Figure 1 – Pennywise the Clown, Salem, MA October 2019. (c) DE Wolf 2019.

As we get closer and closer to Halloween, the creatures that you run into on the streets of Salem, MA getting scarier and scarier. So not surprising, I today took the image of Figure1, which I am pretty sure is going to be my creepiest photograph of Halloween 2019. It is Pennywise the Clown.

Nothing is more terrifying than a clown! And for those, who have read the Stephen King novel or seen one of its movie dramatization, the chills run up your spine and you are left wondering whether this is someone dressed as Pennywise to collect tourist tips for the privilege of taking a photo with the clown or … While it is just possible that this is the true child murderer of the centuries. You really cannot be sure, as it is said that he has been found in sketches of ancient carnivals, often seen with a red balloon.

Stephen King is such a master of the macabre that you are left wondering whether IT, or Pennywise, is some mythic character, long whispered about on chilly October nights. Pennywise, according to King, is based upon serial killer John Wayne Gacy who performed at children’s parties as Pogo the Clown. He was responsible for a string of murders of 30 young men and boys in the Chicago area in the 1970s,

Perhaps, I should leave it at that. Leave it for you to stare at the blood red colors of Pennywise’s costume – the blood on his face and the carnivorous teeth. He is something unworldly, something evil, of evil. And whether he is real or merely a creation of the depths of a primordial terror in our minds, may not truly make a difference.

Canon T2i with EF70-200 mm f/4 USM lens at 159 mm, ISO 400, Aperture Priority AE mode 1/125th sec at f/6.3, pattern focusing with no exposure compensation.