That hunger for tasty, tasty, beautiful fear is pretty much the sole reason
The character is an ancient, trans-dimensional evil entity who preys upon the children (and sometimes adults) of Derry, Maine, roughly every 27 years, using a variety of powers that include the ability to shapeshift, manipulate reality, and go unnoticed by adults.
John Wayne Gacy was a notorious serial killer and sex offender who often dressed as a clown. He regularly performed at children's hospitals in his clown attire under the name “Pogo the Clown” or “Patches the Clown.” On December 21, 1978, Gacy was arrested and convicted of 33 murders.
In Stephen King's "It," Pennywise the Clown is said to terrify kids every 27 years. Coincidentally, the film version came out 27 years after the TV miniseries aired in 1990.
Pennywise's origins are briefly explored in both the book and It: Chapter Two, where it's revealed that he is a being that crash-landed on Earth from another dimension hundreds of years ago.
Muschietti appears to be implying Pennywise was a human familiar who It corrupted and then enjoyed so much It incorporated his shape into its file cabinet of monsters.
Stephen King's 'IT' introduced readers to a one-of-a-kind creature that can take any form, the most common one being Pennywise the Dancing Clown, and as menacing as it is, this creature has one big enemy it's truly scared of: Maturin, the turtle.
1715 – 1716: It painfully awakes. 1740 – 1743: It starts a three-year reign of terror that culminates in the disappearance of over three hundred settlers from Derry Township (similar to the lost Roanoke Colony, which was founded as a logging town).
What symbolizes a child's sense of imagination is manipulated to lure children to the clown, Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). Pennywise's most notable ability is to manifest as each of the children's fears. Whenever the red balloon appears, it signals that Pennywise is close, if not already present.
The novel explains that IT landed on Earth during an asteroid impact and established itself under the land Derry would be later built on, and initially preyed on indigenous tribes. From that point of view, IT/Pennywise would be billions of years old, but his clown shape wouldn't be that old.
It feasts on the flesh of humans simply because our fears are easy to manifest and they make us taste better. According to It, when humans got scared, "all the chemicals of fear flooded the body and salted the meat".
Kersh is Pennywise's daughter.
Twenty-seven years after their first showdown with the murderous clown, the now-grown members of the Losers' Club converged on Derry to defeat Pennywise forever. In their final battle, the Losers' Club was able to kill Pennywise by reducing him to a child-like form as they overcame their fears.
Well, he comes back every 27 years after hibernation. And in the back, it was 1957-1958 when he ate and then 1984-1985 so about a year.
Georgie's Arm ('It')
After a creepy conversation with Pennywise, the killer clown chomps on Georgie's arm, leaving the boy to drag himself to safety as blood pours into the raindrops on the street before he's pulled into the drain by Pennywise, never to be seen again.
The character's eyes look in different directions, something that actually isn't a CGI effect. Bill Skarsgård did that 100% on his own – according to Andy Muschietti: “I told Bill, 'I want it in both directions, I want you to send your eyes looking away and give a really unsettling look'.
If you are talking about the science when Georgie dies, Pennywise was thinking about his first meal in 27 years, and in Pennywise's words, fear in a kid is like “salting the meat.” So, when Georgie was laughing, Pennywise knew Georgie was not scared so he stopped laughing to make sure he was still fearful.
As well as having his right arm bitten off, Georgie is trying to crawl away but he was dragged into the sewers and devoured by Pennywise, with an unnamed older woman and her cat being the sole witnesses of the horrific scene, including before Georgie lost his arm.
The cinematic adaptation of Stephen King's It Chapter Two depicted the satisfying death of Pennywise while subtly hearkening back to Pennywise's first 1988 victim, Bill's brother Georgie.
She is the daughter of Pennywise and was brought up by him and incorporated into all of his evil ideas. She's a part of the whole thing. It's a transformation.”
Throughout the summer and their trials against Pennywise and the school bullies, the Losers realize that none of the adults in Derry can actually see Pennywise or the horrors he is committing against the children of Derry.
Yup! He's a demon and the general idea is if you are not scare, it will only be harder for Pennywise to kill you as he needs to bait you. He can kill you if he wants to anytime and doesn't care. Although, if you are not scared, he will either leave you be for a little while or just kill you in the instant .
That is, when Pennywise morphs into a werewolf, he is subject to the same weaknesses as a werewolf, including silver slugs. In both the original novel and made-for-television adaptation, Pennywise is weakened using silver bullets melted down from earrings.
The 1986 Stephen King's IT novel begins with a boy named Dorcey Corcoran being beaten to death by his stepfather, Richard Macklin, in 1957, which awakens Pennywise.
Humiliated, Pennywise begins to shrink, transforming into an almost Benjamin Button–like, melted clown-baby.