Pennywise Isn’t Just a Clown — That "Eater of Worlds" Line Hints at Cosmic Horror Origins the Movies Don't Cover

Stephen Kinghas created some of the most famous and terrifying villains in horror. Among those villains is Pennywise, who originates in King’s 1986 novel “IT”. Pennywise is a murderous creature that takes on the form of a clown and kills its victims by shifting into their worst fear and feeding off of said fear. Pennywise is hard to describe as a villain, in the sense that we don’t entirely know what it is. The television and movie adaptations don’t dwell too much on Pennywise’s origin outside of how it only comes back every 27 years. But the novel gives us a bit more insight into the shapeshifting entity, including how it calls itself “The Eater of Worlds”, and what that self-proclaimed title means.