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The clown's influence on the children of Welcome to Derry molds them long into adulthood, twisting them into the very adults who keep the town's pattern of animosity ongoing. It preys most easily on children from fractured homes — children who often grow up to repeat the identical behaviors as their parents. But, the Hanlon family stands apart as a rare example of a households that remains intact, which could clarify why Mike, even after electing to remain in the town, remains the sole member who doesn't completely succumb under Pennywise's sway.

The Hanlon Family's Distinctive Resistance

In episode 4 of the series, Leroy Hanlon finally becomes more aware of the paranormal entities surrounding the community, particularly when the entity begins tormenting his child, Will, during their fishing trip. The Hanlon family consists of a small number of grown-ups who are aware that something is amiss with the municipality, notably Leroy, who was shown to be receptive to psychic abilities when he was able to detect a fellow psychic's employment of it in episode 3. Later, he sees one of the clown's trademark inflated orbs outside his house. This gift, alongside his inability to experience terror, combined with the foundation of his family, could be why he's able to see the entity's manifestations. However, consider if that psychic sensitivity is generational, and one of the reasons Mike Hanlon is among the few adults in the town who resisted succumbing to the town's malevolence?

The boy is part of the group of kids at his educational institution being tormented by the clown. His classmates hail from broken homes, with caregivers who don't believe they're being targeted. The cause he is being haunted is due to the viciousness of the community, paired with his likely receptiveness to psychic abilities, which makes him susceptible. This family are fundamentally strangers in the town during the early sixties, which lends itself towards the family feeling anomalies exist about the town from the beginning. Additionally, they possess a solid base that isn't fractured, in contrast to the residents who come from the area, with bonds that have decayed within.

Historical Context

Drawing from the original book, we know the young Will will end up at the infamous nightclub, where the psychic will rescue him from a blaze that the local KKK members of the community will ignite. In the recent movie, we see that he has a son named Mike and that Will ultimately dies in a configration, with Leroy outliving his own child and taking his grandson in. The official story in the motion picture is that Mike's parents were on drugs, but given our current view of Will in the series, that's hard to believe. Maybe the shy boy, once he grew up, turned to alcohol to rid himself of the hauntings, or perhaps the corrupt town got to him initially, with the KKK ultimately completing the task it started years ago. Be it via the terror of the entity or through the cruelty of the town, instigated by It, the creature in the end gets the final victory on Will.

The Father's Evolution

This chain of events would explain how the elder Hanlon changes so radically from what we see in the first film and Welcome to Derry. In his older age, Leroy appears bitter and much stricter with his parenting. Since he survived his own offspring, it's understandable to see such a drastic change. However, his words hold greater significance now that we know he's witnessed Pennywise's hauntings and the effects they wrought upon his child. In the initial sequence of the movie, we see the boy hesitate to use a bolt gun on a sheep at the family property. His grandfather chastises him for delaying and provides an analogy that results in a survival-of-the-fittest scenario.

“You have two options you can be in this existence. You can be in the open like we are, or you can be trapped inside,” Leroy states as he points to the sheep. “You waste time hemming and hawing, and another is going to make that choice. Except you will be unaware it until you experience that projectile in your head.”

Looking back, this could be a piece of prediction, a lesson he regrets not imparting to his own child. Maybe he desires he had done something in his youth, but for some reason, he was unable to avoid the sickening allure of Derry.