Stephen King’s latest random musing turns out to be the most terrifying thing he’s written in years

Trying to settle on the scariest Stephen King story ever written is an argument that’s been raging for decades, and matters aren’t helped by the sheer rate at which the iconic author churns out new content designed to tingle the spine and set the pulse racing.

Of course, everybody is entitled to their own favorite, but it’s a random musing on social media that’s inadvertently proven to be the master of the macabre’s most unsettling literary work in a long time. King’s Twitter timeline is generally full of existential questions, hearty recommendation, and the occasional brutal takedown of his enemies, but suggesting a spin-off to one of his most famous tales is enough to put anybody with even the merest hint of coulrophobia off stepping onto an airplane ever again.

Preparing to jet off on the vacation of your dreams – only to discover that your pilot happens to be inter-dimensional murder clown Pennywise of It fame – wouldn’t be anyone’s preferred method of enjoying some rest and relaxation. In fact, floating or not, we’re not even sure he has the credentials required to ferry a large commercial airliner across the skies, and everyone knows that the best kind of fun is the safe kind. Offering an understatement of epic proportions for a follow-up, King hit the nail right on the head.

Yes, Stephen King, it would be unsettling. Apologies to anyone set to head to the airport in the near future who won’t be able to get this out of their heads, but it’s at least a more enticing prospect than rewatching the diabolical It: Chapter Two.