When I was about six or so, I was playing in the living room and my brother started watching STEPHEN KING's IT– the miniseries starring TIM CURRY. I asked my brother if I should leave, and he said, "If you want to." I decided to stay, and watched through the opening bit alright, and then it showed a little girl playing while her mom goes inside the house. She then hears goofy laughter and sees a clown appearing behind flapping sheets while spooky music plays. The next scene showed her being loaded into an ambulance with a white sheet over her face. If you want more than a description, here's the scene:
I don't know if the rest of the movie would have traumatized me, because I ran away. What I did afterwards or where I went escapes me. I'm not afraid of clowns, although to this day I still get a bit anxious every time I see TIM CURRY.
I'm afraid of clowns because of Poltergiest, but this one kind of sealed the deal!
When this first aired in 1990, I was 19 but it still freaked me out. It is hard for me to believe now that one of my favorite toys as a child was a clown doll. In fact, I pitched quite a fit in the store to get that doll (My older sister bought it for me and she was a soft touch. My mom would have beaten my butt for doing that). In my opinion, the first night of the miniseries was the scariest because they were remembering their experiences with Pennywise as children. The second night was more of a disappointment for me. To quote a short story I read this summer, "Clowns creep me out big time!" Several years ago while Prof.VW and I were still dating we went out to eat after a movie (I think it was Frailty) and there were clowns eating there. I walked as far away from them as I could get to go to the restroom.
Uusally I am very happy to have been born in '71, because -in my opinion- all the best Horror movies were in the '70s and '80s and I was young enough to be totally freaked out by them. I remember when IT debuted on TV, being all psyched to watch it. I also hate clowns…so i'm a-thinkin' this is gonna be TERRIFYING. Well, unfourtanetly I was TOO OLD to truly be scared by IT. I found it amusing enough (at least until the ending which we all know is a big fat disappointing kick in the balls) but I wasn't really SCARED.
Over the years I've "met" people online who've talked about stuff that truly terrified them and time and time again IT and Pennywise have popped up. It makes me sort of JEALOUS that I didn't get to experience it as a kid.
About a year ago it was on cable and my husband – who had never seen it – put it on. My daughter walked into the room to ask him a question right at the Famous Pennywise-In-Drain Scene. She stopped dead in her tracks, stood deer-in-the-headlights frozen, was too shocked to move and then FINALLY worked up the courage to run out of the room! The next thing we heard was a voice screaming from the other room "Turn It Off Turn It Off Turn It Off!"
Ahhhhhhhhhhh…to be young again!
you know, not including the ENDING, this is one of the scariest King films….I really really really was afraid of Pennywise. Of course, the ending makes it all fall flat, but until then, it's a spooky, screepy film with a real scary villain/demon. I was not a child when I saw this but it still packs a whallop until the real villain is revealed.