 33 murders. He was sentenced to death on March 13, 1980, and executed by lethal injection on May 10, 1994. The IT character Pennywise may have been based on the serial killer.

While there is some debate on whether Gacy truly influenced the creation of Pennywise, the two are eerily similar, as both dress as clowns and target children. When Gacy was convicted of his murders in 1980, King must have begun writing IT. Whether it was a conscious influence or not remains unknown, but real-life horror often bleeds into fiction, especially when the reality is much more gruesome.

John Wayne Gacy was arrested in 1978, 8 years before Stephen King wrote IT.

Undoubtedly, the Gacy murders caused an immense amount of fear in the hearts of Americans, and once Pennywise was introduced, he further perpetuated the necessity to fear the people behind the white paint and red smiles.

The 1980s “Stranger Danger” Panic

Families Were Fearful Of Child Abductors

Another influence behind the IT novel was the "stranger danger" panic of the '80s. During the 1980s, a new wave of public fear permeated society. As the epidemic of child murders and kidnappings rose beyond belief, the “stranger danger” panic formed. Former president Ronald Reagan started the campaign for increased criminal penalties for anyone who attempted to or did harm children. During the Reagan istration, family values and safety were at the epicenter of his political platform. With the threat of Gacy and other child murderers, the stranger danger panic grew in severity.

When clowns don their face paint, rainbow suits, and wigs, they are nearly unrecognizable. Because of this fact, all real clowns become immediate strangers. With so many children's birthday parties featuring performances from these actors, the fear of a murderous stranger such as John Wayne Gacy was an all too real threat to American society. Various moments in King’s novel allude to the stranger danger panic as a partial influence on the book, as the kids who interact with Pennywise often view him as nothing but an innocent party clown.

Which Other Characters Inspired Stephen King's Pennywise

Ronald McDonald Was Also An Inspiration

While Gacy provided the foundation for the horrors Pennywise would cause, Ronald McDonald was the model for his appearance. In various interviews, Stephen King has referred to Ronald McDonald as a trustworthy character that children know and love, making him someone they can trust. By modeling an untrustworthy horror creature after a beloved children’s icon, it created an unsettling divide of who or what can be a source of comfort or terror for children. This does not mean Ronald McDonald was the main source of inspiration for the novel, but his iconic look inspired Pennywise’s appearance.

A Real Crime Inspired A Scene In It: Chapter 2

Three Teens Killed A Gay Man In Maine In 1984

There was also a true crime inspiration for the movie It: Chapter 2. However, while the Pennywise inspirations came from Stephen King himself, the inspiration for this crime was something King knew about up close as it happened in Maine. There is a scene early in It: Chapter 2 where a gay man named Adrian Mellon is at the carnival in Derry when a group of bigoted teens surround and attack him. The man did nothing to any of the teens, but they still felt the need to attempt to murder him for no reason other than his sexuality.

The entire moment was based on a real-life event where three local Maine teens murdered a man named Charlie Howard

The teens were responsible for his death, but they did not kill him. The man washed up after they threw him over a bridge, and Pennywise was waiting to finish him off. It was a terrifying moment, both for the senseless brutality and violence of the bigoted teens and the act of Pennwise killing the man after that. However, it turns out that the entire moment was based on a real-life event where three local Maine teens murdered a man named Charlie Howard by throwing him over a bridge, where he then drowned (via Oxygen).

The three teens said they attacked him because they wanted to hurt a gay man. The three, Daniel Ness, 17, Shawn I. Mabry, 16, and James Francis Baines, 15, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October 1984 and ended up in a juvenile prison for four years. While writing the book, King said the murder had just happened.

“It was fresh in my mind, and fitted my idea of Derry as a place where terrible things happened... and maybe, needless to say, I was outraged. It was a hate crime."

The screenwriter for It: Chapter 2 said the moment was important for the movie, as it showed how dark and evil Derry had become under the influence of Pennywise, even while he is hibernating. King said it was important to put this out there in his IT book, though, as he stated, "It’s our town. We live here. Which means we have to live with Charlie, and continue trying to make it right."

Where Will Pennywise Appear Next?

Welcome To Derry Will Bring A Pennywise Prequel Series To Max

It was first announced in March 2022 that a prequel series to Muschietti's IT would be rolling out on HBO Max called Welcome to Derry. The TV show opened up the writer's room, and it will be set in the 1960s. Writer Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman) is confirmed to be working on the show along with Shelly Meals (Shadow and Bone).

While it's briefly explored in both IT and IT 2 (especially the latter), Pennywise has been a central figure in Derry's history as a small Maine town. Pennywise is evil incarnate, arriving on Earth sometime after the dinosaurs died out but before the ice age, terrorizing the area ever since.

In the book, the monster has been responsible for Derry's horrific events, such as the 1906 Kitchener Ironworks explosion (killing 108 people), the murder of the Bradley Gang, and an incident in 1904 in which lumberjacks slaughtered a number of men at a bar. Welcome to Derry will further explore the evil clown's influence on the town, and people will get to see Pennywise doing what it does best.

King's main reason for making the central creature of IT a clown was his own fear of them.

Ultimately, Stephen King’s inspiration for Pennywise was derived from an array of sources ranging from real-life murders to far less sinister clowns. At the end of the day, King's main reason for making the central creature of IT a clown was his own fear of them. Welcome to Derry should provide even deeper insight into Pennywise's real-life influences and horrific fictional qualities.