Pennywise costume gets attention on Mon River

By TAYLOR BROWN

tbrown@yourmvi.com

With area residents getting into the Halloween spirit, one Mon Valley jokester recently broke out a famous horror costume and took to the water.

The Bentleyville resident, who preferred to remain anonymous to avoid ruining any more surprise appearances, cited the famous “IT” quote, “We all float down here,” put on a realistic Pennywise costume tied three red balloons to the back of a yellow kayak and hit the Monongahela River. 

His image went viral on local social media pages, sparking both interest and fear.

The masked resident said he likes to make people laugh and decided to break out the costume to bring smiles to those who ran into him on the water. 

“I’m a pretty laid-back guy that likes to make people laugh,” he said. “This is one reason why I decided to do the costume.”

He bought the costume for his daughter’s Halloween birthday party last year and greeted guests by standing on the sidewalk outside their home. 

“I’ve always been a fan of the horror genre even as a child and Pennywise has always been one of my favorites due to the fact that so many people have a fear of clowns,” he said. 

Last year he popped up around Monongahela in the costume and wore it trick or treating with his children in South Park and to a parade in Bentleyville. 

“I haven’t gotten as much use out of it as I would like to,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons I wore it on the kayak, and because it was unexpected that you don’t see everyday.”

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