During a heavy rainstorm in Derry, Maine, six-year-old George "Georgie" Denbrough is chasing a paper boat that was gifted to him by his brother, Bill, down a gutter. The boat is washed down a storm drain and Georgie peers in, seeing a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Georgie is confronted by a man dressed in a silver clown suit who introduces himself as "Mr. Bob Gray", a.k.a. "Pennywise the Dancing Clown". Pennywise offers Georgie a balloon which he cautiously refuses. The clown then entices Georgie to reach into the drain to retrieve his boat and severs his arm, causing his death.
The following June, Benjamin "Ben" Hanscom, an overweight eleven-year-old boy, is harassed by a gang of bullies led by the feared Henry Bowers. On the last day of school, Ben hides from his tormentors in the Barrens after an altercation with the "Bowers Gang". Ben befriends Edward "Eddie" Kaspbrak, and William "Bill" Denbrough. The three boys later befriend fellow misfits Richard "Richie" Tozier, Stanley "Stan" Uris, and Beverly "Bev" Marsh, forming the "Losers Club". In July of the same summer, the Losers are joined by Michael "Mike" Hanlon.
As the summer draws on, the Losers realize that they have each had an encounter with a seemingly omniscient, alien shape-shifting entity that takes the form of whatever they fear the most: Ben as a mummy, Eddie as a leper, Bill as Georgie's ghost, Richie as a werewolf, Stan as two drowned boys, Mike as a flesh eating bird, and Beverly as a fountain of blood spurting from her bathroom sink. Due to the unknown origin of the monster, the Losers refer to the creature as "It" and link It with a series of recent child murders, including that of Edward "Eddie" Corcoran who is killed by the monster in the form of the Gill-man.
The Losers begin to suspect that It has control over Derry due to the number of unsolved disappearances and violent tragedies that go unnoticed or seem to be forgotten by the adults in the town. They begin to investigate It's origins, discovering that It arrived in Derry millions of years ago. The Losers also learned that It awakens every 27 years from a slumber in the town's sewers, usually after a terrible event or tragedy, and feeds for 12-16 months.
The Losers decide to put an end to It and Ben makes two silver slugs out of a silver dollar, believing that silver will harm It. The kids go to the house on Neibolt Street where Eddie, Bill, and Richie had previously encountered It. It attacks them in the form of a werewolf and Beverly shoots a slug from Bill's slingshot, injuring It, and causing It to flee back to the sewers. Henry, accompanied by his two closest friends, Vic Criss and Reginald "Belch" Huggins, chase the Losers into the sewers with the intention of killing them.
The narrative changes and "It" informs the reader that it existed originally in a void between our universe and others in a dimension known as the Macroverse, boasting of It's superiority to anything on Earth. It also explains that it chooses to prey on children because their fears are easier to interpret in a physical form.
Back in the sewers, It attacks the three bullies in the form of Frankenstein's monster, ripping Vic's head off and mutilating Belch's face. Henry, driven insane, chases the Losers and gets lost. He eventually washes out of the sewers into a nearby river and is blamed for all of the child murders. Meanwhile, Bill discovers the "Ritual of Chüd", allowing him to enter the Macroverse to confront It and discover It's true form; a mass of destructive orange lights referred to as the "Deadlights". During the ritual, Bill also encounters "The Turtle", the creator of the universe, who created It while vomiting after a stomach-ache. The Turtle explains that It can only be defeated during a battle of wills. With the help of The Turtle, Bill is able to defeat It and send it back to its slumber. After the battle, the Losers get lost in the sewers until Beverly has sex with all the boys to connect childhood and adulthood and bring unity back to the group.[6] The Losers swear a blood oath to return to Derry, should It return in the future.
1984–1985[edit]
In July 1984 at the annual Derry carnival, three youths brutally attack a young gay man named Adrian Mellon and throw him off a bridge. They are arrested and charged with murder when Mellon's mutilated corpse is found. One of the murderers claims that he saw a clown dressed in a silver suit kill Mellon underneath the bridge. Adrian's partner, the other victim in the attack, had also noticed the clown but the prosecutors convince him not to mention it during the trial.
When a string of child murders occurs in Derry once again, an adult Mike Hanlon, now the town's librarian and the only one of the Losers to remain in Derry, calls up the six former members of the Losers Club, all now in their thirties, and reminds them of their childhood promise to return should the killings start again. Bill Denbrough is now a successful horror writer living in England with his actress wife, Audra. Beverly Marsh is a fashion designer in Chicago, and is married to an abusive man named Tom Rogan. Eddie Kaspbrak has moved to New York City, where he runs a limousine rental company and has married a hysterical, codependent woman similar to his controlling mother. Richie Tozier lives in Los Angeles and works as a disc jockey. Ben Hanscom is now thin and a successful architect, living in Nebraska. Stan Uris is a wealthy accountant residing in Atlanta, Georgia.
Prior to Mike's phone calls, the Losers had buried the horror of their encounters with It. However, all but Stan reluctantly agree to return to Derry. After Mike's phone call, Stan is so terrified of facing It again that he slits his wrists in the bathtub, writing "IT" on the wall in his own blood. Tom refuses to let Beverly go and tries to beat her, but she lashes out at him before fleeing, causing him serious injury. The five return to Derry with only the dimmest awareness of why they are doing so, remembering only the absolute terror and their promise to return.
The Losers meet for lunch, where Mike reminds them that It awakens once roughly every 27 years for 12–16 months at a time, feeding on children before going into slumber again. The group decides to kill It once and for all. At Mike's suggestion, each person explores different parts of Derry to help restore their memories. While exploring, Eddie, Richie, Beverly, and Ben are faced with manifestations of It (Eddie as Belch Huggins in leper form, Richie as a Paul Bunyan statue, Beverly as the witch from Hansel & Gretel and Ben as Dracula). Bill finds his childhood Schwinn, "Silver", and brings it to Mike's.
Three other people are also converging on the town: Audra, who is worried about Bill; Tom, who plans to kill Beverly; and Henry Bowers, who has escaped from Juniper Hill Mental Asylum with help from It. Mike and Henry have a violent confrontation at the library. Mike is nearly killed but Henry escapes, severely injured. Henry is driven to the hotel where It instructs him to kill the rest of the Losers. Henry attacks Eddie, breaking his arm once again, but in the fight, Henry is killed.
It appears to Tom and orders him to capture Audra. Tom brings Audra to its lair. Upon seeing It's true form, Audra becomes catatonic and Tom drops dead from shock. Bill, Ben, Beverly, Richie, and Eddie learn that Mike is near death and realize they are being forced into another confrontation with It. They descend into the sewers and use their strength as a group to "send energy" to a hospitalized Mike, who fights off a nurse that is under the control of It. They reach its lair and find It has taken the form of a giant spider. Bill and Richie enter It's mind through the Ritual of Chüd, and are able to injure It. Eddie helps successfully bring Bill and Richie back from the Ritual, but in the process It rips off Eddie's arm, killing him. It runs away to tend to its injuries, but Bill, Richie, and Ben chase after It and find that It has laid eggs. Ben stays behind to destroy the eggs, while Bill and Richie head toward their final confrontation with It. Bill fights his way inside its body, locates It's heart and destroys it. The group meets up to head out of its lair, and although they try to bring Audra and Eddie's bodies with them, they are forced to leave Eddie behind. They make it to the surface and realize that the scars on their hands from when they were children have disappeared, indicating that their ordeal is finally over.
During the Ritual, the worst storm in Maine's history sweeps through Derry, destroying most of the buildings as the downtown area collapses. Mike concludes that Derry is finally dying. Richie returns to LA, Ben and Beverly leave town together, and while Mike is in the hospital, Bill stays in Mike's house to look after Audra in hopes she will snap out of her catatonic state. The Losers gradually begin to forget about It, Derry, and each other. Mike's memory of his friends and events with It also begins to fade, as well as his Derry memoir and journal, much to his relief, and he considers starting a new life elsewhere. Before Bill leaves Derry, he takes Audra, still catatonic, for a ride on Silver, rushing through downtown Derry like he did as a kid. Audra awakens her from her catatonia with no recollection of what happened upon arriving in Maine.
