In 1990, Tommy Lee Wallace directed the 192-minute long mini-series of Stephen King’s horror classic It. Tim Curry’s performance has been praised for scaring a whole generation of kids as well as fully-grown adults. Yet what keeps most people coming back for more when it comes to King’s story is not the antics of the evil clown but instead the heart and soul that derives from The Losers’ Club. These characters carry a whole lot of weight for King fans and there are a ton of fascinating details about these characters that most people tend to miss. Read on to find out what these hidden details are!

10. EDDIE SUFFERS FROM MUNCHAUSEN SYNDROME

At first glance, you might just assume Eddie Kaspbrak is naturally neurotic and a classic hypochondriac but the reason behind his constant anxiety when it comes to his health stems much deeper than that. Unfortunately, Eddie is a victim of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy with his own mother as the abuser.

This means Mrs. Kaspbrak has been faking all of Eddie’s illnesses in order to have unlimited control over him. Even his asthma inhaler is a placebo or “gazeebo” as the 2017 version of Eddie so hilariously puts it. Unfortunately, Munchausen Syndrome hadn’t been acknowledged or coined by the general public until the late ’70s, so back in the ’50s when Eddie was suffering from this syndrome, it was a form of abuse that hadn’t even been discovered yet.

9. AUDRA/BEVERLY THEORY

Fans of It may have noticed the uncanny similarities between Bill’s wife Audra Phillips and Beverly Marsh. In the mini-series, both women have extremely similar features with the same colored hair and face shape. Although some might consider this to be a minor coincidence, in the book it is revealed that these similarities have a deeper meaning than one would expect.

The reason Bill marries Audra is because she reminds him a great deal of his old love Beverly Marsh. It is revealed in the mini-series and the book that everyone in The Losers’ Club feels as though they have never loved anyone throughout their lives as much as they love each other, so it makes sense that Bill would go for someone who subconsciously reminds him of his childhood love.

8. THE REASON BEHIND STAN’S SUICIDE

Although one might originally assume that the reason behind Stan’s suicide as an adult has to do with the possibility that he was the most afraid out of all The Losers’ and that he took his life in order to escape the evil destruction of Pennywise, the real reason “Stan-the-man” takes his life is a whole lot more complex. The reason Stan dies is because Pennywise goes against everything he has ever believed in. Stan functions off of logic and reasoning, and because there is no logical explanation behind Pennywise and his shape-shifting ways, Stan feels completely lost and afraid. It is as though his way of life has come crashing down to pieces and he can’t live in a world where scientific reasoning is no longer plausible.

7. RICHIE AND EDDIE’S UNBREAKABLE BOND

Warning: This contains spoilers from It: Chapter 2 (2019)

In the mini-series, it is made very clear that Richie Tozier and Eddie Kaspbrack have a unique connection. Although in the ’90s mini-series Richie announces that he loves Eddie “like a brother”, we know from It: Chapter 2 that their connection is more than platonic.

There are some hints at this in the mini-series but it is even more evident in the book considering the fact that Richie consistently refers to how “adorable” and “cute” Eddie is. When Eddie dies, Richie clearly struggles the most.

6. BEVERLY’S HOME-LIFE WITH HER FATHER

In the mini-series, it is quite evident that Mr. Marsh isn’t going to win any “best father of the year” awards anytime soon. He is extremely abusive to her both physically and emotionally but what the original ’90s It movie fails to mention is all of the other awful ways he abuses Beverly. In the book and in the newer films Mr. Marsh is sexually driven towards his own daughter and because of this, she is constantly in a state of fear when she’s at home. This is in part why she is so afraid that her father will find out about The Losers’ Club and the fact that she has been hanging around “with boys”. She knows that he will lash out in jealousy and hurt her even more.

5. BEN’S “JANUARY EMBERS” POEM FOR BEVERLY

Ben’s anonymous poem that he writes for Beverly goes as follows: Your hair is winter fire, January Embers, My heart burns there too. Although this poem and the meaning behind it is lovely, it doesn’t make as much sense in the mini-series as it does in the book. This is due to the fact that Bev’s hair is brown in the ’90s movie yet “winter fire” is supposed to represent her red hair as described in the book. The reason why he writes the poem anonymously is because, as he expresses in the novel, he doesn’t think a girl like Beverly would ever want anything to do with a “fat kid” like him. He is also pretty certain that Bev has got the hots for Bill, so he takes the discreet route when it comes to his love for her.

During the unforgettable Chinese restaurant scene when all of their fears come out of their fortune cookies, Richie’s fear turns out to be an eyeball. It seems rather random and specific but the more you get to know about Richie Tozier and his past, the more sense it makes. Throughout Richie’s childhood, he had been given a lot of smack for his giant broken glasses which were kept together by duct tape. Other than “Trashmouth”, he had been given the nickname “four-eyes” while attending school, and he was severely bullied because of it. It wasn’t until adulthood that he made the switch to wearing contact lenses but he is still haunted by all the suffering he had to face as a kid simply for wearing glasses.

3. BEVERLY AND TOM’S RELATIONSHIP

It’s a no-brainer that Beverly chose to marry Tom Rogan because he reminded her a lot of her father. The book further explains how the abuse that she suffered from her father was “all she knew” and therefore she almost felt a sense of safety and familiarity being with Tom despite (or perhaps because) of his abuse. In the chapters that we get that are from Tom’s perspective, we learn that he was physically abused as a child and the only way he can ever feel “seen” is when he is abusing Beverly. He believes that when he is abusing her, he “exists” but when he is no longer able to control her, he feels as though he is invisible and has no worth.

2. THE REASON BEHIND BEN’S WEIGHT

Stephen King is quite the genius when it comes to creating characters with lots of layers to them. This is certainly the case for Ben Hanscom who we discover has a reason behind his excessive weight. Although most of the parents in Derry are known for being royal scumbags, Ben’s mother is one of the few exceptions.

Mrs. Hanscom cares a great deal about her son and she loves him very much, yet as a single mother, she wants to prove to herself and to her son that she can give him everything he’s ever wanted and needed without a father figure around. Because she is trying to prove herself as a capable mother, she shows her love and affection for Ben by feeding him excessive amounts of food.

1. THE SIGNIFICANCE BEHIND THE BLOOD IN BEVERLY’S SINK

No one can possibly forget about that classic scene from It when Beverly sees all the blood come out of her sink. Although the thought of blood exploding in an enclosed space out of nowhere is terrifying, there is a deeper meaning behind why Beverly sees blood as her biggest fear. It is highly suggested that Beverly’s blood-scare is a metaphor for her fear of having her period which is really representative towards her fear of becoming a woman. When Beverly will experience puberty she will develop physically and she is terrified that the boys/men in her life will see her as a sexual object. This is especially horrifying once you consider her father’s objectification and abuse. Luckily, Beverly has an amazing group of friends who respect her and love her no matter what.