IT: Welcome to Derry ain’t playin’ no games when it comes to dishing out blood and horror elements. I am quite the horror aficionado who has seen pretty much every type of gruesome kill and heart-pounding moment play out of screen. And reader, Welcome to Derry truly shocked the hell out of me by delivering some epic brutal and terrifying moments. I found myself gasping and audibly going “whaaattt?!” more than once in the very first episode… and that’s a great thing! Here are the most brutal and downright scariest moments in IT: Welcome to Derry so far.
Jump To: Episode 1 // Episode 2 // Episode 3 // Episode 4 // Episode 5 // Episode 6 // Episode 7 // Episode 8
The Scariest and Most Shocking Moments in IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 1, “The Pilot”
Matty’s Car Ride From Hell
Poor Matty. This ostracized kid from a seemingly abusive family goes through a horrific ordeal one night. He runs from the local theater after not paying and tries to catch a ride out of town. More than anything, he just wants to escape Derry. Well, a seemingly all-American family pulls up to help him out… and things get more unsettling by the moment. The little kid starting to spell ominous words, the girl fingering raw meat, and the father ignoring Matty’s pleas to let him go are enough to send a chill up your spine. But, when the pregnant mom gives birth to some demon spawn baby with wings that attacks, it turns super ugly.
Matty Reaches Out Through the Pipes
Another kid who can’t catch a break is Lilly Bainbridge. She blames herself for her father’s accidental death at his job and ends up having a mental break, which led to her spending time in Juniper Hill Asylum. Now, she’s back at school where bullies cannot wait to torture her. And that’s the least of her problems after one weird night in her bathroom.
She hears a singing voice that sounds like Matty, and he’s reciting words from The Music Man, which is the last film he saw before his disappearance. She asks him to please come home and Matty grimly says “he won’t let me” before bloody fingers reach through her sink. This is the beginning of Pennywise’s machinations with her in Welcome to Derry, and it is one of the scariest moments in episode one.
Teddy’s Faceskin Lampshade
Teddy is next up to be frightened to bits by Pennywise. During a family dinner, he asks his father if it is possible for someone to hold a kid hostage in a sewer for months. His father dismisses his inquiry and says he needs to keep his head out of comic books and fantasy. To drive home his point, Teddy’s dad talks about the real-life hardships that Jewish people suffered in history and how some people’s faces were cut off and used as shades for evil people’s lamps.
That would certainly scare a kid like him to pieces considering that the Holocaust ended less than 20 years prior. So naturally, Teddy had a nightmare about his lampshade being covered in talking faces. It is a creepy scene indeed, but not close to the scariest one in this episode.
The Capitol Theater Massacre
The scariest and most brutal moment in Welcome to Derry’s first episode absolutely goes to the deaths at the theater. Lilly, Phil (a conspiracy theorist), Teddy, and Phil’s chatty younger sister Suzy dive into some research about Matty’s disappearance. They discover that he was at the Capitol Theater and the last person to see him was Ronnie Grogan, one of their peers whose father owns the theater. They track her down and she eventually agrees to help, so they all head to the theater for answers.
They start watching The Music Man for clues, but things get strange when Matty shows up on screen holding a baby. Well, guess what?! It’s the demon baby, and that thing comes out and kills Phil, Teddy, and poor little Suzy, too. This is quite the plot twist considering most shows, like Stranger Things, have stuck with the same ensemble kids (and even added a few). Killing kids is still kinda controversial, in a sense. But Welcome to Derry welcomes the murder of three children in a theater to cap off its first episode.
The Scariest and Most Shocking Moments in IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 2, “The Thing in the Dark”
Ronnie’s Tragic Birth Nightmare
Poor Ronnie. She’s in her room listening to the adults in her life argue with the covers over her head. Ronnie suddenly realizes that she cannot escape the covers, which soon turn into the inside of a womb. She is pushed through a birth canal and covered with chunks of blood and body tissue when she looks back to see a grotesque version of her mother. The woman blames Ronnie for killing her during labor and says she just wanted to hold her baby. The way that this twisted version of Ronnie’s mom snaps her bones around and begins to drag Ronnie with an umbilical cord is incredibly frightening and disturbing.
Lilly’s Daytime Nightmare Full of Pickles
Speaking of nightmares, Ronnie isn’t the only one that Pennywise is torturing. Lilly goes to the supermarket to pick up a few things on her mom’s grocery list, and things spiral fast. Everything about this scene is unsettling, from the other people staring, following, whispering, and doing that chilling smile to her father’s pickled tentacles wrapping around her head. One thing is for sure: I do NOT want to be a traumatized kid in Derry.
The Scariest and Most Shocking Moments in IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 3, “Now You See It”
The Chase in the Woods
In 1908, Francis (now known as General Shaw) and Rose were two pre-teens having a cheerful summer. That is, until Francis wanders into the woods and has a nearly deadly encounter with IT, who takes the form of a gnarly old man with spider-like limbs. The intense chase and Rose showing up in the nick of time to subdue the creature is a scene that makes your heart pound.
The Graveyard Resurrection
Lilly, Ronnie, Will, and Rich venture into the local graveyard to get photo proof about what happened to the kids who died at the theater. At first, they think that Rich’s spell to summon an evil spirit is a waste of time. Suddenly, they end up getting more than they bargained for when the spirits of their friends rise up in a haunting way. The bike chase scene and attempts to not lose their camera are intense, but Will’s brief time at the gravesite where Pennywise is lurking is just as chilling.
Hallorann’s In-Flight Experience
The latest part of General Shaw’s plan to harness the entity involves flying Dick Hallorann over the woods. He gives Hallorann the slingshot used during his 1908 encounter with the entity, which allows Hallorann to use his ability to connect. Hallorann ends up in a sewer-like place where he not only sees a Pennywise cart and floating objects/bodies, but also has a brief encounter with IT. But, what’s really frightening is the warning from his deceased grandmother that something is coming for him. Yikeeesss.
Jump To: Episode 1 // Episode 2 // Episode 3 // Episode 4 // Episode 5 // Episode 6 // Episode 7 // Episode 8
The Scariest and Most Shocking Moments in IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 4, “The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet’s Function”
Will’s Fishing Attack
At the behest of Charlotte, Leroy takes Will fishing for some father-son bonding time. And things are going well at first with Will sorta admitting that he likes Ronnie. But, when Leroy goes back to the car to grab some gear, Will experiences a waking nightmare. He’s pulled under the water by a charred version of his father, who sends him an ominous threat. Leroy comes to pull him back up, and he’s horrified to see marks on his son’s wrists. Will tells Leroy that there’s something terrible in Derry and Leroy quickly makes the connection between Operation Precept and his son’s words of warning.
Marge’s Eye Conundrum
Sometimes, karma comes at you fast. Lilly’s “friend” Marge decides to help the Patty cake girls set Lilly up for an embarrassing prank. Marge follows Lilly to the bathroom to keep encouraging the rouse, but she soon stops when she feels like her eyes are starting to pop out of her head. She turns into a nightmare slug from a former class video and cuts one of her eyes out. Lilly tries to stop her but it is to no avail.
Hallorann Invades Taniel’s Mind
The sequence of Hallorann tapping into Taniel’s brain to find out the truth behind where the entity is incredibly unsettling. The origin story of IT is sublime but the way this rocks Taniel’s body is awful.
The Scariest and Most Shocking Moments in IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 5, “29 Neibolt Street”
Smile for Me, Mr. Officer
Charlotte Hanlon gets her first taste of Pennywise weirdness at the precent as she watches poor Grogan get loaded onto a bus to Shawshank. Things hit a fever pitch when a grieving father tries to shoot Grogan, and she looks at a window to see a cop with a devilish grin. The person seems to disappear, leaving her shaken and wondering if she really did see him. Girl, you in danger.
Everything in the Tunnels, Especially the Pennywise Moments
The entire tunnel scene in Welcome to Derry is so intense and full of both scary and shocking moments. The manifestation of Charlotte that taunts Leroy, the unexpected way that Pauly Russo dies, and, of course, how what appeared to be an alive Matty is just Pennywise in disguise all come together for one heck of an episode ending. The way that Pennywise converges on Lilly and Dick Hallorann’s disturbing nightmares is enough to make you never want to sleep again.
The Scariest and Most Shocking Moments in IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 6, “In the Name of the Father”
The 1935 Death of Poor Mable
The episode takes us back to 1935 at Juniper Hill, where we meet a young resident named Mabel. A younger Ingrid overhears a conversation that the girl is having about a clown who says he wants to meet her in the basement. While other adults write this off, Ingrid takes her to the basement. And guess what? Good ole Pennywise is there. What Mabel doesn’t know is that Ingrid still believes her father, whom IT has taken on for its latest form, is somehow in there and redeemable. Sadly, this leads to a crushing death as Pennywise consumes the poor girl, her red blood pooling under a doorway. Yeesh.
Lilly’s School Nightmare
Once again, Lilly’s deceased father comes to haunt her. This time, he slithers in her school desk, causing her to have a complete meltdown at school. Lilly defies her teacher’s orders and leaves the campus to seek solace with Ingrid. Unfortunately…
Ingrid Is the Daughter of Pennywise (Sort Of)
As Lilly slowly discovers, the clown form of IT, which is called Pennywise, has a connection to Ingrid. Her father was the original Pennywise, a traveling clown with ridiculously disturbing makeup. Ingrid believes she can reunite with her father and wants to rope Lilly further into this plan. Lilly manages to cut her and get away but Ingrid is already making moves to make things worse.
The Scariest and Most Shocking Moments in IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 7, “The Black Spot”
IT Finds the Pennywise Form
Before we get into the terror that unfolds at the Black Spot, we first go back to 1908 once again. We see a young Ingrid and her father, who plays the beloved dancing clown named Pennywise. One night, he notices a very strange little boy who lures him into the woods. While it isn’t downright scary, it is very unsettling to realize that we saw the moment where the Pennywise form is born.
The Black Spot and Rich’s Death
Every single thing that happens during the Black Spot fire is a horror moment within itself. People burning alive and being executed, Pennywise appearing and literally consuming someone’s face, Hallorann’s visions, and, of course, the death of Rich are all shocking and incredibly scary.
Ingrid’s Pennywise Encounter
Pennywise the Clown and Ingrid share a scene together that’s truly disturbing. While we aren’t necessarily mad at IT for killing Stan Kersch, who was both a murderous racist and an abusive husband, it is still a lot to witness. The same goes for Ingrid, who literally sparked all of this death in hopes of reuniting with her father. The level of delusion is baffling, but by the time she finally accepts her father’s fate, it is too late. IT shines that awful light on her and essentially takes her soul. Oh well.
Hallorann Sees the Deceased
The morning after the fire, Hanlon tries to check in on Hallorann. But that guy is struggling for several obvious reasons, including the fact that he’s seeing the faces of people who died the night before. Oh dear.
General Shaw’s Dumba** Plan
We finally learn that Shaw’s dumb plan is not the actual plan. In fact, his real plan is even dumber than the fake one. He wants to unleash Pennywise on everyone to keep them in control. Cool cool. We are just as upset as Leroy Hanlon about this…
Pennywise Wakes Up and Will Sees the Light
Thanks to the military, Pennywise is back up again and now able to appear wherever he wants to. And the first person he paid a visit to is none other than Will Hanlon, who sees that same unfortunate Deadlight.
Jump To: Episode 1 // Episode 2 // Episode 3 // Episode 4 // Episode 5 // Episode 6 // Episode 7 // Episode 8
The Scariest and Most Shocking Moments in IT: Welcome to Derry Episode 8, “Winter Fire”
Pennywise Meets Derry Kids
Ever the unserious being, Pennywise arrives at Derry High School. He sends all the upperclassmen away and creates an assembly for the younger kids. And, he introduces himself by turning their principal into a meat puppet before performing his “magic trick” of ripping the guy’s head off and tossing his body into the crowd. Then he sings a creepy song about tasting their faces before hitting them with Deadlights. So entertaining!
Dick Hallorann’s Ghosts Continue to Haunt Him
Poor Hallorann was close to dying by suicide because he kept seeing ghastly figures of those who have died. Thankfully, Leroy came in to help settle him back down. Hallorann gets the help he needs later on, thanks to Rose, but this is still one of the scariest and most intense scenes in Welcome to Derry.
The Chase on Ice
Lilly, Ronnie, and Marge catch up to Pennywise and his trail of soulless kids on the frozen over river. He tries to initially attack them, but Ronnie uses the dagger to steer him backwards. However, unlike the tunnel where IT couldn’t walk around Lilly, there’s space all behind them. Pennywise runs in circles, forcing them to spin with the dagger. But, he finally outsmarts them and grabs Marge. He nearly kills her after revealing key information about her future, specifically her son Richie Tozier. It’s all a very scary and intense sequence, indeed.
Pennywise Chomps on Shaw’s Head
General Shaw really deserved a worse death than what he got. Still, we are all glad that he met his demise. He tries to reason with IT and says that he set it free. But, as IT is not a human but a consuming entity, that means nothing. Pennywise takes a bite of his face and it is a nice finish.
The Final Battle
This one is self-explanatory! Watching the kids try to place the dagger, the military encroaching on their mission, and Pennywise turning into a winged creature were all scary AF.
Now, Pennywise sleeps again and we will hopefully get to travel back in time to see what he does in 1935. Come on season two of Welcome to Derry, we need ya for more shocking and scary moments!
Originally published October 26, 2025.
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Source: Kiat Media
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