Is Pennywise a Wendigo? 'IT: Welcome To Derry' might have just confirmed a major Stephen King theory
Ever since its debut on HBO in October, 'Welcome to Derry' has been steadily grabbing eyeballs. Being a prequel to the previously released 'IT' movies, 'Welcome to Derry' is set against the backdrop of 1962 in the sleepy Maine town, which is once again being terrorized by the agent of fear known as Pennywise—portrayed to perfection by Bill Skarsgard. The recently aired fourth episode of the HBO show finally shed some light on Pennywise's backstory and confirmed a long-standing Stephen King theory regarding the entity's origins, as per a ScreenRant report.
Pennywise has been traditionally portrayed as a frightening entity that draws its strength by feeding upon the fears of its victims. The opening sequence from 'Welcome to Derry' further reinforces this fact when Pennywise turns into a car, complete with people inside, to instill fear. With the successive episodes, it has now become clear that Pennywise has a long history of haunting behind him, and may have been roaming the earth for millions of years. Furthermore, once young Dick Halloran used his gift of Shining to read Taniel's mind, he came across the native myth of 'The Galloo', which Taniel had learned in the past. It becomes clear that the monster Taniel talked about was Pennywise.
Several of Stephen King's other horror works, most notably 'Pet Sematary', refer to the mythical entity of the Wendigo. According to Native American folklore, 'The Galloo' might be related to the Wendigo, as the latter is a mythical demon who typically hunts European settlers. Once again, its familiar modus operandi is preying on negative sentiments such as lust, greed, and fear. Judged in this new light, it becomes clear that Pennywise is, most likely, a Wendigo.
Although Pennywise is poised to have a good run in a secluded town like Derry, known for its dark history, it can now be asserted that the fail-safe way to defeat him is by resisting one's evocation of fear. Pennywise is virtually powerless over those who choose not to give in to the negative sentiments and prevent him from taking over their psyche. This is further proved by the fact that the Loser's Club was able to escape from the clutches of Pennywise.
Speaking in an interview with THR, 'Welcome to Derry' directors Andy and Barbara Muschietti explained their approach behind Pennywise on the show. Barbara explained, "The last thing we want is to have an audience get comfortable with Pennywise. We don't want anybody to get used to his image. He's unpredictable. He strikes whenever he feels like it." "But it's part of the canon, even in the book, that he creates hallucinations," Andy added.
