The HP universe took a dark turn
Words by C. Molly Smith
From the editors of HelloGiggles
If you love Harry Potter, you might not want to face the fact that the wonderful wizarding world has something very much in common with It. But trust us — and the good ‘ol internet! — because there’s a glaring similarity between It‘s Pennywise the Clown and one of Harry Potter‘s magical creatures, as pointed out by Refinery29.
Gimme a B! Gimme an O! Gimme a G-G-A-R-T! What’s that spell? Boggart!
As a refresher, a Boggart is 'a shape-shifting creature that will assume the form of whatever most frightens the person who encounters it,' J.K. Rowling writes on Pottermore.
'Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like if nobody is there to see it, although it continues to exist, usually giving evidence of its presence by rattling, shaking or scratching the object in which it is hiding.'
You probably remember Boggarts best from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Professor Lupin introduced his students to a Boggart — and taught them how to fend it off using the Riddikulus incantation. Neville’s Boggart, for example, is Professor Snape, and when Neville says Riddikulus, Snape is made to look, well, ridiculous. He appears in the clothing of Neville’s grandmother, so not scary at all.
Now, Pennywise isn’t officially a Boggart.
These are different literary/cinematic universes we’re talking about here. But for all intents and purposes, the creepy clown might as well be. At least on a very basic level. That’s because Pennywise transforms into whatever children — in this case, The Losers’ Club — are most afraid of, as it preys on them in an attempt to make them float.
In the final confrontation, for example, Pennywise appears as Bill’s late brother Georgie, basically to manipulate Bill so he can make him suffer the same fate as Georgie. As far as we know, Boggarts aren’t exactly this malicious, but they too thrive off of fear.
'The more generally fearful a person is, the more susceptible they will be to Boggarts,' Rowling explains.
Not to mention, like Boggarts, we don’t actually know what Pennywise looks like in its true form. Though we see it as a clown throughout most of the film, Pennywise’s true form is apparently 'an endless, crawling, hairy creature made of orange light' according to Screen Rant. Welp, this just got even weirder and more frightening.
What’s more, both Boggarts and Pennywise are undead.
'Like a poltergeist, a Boggart is not and never has been truly alive,' Rowling writes.
Pennywise, similarly, is also not one with the living. It seems pretty much resilient to every physical threat, even surviving a metal stake through the head. But it does have an Achilles heel.
Which brings us to another commonality: Boggarts and Pennywise can be defeated through bravery. Again, Boggarts can be tamed through the Riddikulus incantation. And the purpose of that is 'to force the Boggart to assume a less-threatening and hopefully comical form.'
In It, Pennywise doesn’t transform into something less threatening, but it does cower and retreat when the kids straight-up tell it that they aren’t afraid.
All things considered, Boggarts and Pennywise sound pretty damn similar to us — and the internet agrees.
Now, we’re not saying we want any sort of Harry Potter and It crossover. No, that sounds too damn terrifying. However, we could see a world in which they coexist.
And you thought Voldemort was bad.