4. IT
The reason I hate clowns. The reason I hate spiders. The reason I spent many sleepless nights in the late 80s. My parents let me read this stuff? The novel is told in a split narrative while following the same group of characters. The novel deals with the characters as children as they fight off the evil entity, posing as a clown, and later as adults where it has taken the shape of a giant spider. Scary as hell doesnt even begin to describe this novel. Specifically, the segment following the children as they battle Pennywise the clown is the most upsetting. King again taps into life in a small town, a recurring theme throughout his career and deals heavily with the theme of childhood trauma. Making his villain a shape changing entity that preys on your innermost fears and paranoia is absolutely diabolical. No matter how brave your facade, you have very little control over whats inside. The fact that the characters win and then are faced with the same challenge again as adults is almost unfair. Thats life. Build yourself up from the inside or get swallowed up by the world around you.