As a seasoned fan of horror and literature, I have grown to be very particular of what I may brand as my favorite horror story. Often the horror stories I have come across would fall short under my criteria in being poorly written, predictable, or victims of overused plot structures and horror clichés. Stephen King’s It has cemented itself as an iconic work both in the cinematic world and in literature, and with good reason. Stephen King provides the reader terror in It’s most innocent forms: children’s fears. King transforms these base fears into the amalgamation that is It in a way that spooks even the bravest soul to check his or her closet before turning in for the night. In my opinion, this work is the pinnacle for horror, King’s unique
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This mechanism allowed for the reader to experience what the characters were experiencing firsthand, the frustration of not remembering the mysterious horrors of their childhood, the dawning of fresh, abject terror when the memories flood back to the characters. This experience was prominent to me when Richie, in his adulthood, was brought back to his very first confrontation with It; as a child he feared a tall Paul Bunyan statue set in Derry’s Park, and to his horror it was brought to life and chased him through the town wanting to eat him. The memory gave both Richie and me lasting jitters for the rest of that chapter. This structuring allowed for It’s intentions to be brought to life before your eyes, as he sought to weave the past with the present, unearthing an old fight It was defeated in to the present, to come out the victor in their battle. This was what fascinated me most about King’s writing in this book, when it the ultimate showdown with It came close, King succinctly brought you to and from the past and present. Further, a chapter focused in the characters’ past would end mid-sentence, to be continued on in the characters’ future in the next chapter. This would continue until it felt as if the past was the present and vise
This mechanism allowed for the reader to experience what the characters were experiencing firsthand, the frustration of not remembering the mysterious horrors of their childhood, the dawning of fresh, abject terror when the memories flood back to the characters. This experience was prominent to me when Richie, in his adulthood, was brought back to his very first confrontation with It; as a child he feared a tall Paul Bunyan statue set in Derry’s Park, and to his horror it was brought to life and chased him through the town wanting to eat him. The memory gave both Richie and me lasting jitters for the rest of that chapter. This structuring allowed for It’s intentions to be brought to life before your eyes, as he sought to weave the past with the present, unearthing an old fight It was defeated in to the present, to come out the victor in their battle. This was what fascinated me most about King’s writing in this book, when it the ultimate showdown with It came close, King succinctly brought you to and from the past and present. Further, a chapter focused in the characters’ past would end mid-sentence, to be continued on in the characters’ future in the next chapter. This would continue until it felt as if the past was the present and vise