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by Emily PowerIn honour of Spooktober, I will break down the origins of one of the most terrifying villains to grace our screens: IT. The first question to ask when looking at this entity, is what is it? Simple answer, no one really knows apart from the mind of Stephen King. From the two films and miniseries, there isn’t much background information on his origin, and this is a case where we must look to the source material. IT is an ancient cosmic being that originates from a different dimension known as the ‘Macroverse’ which is referenced in other King works, such as the Dark Tower series. When looking at this series there is evidence that IT, is the creation of an autonomous omnipotent creator, known as ‘The Other’. However, IT is not the only creation of ‘The Other’, ‘The Other’, also created Maturin The Turtle who is seen as It’s mortal enemy as it represents all that is good. In this universe that Stephen King created, Maturin unlike IT, is a being of creation and vomited up the universe in which we live in and It crash lands on. It came to earth through an asteroid and landing in the place that millions of years later would be known as Derry. It hibernated until human began to populate the area and then It began its first cycle in 1715, where it would awaken every 27 years and feed on them. The second question you might ask now, is why every 27 years? This question is a bit easier to answer. While the films stay rigid to this 27-year cycle, the book gives It more breathing by saying approximately every three decades. 27 years simply gives the viewers a more concrete answer, but the number 27 wasn’t chosen randomly. According to The Secret of the Tarot, “The number 27 expresses a love for and interest in the well-being of humanity and one who is diplomatic and wise. This number is about non-judgement, compassion, and tolerance of others and their beliefs,” this statement is the complete opposite for everything It represents and quite ironic. Many physicists estimate that 27% of the universe is made up of Dark Matter is a force detectable only from its gravity. Just like dark matter, IT is an invisible force. Being this other worldly entity, IT has several powers which include shapeshifting, telepathy and mind control. With the knowledge of these powers, we can see how terrifying IT truly is as it can read our minds and see into our deepest darkest fear which It in turn will use against us with his shapeshifting abilities similar to villains such as Freddie Kruger. IT does this because, it must eat humans to survive and IT likes to eat human flesh, ‘that has been seasoned with fear’. This explains firstly, why it targets children more as they are easier to scare and it also explains why It enjoys stalking its victims as this prolongs the terror until the person is well and truly terrified of IT. Like Kruger, IT has a ‘preferred’ form which is it reveals itself as most often, in this case it is ‘Pennywise the Dancing Clown’ as clowns are a common fear of many children. Mind control is also a major factor when looking at how terrifying IT is and the destruction it loves to cause. This can be seen in multiple ways, most notably with Henry Bowers, the town bully who on his own has terrorised the main group of protagonists known as the ‘The Losers Club’. IT controls Bowers by making him do its evil bidding. Within this power of mind control, IT also influences the whole town. Firstly, by creating this cloud of amnesia which always hangs over the town and is why no one is appalled by the amount of murders and missing people cases that occur in this small town. It’s evil influence also contributes to how the adults in this town remain quite oblivious and in ways are then turned into monsters too. There is also a rise in violence and hate crimes, in his awaken after his 27 years, which is shown in the opening seen of IT Chapter Two (2019) when a homosexual couple are targeted by a group of thugs. Another power It has is the use of Deadlights. Deadlights which Beverly Marsh witnesses in the 2017, IT Chapter One film, are glowing orange lights that blind his victims and keep them ‘fresh’. Deadlights are meant to be so powerful, we cannot comprehend with our brains and it will drive the person looking at them insane, although Beverly is only rendered unconscious by them. IT is a truly terrifying villain who not only taps into our deepest fears but creates new ones.
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