Phrases such as “We all float down here” and “You’ll float, too” have entered the pop culture lexicon, and red balloons have risen to horror-icon status. In Stephen King’s magnus opus IT, though, there is a lot more clowning around with balloons than most people might recall. Time and again, Pennywise wages psychological warfare and terrorizes the Losers Club with balloons emblazoned with messed-up messages. Here’s a quick quiz for Constant Readers, to see how many of these flashes of malefic wit they can identify. Answers appear in the comments section.
1.What appears scripted on each of the myriad of balloons that appear following the mauling of Adrian Mellon?
2.At the end of “Derry: The Second Interlude,” Mike awakens to find a balloon tied to his reading lamp. What does he see on the balloon?
3.Fill in the blank: When grownup Ben returns to the Derry Library, Penywise manifests and displays a pair of balloons with phrases written on them. They read “HAVE A GOOD DAY! __ __ __!” and “I KILLED ___ ___!–PENNYWISE THE CLOWN.”
4.What Pennywise p.s.a. “COMPLIMENTS OF CENTER STREET DRUG” is an adult Eddie subjected to while visiting the baseball field?
5.After chasing an adult Beverly from her childhood home, Pennywise is seen holding a bunch of balloons bearing what legend? (hint: it’s the title of a 1953 science fiction horror film)
6.Fill in the blank. Appearing in place of the Paul Bunyan statue, Pennywise stands holding a balloon that reads “RICHIE TOZIER’S ‘___ ___’ ___ ___.”
7.Fill in the blank. Perhaps Pennywise’s greatest quip is delivered in Chapter 14 “The Album,” when Mike enters the library’s staff lounge and discovers a balloon that reads “THE LOSERS ARE STILL LOSING, BUT ___ ___ ___ ___ ____!”
BONUS: What is written on the back of It’s varsity jacket when the Teenage Werewolf attacks the Losers Club in the house on Neibolt Street?
ANSWERS [page numbers form the 1986 Viking hardcover edition]:
1.”I [HEART] DERRY!” (p. 35)
2.Not words but a disturbing image. Mike writes: “On it was a picture of my face, the eyes gone, blood running down from the ragged sockets, a scream distorting the mouth on the balloon’s thin and bulging rubber skin.” (p. 471)
3.”HAVE A GOOD DAY! TONIGHT YOU DIE!” (p.546) and “I KILLED BARBARA STARRETT!–PENNYWISE THE CLOWN” (p. 548)
4.”ASTHMA MEDICINE CAUSES LUNG CANCER!”
5.”IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE” (p. 573)
6.”RICHIE TOZIER’s ‘ALL-DEAD’ ROCK SHOW” (p. 589)
7.”THE LOSERS ARE STILL LOSING, BUT STANLEY URIS IS FINALLY AHEAD” (p. 705)
BONUS: “DERRY HIGH SCHOOL KILLING TEAM” and “PENNYWISE” and the number “13” (p. 871)