One of Stephen King’s most popular and praised novels is IT, and he has continued writing a number of stories since IT was published, but that wasn’t always his plan, as he almost quit writing horror after that specific story. Stephen King has earned the title of the King of Horror thanks to his many novels and short stories that explore a variety of creatures and fears, which have brought some of the scariest characters in pop culture. Among those is IT, one of King’s most extensive and popular novels, which introduced readers to a one-of-a-kind creature that could take the shape of any tangible fear.
Set in Derry, Maine, like many other King stories, IT tells the story of a group of kids self-named “The Losers Club”, who come across an evil entity living in the sewers which wakes up every 27 years to feed – and this creature feeds off the fear of its victims thanks to its ability to take any shape it desires. The Losers refer to this creature as “IT”, and while it can take the form of its victims' biggest fears in order to torture and catch them, its preferred shape is that of Pennywise, the Dancing Clown. IT alternates between 1957 and 1985, following the Losers when they were kids and as adults, allowing readers to see how their fears have changed over the years and the different ways in which trauma has affected them in their adult lives.
IT was published in 1986, and while it initially received mixed reactions (and made way for controversy, in big part due to the sex scene between Beverly and the rest of the Losers in the sewers) and its length was heavily criticized, the novel became a bestseller and a favorite among not only fans of King but horror fans in general. IT has been adapted into two miniseries and a two-part feature film, and Pennywise has become one of the most popular monsters in pop culture. However, despite all this success, Stephen King almost quit writing horror stories after IT, and his next three novels were not part of that genre.
Speaking to TIME in October of 1986, weeks after the publishing of IT, Stephen King called the novel a “very badly constructed book” and claimed that he had had “about three original ideas in his life” and the rest were bouncers, and that he can “sense the limitations” of his talents. The magazine speculated that King’s lack of confidence in his writing for the horror genre was related to the competition, such as Clive Barker, who King called better than him and more energetic. King then claimed that IT would be his last horror novel, saying “for now, as far as the Stephen King Book-of-the-Month Club goes, this is the clearance-sale time. Everything must go”. IT was followed in 1987 by three books that weren’t horror stories: The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (a dark western), Misery (a thriller), and The Tommyknockers (sci-fi).
Of course, King eventually changed his mind and returned to the horror genre with The Dark Half, though he continued visiting other genres as well, making way for popular stories like Gerald’s Game, The Green Mile, Lisey’s Story, Under the Dome, Doctor Sleep, and more. Writing an extensive and layered novel like IT was surely an exhausting experience for Stephen King, so it’s understandable that he wanted to stay away from the horror genre after it, but luckily for the audience, it was just a false alarm and he continues to write engaging horror stories that allow readers to explore different settings and fears safely.