Stephen King Discusses How He Came Up With The Idea Of Pennywise
Stephen King forever tied the image of the innocent clown to the epitome of horror with the [...]
While visiting The Late Show with Conan O'Brien, the host asked King if he had any traumatic memories involving clowns, with King going on to explain all the reasons why clown scare children.
"As a kid, going to the circus, there would be 12 full-grown people that would all pile out of a little, tiny car, their faces were dead white, their mouths were red, as though they were full of blood, they're all screaming, their eyes are huge, what's not to like?" King joked.
I started to actually look at kids, when I grew up a little bit," King recalled, pointing out, "Kids are all terrified of them, and the parents are all like, 'Aren't the clowns funny, Johnny?!' and Johnny's like, 'No, get me the hell out of here! These people are all crazy!' Because they are monstrous-looking and children are really afraid of them. They do have that monstrous thing going for them."
King himself didn't have any particularly frightening experiences with clowns, but he did recall an event in which he had a close clown encounter.
During a particular strenuous book tour, King was on a flight when someone dressed as Ronald McDonald boarded the plane and sat next to him. At the appropriate time, the clown took out a cigarette and ordered a gin & tonic.
When King asked where the clown had come from, the clown replied, "McDonald-land."
Fans will have another chance to see if the frightening image of clowns hold up when a new adaptation of It lands in theaters on September 8.
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[H/T Dread Central]
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