Stephen King's IT introduced readers to a one-of-a-kind creature that can take any form, the most common one being Pennywise the Dancing Clown, and as menacing as it is, this creature has one big enemy it's truly scared of: Maturin, the turtle. Stephen King has told different types of horror stories in his novels, with villains that go from supernatural beings to humans who incarnate evil. In 1986, King explored some of the deepest and most common fears in the novel IT, through an evil, shapeshifting entity that was simply referred to as "IT".

IT tells the story of a group of kids self-named "The Losers Club" by alternating between 1957 and 1985, thus following the Losers when they were kids and as adults. Set in Derry, Maine (like many other stories by King), the Losers come across an evil entity living in the sewers which wakes up every 27 years to feed, and it can take any shape it desires. Referred to as "IT", this creature takes the form of its victims' biggest fears as it feeds off their fear, but its preferred shape is that of Pennywise. At some point in the novel, King explained part of IT's backstory but left enough of it untold to raise many questions about it, and everything about Pennywise's origins is a bit confusing, as it's connected to the macroverse and the turtle Maturin, who's the only being IT is afraid of.

Among the many concepts in the universe of Stephen King is the marcoverse – a void containing and surrounding the universe and where IT and a turtle named Maturin live. IT's true shape only exists in an interdimensional realm referred to as "deadlights." IT's real likeness isn't comprehensible to the human mind, but its closest conceivable comparison would be a giant female spider. Those who have faced the deadlights go immediately insane, with only a few surviving such experiences. Maturin, on the other hand, is a massive turtle who by nature is kind, wise, gentle, and compassionate, and who constantly withdraws into his shell. On one of the rare occasions on which he emerged, he had a stomach ache and vomited out the mainstream universe, returning to his shell immediately after. Here's why Maturin, unassuming as it is, scares Pennywise so much.

Why Pennywise Being Scared Of The Turtle Makes IT Scarier

Because of this behavior, IT considered Maturin to be old and lazy, but Pennywise was also afraid of the legendary turtle. In IT, during the Ritual of Chüd through which Bill Denbrough was able to talk to the turtle, Maturin told the young boy that IT was afraid of him, human potential, and the turtle himself. The notion of a creature like IT being afraid of a character like Maturin might not make much sense at first glance, but what happens is that these two entities are natural enemies and opposites, yet they're equal in power. IT represents chaos, evil, and fear, while the turtle is a force of kindness led by compassion, making them direct opposites. Both being interdimensional entities, their powers are at the same level, meaning that the turtle could kill IT if it wanted to. It makes sense that IT is afraid of Maturin – but the viewers and readers also have genuine grounds for cosmic terror.

The fact that both IT and Maturin exist makes IT that much scarier. The implication of their existence means that there must be more legendary beasts living in the natural world, pulling the strings. While it may seem a little silly on the surface that evil itself is afraid of a turtle, it makes perfect sense considering that their powers are comparable and yet opposites. Since IT and Maturin exist, it means that other interdimensional beings with equivalent power may also be present, making both IT chapters more than just a horror franchise. Maturin's existence is proof that Pennywise isn't a simple villain but a link in an interconnected chain of beings with unimaginable power. The notion of more monsters like Pennywise is horrifying, even though the only other example in IT is, thankfully, benevolent.

The Stephen King universe is more complex than it seems, as it's a self-contained reality with layered mythology and a range of different entities and creatures with varying purposes, and many of their stories have been deliberately left as mysteries. IT established that Pennywise is scared of Maturin but didn't explore their joint history, nor what could happen if these two were to fight at some point.