Stephen King has one of the most demented minds in publishing. It’s the reason he’s been able to fill thousands of best-selling pages with honest to god terror over the course of his career. But King’s latest idea is out there even for him, a mash-up of one of his most terrifying characters with an equally beloved (but diametrically opposed) body of work that people are having some strong reactions to on Twitter.
The saga began with a tweet King sent last night in which he suggested that Pennywise the clown, the villain from It, do as plenty of other celebrities have done and tape a cameo appearance on Sesame Street. That’s right. King wants a murderous clown to come to the happiest street in America. And, when you consider how scary Oscar the Grouch is, or how terrified sane parents are of Elmo, this is might make some twisted sense.
Pennywise on Sesame Street! Wouldn’t that be cool? He could give out balloons! Bert and Ernie would float! EVERYBODY would float! The kids would love it!
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 10, 2019
King has 5.5 million followers, and lots of them were very enthusiastic about the idea, though it seems as more for adults to watch instead of kids.
They aren’t ready, Stephen. And that is why it should be done. 🎈🤡
— 🔪 mika 🍑 (@RIPmika) November 11, 2019
Pennywise on Sesame Street! Wouldn’t that be cool? He could give out balloons! Bert and Ernie would float! EVERYBODY would float! The kids would love it!
— bec (@vintagewallows) November 11, 2019
You joke, but I’d still watch It pic.twitter.com/33yd1iVghC
— Antifascist Al (@MoebiusDork) November 11, 2019
Others were less excited about the idea, even going so far as to invoke internet celebrity Smudge the cat.
— brigid (no 1 lottie stan) (@kidcuisine98) November 11, 2019
Another questioned King’s very being, though it seems that the dark corners of his mind have done much more good than harm to anyone who likes a good scare every once in a while.
why are you like this stephen
— Gary M. Sarli♿️ (@GMSarli) November 10, 2019
Some other folks took the idea even further; why stop at just Pennywise just on Sesame Street? Why not create an entire demented King kids show universe?
He could take along Cujo. Kids love dogs.
— Raz651🥚 (@Raz651_EggHead) November 11, 2019
Let’s not stop there. How about a rebooted Mr Pennywise’s Neighborhood?
— Alistair Coleman (@alistaircoleman) November 11, 2019
We can’t say we’re holding our breath waiting for Pennywise to come to Sesame Street, and we certainly would want to take a look at the episode before exposing kids to it. That being said, King’s pitch is convincing, and we’re definitely interested in seeing Elmo, Grover, and the Cookie Monster floating over Sesame Street soon.
