Stephen King’s It novel has proven to be a piece of classic horror literature over the decades, bleeding over into various pop culture outlets on both the small screen and the big screen. You’d be hard pressed to come across someone unaware of Pennywise the clown who torments the residents of Derry, Maine. With the upcoming prequel Welcome to Derry releasing on Max in 2025, we’re looking back on the time that Pennywise made an appearance in another King novel — 11/22/63.
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It’s certainly not unusual to find easter eggs and references to past King novels in his new books, he often rewards readers in that way. However, in It, the Losers’ Club “defeated” Pennywise with The Ritual of Chรผd and, eventually, smashing its heart into pieces.
Now whether or not Pennywise is actually dead is complicated. While his physical form was defeated, its species is known as the Deadlights. So while the connection was severed to Derry, the entity lives on in another place of existence. This could be why “Pennywise” has been referenced in several other King novels, including 2001’s Dreamcatcher.
In 11/22/63, King takes readers on an adventure with Jake Epping, the lead, who travels to Derry. Epping is a high school English and Literature teacher who takes the advice of his longtime friend Al Templetonย to enter the Rabbit Hole portal back to when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Pennywise’s 11/22/63 Cameo
The Pennywise connection wasn’t explored in the live-action version which stars James Franco as Epping. Due to copyright laws and legal circumstances, it just wouldn’t be possible. During his stop in Derry, he’s there to stop one of his students father from slaughtering his mother and siblings. Before it happens, he is quite friendly with Jake and appears mentally stable, so Pennywise’s mind control seems to have directly impacted a plot point in 11/22/63.
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In the book, King explains how Pennywise — while not exactly dead — is definitely weakened. “I can tell you one more thing: there was something inside that fallen chimney at the Kitchener Ironworks. I donโt know what and I donโt want to know, but at the mouth of the thing I saw a heap of gnawed bones and a tiny chewed collar with a bell on it,” King writes. “A collar that had surely belonged to some childโs beloved kitten. And from inside the pipeโdeep in that oversized boreโsomething moved and shuffled.”
While Pennywise is trying to get inside Epping’s head by talking about another portal, he is able to scurry away before any real damage is done. “Maybe it was [another portal], but I donโt think so. I think it was Derry in thereโeverything that was wrong with it, everything that was askew, hiding in that pipe. Hibernating. Letting people believe the bad times were over, waiting for them to relax and forget there had ever been bad times at all.”