leech

The leech is a freshwater bloodsucking parasite that appears in the boys' journey, inflicting a traumatic physical and psychological wound on Gordon Lachance and his friends when they swim in a beaver pond. The leech attack, especially the one that attaches to Gordon's testicles, becomes a defining moment of horror and vulnerability, marking the loss of innocence and the intrusion of grotesque reality into their adventure.

Appearance and Biology

The leeches are described as blackish-gray lumps, their bodies swelling visibly as they feed. They carry a local anesthetic and an anti-coagulant in their saliva, so the host never feels them attaching. If unnoticed, they will feed until their swollen, loathsome bodies fall off sated, or until they actually burst. The leeches are found in a clear, shining pool created by beavers behind a dam under the GS&WM railroad tracks. The pool, which the boys discover around nine-thirty on the second day of their hike, appears inviting and clean, but it is infested with these parasites.

The Attack

Chris Chambers is the first to enter the water, diving in and swimming with a clumsy breast-stroke. Vern Tessio and Gordon follow. They swim and goof off for almost half an hour, diving and ducking each other, unaware of the leeches. The discovery comes when Vern swims into the shallower part, goes under, and stands on his hands. When his legs break the water in a shaky V, they are covered with blackish-gray lumps—big slugs. Teddy Duchamp, who has never learned to swim and remains on the bank, screams as he looks down at himself and finds leeches on his own body. The boys thrash for the bank, pulling the leeches off in a hysterical panic. Gordon picks half a dozen off his arms and several more off his chest, then removes five or six from Chris's back. He brushes even more off his own legs.

The Traumatic Leech on Gordon's Testicles

The worst moment comes when Gordon looks down and sees the "granddaddy of them all" clinging to his testicles, its body swelled to four times its normal size, its skin a bruised purplish-red. He begins to lose control internally. He brushes its slick, glutinous body with the back of his hand, but it holds on. He cannot bring himself to touch it again. He turns to Chris for help, but Chris backs away, shaking his head, his mouth twisted, unable to look away. Chris turns and vomits into a stand of juniper bushes. Gordon, alone, reaches down and picks the leech off. It bursts between his fingers, and his own blood runs across his palm and inner wrist in a warm flood. He begins to cry, unable to stop. The shakes set in, making it worse. Vern runs up, still naked, twirling like an insane dancer, asking if the leeches are off him. Gordon nods and just keeps crying.

Aftermath and Symbolic Resonance

The leech incident leaves a lasting scar, both literal and psychological. Gordon still has a tiny crescent-shaped scar on his testicles, a mark he later lies to his wife about. The memory of the burst leech—"dead, deflated... but still ominous"—returns to him years later when he sees used condoms floating on the swells from the Staten Island Ferry, a moment of almost total recall that collapses time. The leech represents the sudden, visceral horror that can invade even a moment of innocent fun, and its attachment to Gordon's most private body part makes it a violation of his emerging masculinity and a symbol of the vulnerability that underlies the boys' bravado. The attack also reveals the limits of friendship: Chris, the toughest and most loyal of the group, cannot help Gordon in this moment, and Gordon must face the horror alone.