The Science of Stephen King

Perhaps it is this flexibility that makes Pennywise so terrifying. For the character of Eddie, plagued by an overprotective mother, he is haunted by a leper covered in disease. For Bev, a girl abused by her father, she is tormented by her own reality, something more threatening than any creepy clown. Yet, when readers remember the most pulse-pounding moments of It, it is Pennywise, simply an extension of the hungry creature beneath Derry, that endures.

So, what is it about clowns that cause many humans to feel discomfort, or even fear? When I (Meg) was five, I distinctly remember a tin trash can I had inherited from my big brother. It was decorated with dancing, juggling clowns. One night, as the moon filtered in through my bedroom window, I noticed that these painted clowns were moving. In the eerie light they looked as though they were trying to escape their trash can prison. I leapt from my bed, raced to my parents’ bedroom, and woke my mother, begging her to remove the suddenly animate clowns from my room. She obliged, though it still took me hours to fall asleep!

Years later, a mother now myself, my youngest has developed an inherent fear of clowns. At about three years old, at the annual Fourth of July parade, he cried at the sight of the Shriners dressed in silly clown costumes. Older now, he still steps back when they come by, visibly shaken by their painted smiles. I’m sure there are many reading this book who have had their own frightful encounter with clowns, whether they have been exposed to Pennywise or not. This is naturally counterintuitive, as clowns were developed to bring smiles, laughter, and joy to both children and adults. So, why does coulrophobia (the fear of clowns) exist? Is the media to blame? Or is there something naturally disturbing about their presence? Ben Radford, author of Bad Clowns (2016) posits that “It’s misleading to ask when clowns turned bad, for they were never really good. You can no more separate a good clown from a bad clown than a clown from his shadow.”2

The tramp, or hobo, archetype was popular during the Depression era. It includes Charlie Chaplin’sThe Tramp(1914) and Emmett Kelly’s circus act “Weary Willy.”

The history of the clown is varied. It is said to have been derived from an archetype known as Zanni, an Italian comic character who was portrayed as foppish and jester-like, in the Commedia dell’Arte. The Zanni was known to act like a drunkard to amuse the rich Italian class. He was also constantly hungry, willing to eat almost anything, which is ironic in the context of It, as the creature behind Pennywise has a hankering for innocent children! Those acting as Zanni would often dress in baggy, white clothes, similar to the peasant class at the time. This is reminiscent of the clothes later worn by more modern clowns.

In the early days of Commedia dell’Arte, the Zanni mask used in the theater was a full face mask with a long nose. It developed from here into a half mask covering the upper half of the face only with an extended, long nose. The longer the nose on the mask, the more stupid was the character. The costume of the Zanni character reinforced for the audience the nature of this character. Usually dressed in sacking and hunched over, carrying heavy loads as a porter, with knees in a “bowed” position and feet splayed apart. This was in sharp contrast to the aristocratic characters in the Commedia dell’Arte who always carried themselves with erect deportment. Zanni was always highly animated, waving arms and gesticulating with hands when speaking in a coarse manner with erratic body movements thrown in! Some Zanni characters were known for their acrobatic feats, including handstands and flips.3

As comedies developed across the world, different types of the jester, or Zanni, came to be. Today, France is known for their silent, white-faced mimes. While in America, through the popularization of the circus, our tastes changed from the “hobo” or “tramp” character, to the Auguste, meaning “red clown” in the bright wig, red nose, and oversized shoes. This style of clown fully infiltrated American culture with the advent of The Bozo Show (1960–2001) as well as the instantly recognizable fast food mascot, Ronald McDonald.