Top 5 IT Fan Theories

#5: 2012 Apocalypse

The Mayan calendar predicted the world would end in 2012, and some fans believe that Pennywise is what the Mayans saw destroying us. Pennywise comes back to Derry once around every 27 years or so, killing large numbers of people every time. Though IT returns to rest each time, Pennywise grows more powerful as the years go on. The Losers Club faces off with the killer clown sometime around the late 1980s in every version of the story, which places its next attack in 2012. The theory even suggests Pennywise's murders would've spread across the whole world if the kids didn't finally defeat it.

#4: The Losers’ Club Shines

The Losers’ Club manages to outsmart Pennywise better than anyone in history, and it seems to be because they can shine. Though Stephen King's stories all supposedly exist in the same universe, “It” explicitly connects to “The Shining” on several levels. In the novel, Dick Hallorann survives an attack from Pennywise long before his stint at the Overlook Hotel. Hallorann's psychic abilities helped him escape and allowed the Losers Club to fight Pennywise. The gang of kids even sends power to Mike telepathically in the book and fight Pennywise using their minds. Though the power isn't necessarily Pennywise's weakness, it does allow people to fight against IT.

#3: Richie Tozier Has a Special Connection to Pennywise

In 2017's adaptation of “It,” almost every member of the Losers Club is privately attacked by Pennywise early in the movie. Richie, however, isn't attacked until the group enters the Well House, which Reddit user Elite4caleb believes is due to their secret connection. Richie's deep fear of clowns helped Pennywise manifest its look. This is also why Pennywise gives Richie an extra elaborate scare in the Well House, including a missing child poster. The theory even suggests Richie may have been replaced by Pennywise and uses their shared sense of humor to avoid any suspicion.

#2: Connection to "Stranger Things"

While there's plenty of references to the works of Stephen King in “Stranger Things,” one story suggests Pennywise is part of their world. Bob comforts Will Byers by telling him how he confronted a clown in his nightmares called Mr. Baldo. Bob says Baldo would offer him balloons and was feeding on fear like Pennywise. While Bob says it was a dream, former Derry residents say the same thing about Pennywise. Bob is also from Maine and would've been a child around the time of the clown's attacks in the ‘50s. Keen fans have even suggested that Finn Wolfhard's identical dialogue suggests he's the same person.

#1: "It" Isn't Fiction

Stephen King has appeared in films based on his own work, but Reddit user Brownsnake84 believes he's actually Bill Denbrough from “It.” The theory posits that after defeating Pennywise in the mid 80s, King rushed to create a memoir about his encounter. By the book's release in 1986, Stephen's memory faded enough to turn it into a story. The theory eerily implies that Pennywise is real and may return in 27 years. Some fans have even speculated that the game “Tag, You're It” grew out of Pennywise's legend. Considering King's own childhood trauma and history in Maine, he could easily fit into the Losers’ Club.