IT (novel by Stephen King) Add a review

It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. This is his 22nd book and his 17th novel written under his own name. The story follows seven children as they are terrorized by an evil entity called It, which exploits the fears of its victims to disguise itself while hunting its prey. It is a monstrous, shapeshifting predator that primarily appears in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown to attract its preferred prey of young children.

The story is told through a nonlinear narrative, alternating between two time periods. It chronicles "the Losers' Club", a group of seven outcast children in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, during the late 1950s. The Losers discover they are being hunted by an ancient, trans-dimensional evil that awakens every 27 years to feed on the town's children. After a battle with the creature, they make a blood oath to return to Derry if It ever resurfaces. Twenty-seven years later, the killings resume, and the now-adult Losers, who have largely forgotten the traumatic events of their childhood, must return to their hometown to confront the monster one last time.

The book explores themes of memory, childhood trauma, the loss of innocence, and the power of unity and belief. Upon release, It became the best-selling hardcover fiction book in the United States for 1986 and won the British Fantasy Award in 1987. The novel was largely acclaimed for its epic scope, and critical discussion surrounded its length, graphic violence, and a sexually explicit scene involving the child protagonists. The character of Pennywise has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, and the novel's success has led to multiple adaptations, including the 1990 television miniseries It, a two-part film adaptation, It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), and the 2025 television series It: Welcome to Derry.