1. Pennywise- IT
Pennywise is the one sole reason that a whole generation of children feared clowns and the circus in general...nothing about this guy was even remotely funny. Firstly, he fed off childrens' fears hence the clown guise- this guy knew kids hated clowns! He is as old as the town of Derry where he carries out his reign of terror and is a part of their history. He wakes up every thirty or so years, kills, then goes back into hibernation. One of the viewers first encounters of him is in a storm drain were he lures poor Georige to his death- merciless in ripping his arm off and leaving him to bleed out on the pavement. He also pops up in the shower to terrify one of the Losers and can come out of photographs- nowhere is safe from him. Secondly it was Tim Curry's utterly brilliant portrayal. He pulled Pennywise off with so much conviction that you really do forget that he starred as Frank 'n' Furter in Rocky Horror or Long John Silver alongside The Muppets. He was that scary you almost forget that he doesn't even have that much screentime- it's all psychological and when he does show up, you're watching the movie from behind your hands.