Pennywise is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Stephen King's 1986 horror novel "It." Pennywise is a shape-shifting entity that often takes the form of a clown to prey on the fears of children in the town of Derry, Maine. Its true form is an ancient cosmic entity that awakens every 27 years to feed on the fear of its victims, particularly children.
Pennywise gained further recognition through film adaptations, notably in the 1990 miniseries "It" and the two-part film adaptation released in 2017 and 2019. The character has become an iconic symbol of fear in popular culture, known for its eerie clown disguise and the ability to exploit the deepest fears of its victims.