Lock Me In An Ancient Tomb

NY Times

Books I Loved in 2025: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix

Babs Webb

illustration to limited edition of “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” by Grady Hendrix, 2026

Happy Halloween Scooby-Doo

GINGER SNAPS

So I just finished the first episode Welcome to Derry, and GODDAMN! It's not often you see a show where 3/5 of the main characters get killed off in the first episode. That said, why did Pennywise choose to spare Ronnie and Lilly even though he could've totally taken them too? If you really think about it, it's because since he knows what they both experience in their lives, HE WANTS TO REVEL IN WHAT THEY WILL SUFFER FROM THE FALLOUT OF THE DEATH OF THEIR FRIENDS!!!!!!

Think about it. What do Ronnie and Lilly have in common? They're social pariahs. Both of them have been ostracized and stigmatized due to tragedies connected to them and their families. Lilly was labelled "loony" because of something related to her father's death, and Ronnie's father has been accused/profiled by the effing police for the death of Matty.

And now that there are other kids who have died WHO WERE WITH THEM, there's no doubt the stigma and societal malice that they and their families already endure at the hands of the town is going to increase a hundredfold.

Remember that Pennywise is a creature that feeds on fear because, as he describes it, it's like "salting the meat"! And by making these girls the scapegoats for the death of their friends, he gets to glut himself with the fear and panic of the townsfolk directed at Ronnie and Lilly AND the fear that they both will be crushed by because now they have to worry about being a target for not just the creature but also ALL OF DERRY!