It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The story is about seven children being terrorized by a shape-shifting, child-killing malevolent entity - known as "It" - that takes the form of their deepest fears but primarily appears in the form of a clown, calling itself "Pennywise the Dancing Clown." The novel features a nonlinear narrative which alternates between two different time periods and shifts among the different perspectives and stories of its seven protagonists. It deals with themes which would eventually become King staples: the power of memory, childhood trauma and the ugliness lurking behind a small-town facade.