something scary keeping you up at night? spooky tuesday is a (now not so new!) podcast where we’re breaking down all of our favorite slashers, thrillers, monster movies and black comedies on the new scariest day of the week.

this week, we're throwing it back to 1990's it miniseries in honor of another gem from 1990! for sydneypalooza here at the pod syd had but one requirement: that we cover this double-feature fave from her childhood which she insists counts as only one very long movie. packed full of spooky imagery, a very handsome john ritter in a bowtie, tim reid's mike as the smartest man in maine, beverly marsh kissing all of her friends on the mouth, and tim curry as a terrifying yet tantalizing killer clown, this movie's got a *lot* going for it.

With Pennywise being a shape-shifter, his abilities have pros and cons.

The cons are that he can transform into the thing(s) that his victim fears.

“So, does that make you a boggart?” “What's a boggart?” “Nevermind.”

In a way, it has it's perks. Other times...not so much.

Focusing on the pros!

Sometimes when he notices that you're feeling down, he'll change into an animal. One that he knows you love.

When he notices that you need cheering up, he’ll change into a cat, licking at your face, purring in your ear. 

He’ll take the role very seriously. He will climb into your lap, lying in it or on his back and let you tickle his belly. 

He will also take it upon himself to wake you up in the morning, mewling and pawing at your face until you wake up. 

So much for an alarm! 

One time, you'd asked Pennywise what else he could turn into. So, he showed you. He transformed into a pure white snake with intricate and patterns on its scales. He slithered up your legs, into your lap and then around your shoulders. His forked tongue flickering across your cheek.

He then changed into a large spider, which freaked you out the most. He quickly changed back and comforted you with licks and nuzzles until he knows you're better.

During the autumn period, you love to take a peaceful walk in the woods – just to get away from the town for a while. Penny will accompany you as a large black wolf, wanting nothing more than to keep you safe.

He looked beautiful and so cuddly as you found out when you sat by the fire, reading a book and he padded his way over to you. You left the book to one side and forgot about it as you stroked the wolf!Pennywise's head, scratching behind his ears, making his tongue loll out of his mouth and hind leg kick wildly.

For your birthday, Penny treated you by turning into big cats: lions, tigers and panthers. (Gotcha!)

It felt so lovely to feel the rough fur of the big cats, to feel how sharp the claw nails were and how squishy the peet pads were. Very different from just seeing them cooped up in a zoo.

You did nothing much for the rest of the day except cuddle up with Pennywise still as a lion (or a tiger or another big cat of your choice)  as you ate the first few slices of your birthday cake and watched films most of the day.

There also might have been an occasion where a thief had broken into your house and both you and Penny had heard it.

You were too nervous to go and see who it was. So, Penny went down and found the burglar sneaking around the house to find something worth something. He changed into a tiger and attacked the burglar.

Thankfully, he didn't kill him, just some cuts and bruises and to make him almost shit himself and run off. It also led the police cornering him and arresting him.

The next day, the police came to your door. You were surprised by this, thankfully, Pennywise had changed himself into his human form. “Ma'am, we've been told that you have a tiger in your home, which apparently attacked the man who invaded your home.” “Huh? Um, we don't have a tiger in here, do we, Robert?” “No, not that I've noticed. You can search if you want.”

After they'd gone, you and Penny had a good laugh about it.

There might have been a few occasions where Penny has followed you around town to keep an eye on you. He heard some whispers through the town of a few gang members causing trouble in the streets and wants nothing more than to keep you safe.

Of course, there has been the odd moment where Penny has had to reveal his clown/human form because some creep starts to follow you and becomes the stuff of nightmares...

Although, you don't know any of this...yet!