Henry Bowers and Patrick Hockstetter

Henry Bowers and Patrick Hockstetter were two of the most dangerous and disturbed boys in Derry, Maine, during the summer of 1958. Their relationship was one of convenience and mutual exploitation, driven by Henry's need for followers and Patrick's sociopathic curiosity. It culminated in a brief, unsettling sexual encounter in the town dump, after which Henry threatened Patrick with exposure of his secret—a refrigerator used to trap and kill animals—and Patrick was soon after killed by the entity known as It.

Background and Personalities

Henry Bowers, the son of the notoriously unstable Oscar "Butch" Bowers, was the undisputed leader of a small gang of bullies that included Victor Criss and Belch Huggins. By the summer of 1958, Henry's behavior had become increasingly erratic and violent, fueled by his father's paranoid hatred of the Hanlon family and his own growing obsession with the Losers' Club. Patrick Hockstetter was a profoundly disturbed boy, a sociopath who had murdered his infant brother, Avery, at the age of five and who derived pleasure from trapping and killing animals in a discarded refrigerator near the town dump. He was quiet, apathetic in school, and known for his unsettling, vacant smile. His presence in Henry's gang was a recent development, likely a replacement for Peter Gordon, who had fled during the apocalyptic rockfight.

The Encounter in the Dump

On a hot July afternoon, Henry, Patrick, Victor, and Belch went to the dump after consuming a large quantity of baked beans. While Victor and Belch eventually left, Henry and Patrick remained, engaging in a crude game of lighting each other's flatulence. This bizarre activity escalated when Patrick, in a low voice, offered to perform a sexual act on Henry. Henry initially allowed Patrick to touch him, but when Patrick suggested putting his mouth on Henry, Henry reacted with violent fury, knocking Patrick to the ground. He then threatened Patrick, revealing that he knew about the refrigerator Patrick used to kill animals. "If you tell," Henry said, "I'll tell what you've been doing with the cats. With the dogs, too. I'll tell them about your refrigerator. You know what'll happen, Hockstetter? They'll come and take you away and put you into the fucking-A looneybin." Patrick, sullen and scared, backed down.

Aftermath and Death

After Henry left, Patrick returned to the refrigerator to dispose of a dead pigeon. When he opened the door, he was attacked by a swarm of flying leeches—a manifestation of It—which drained his blood. He was then dragged into the sewers by the entity, where he was consumed. Henry, Victor, and Belch later chased the Losers' Club into the same sewer system, where Victor and Belch were also killed by It. Henry alone survived, though he was later arrested for the murder of his father and committed to the Juniper Hill asylum. The relationship between Henry and Patrick was a brief, transactional alliance between two deeply damaged boys, one driven by rage and the other by a chilling lack of empathy, and it ended with the violent death of the latter at the hands of the town's ancient evil.