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As the air gets crisper and crisper, movie theaters also start to chance, as more and more horror films vie for a chance to be the year's Halloween crown jewel. It, based off of the classic Stephen King novel and previously adapted into a miniseries, is one of those horror contenders. But its subject matter — creepy clown terrorizes small town! — is, alas, .

Consider: most of the film's marketing material focuses (and rightly so) on the killer clown part of the film's story:

In an interview with the , World Clown Association president Pam Moody shared that the organization is preparing clowns for an uptick in clown-related fear: "Last year [when there were multiple in America and then earlier with American Horror Story: Freakshow] we were really blindsided. We've since created to prepare clowns for the movie coming out."

Moody herself is a clown who works to educate children about fire safety as Sparky the Firefighter Clown. And she has harsh words for the story's perpetuation of anti-clown sentiments: "People had school shows and library shows that were canceled. That’s very unfortunate. The very public we're trying to deliver positive and important messages to aren't getting them."

As for King's response to the matter? Well, he made his stance clear all the way : "The clowns are pi--ed at me. Sorry, most are great. BUT...kids have always been scared of clowns. Don't kill the messengers for the message."