he died as ben hanscom sat home watching tv with his mother , as eddie kaspbrak 's mother anxiously felt eddie 's forehead for signs of her favorite ailment , `` phantom fever , '' as beverly marsh 's stepfather-a gent who bore , in temperament at least , a remarkable resemblance to eddie and dorsey corcoran 's stepfather-lifted a high-stepping kick into the girl 's derriere and told her `` to get out there and dry those goddam dishes like your mummer told you , '' as mike hanlon got yelled at by some high-school boys ( one of whom would some years later sire that fine upstanding young homophobe john `` webby '' garton ) passing in an old dodge while mike pulled weeds out of the garden beside the small hanlon home out on witcham road , not far from the farm owned by henry bowers 's crazy father , as richie tozier was sneaking a look at the half-undressed girls in a copy of gem he had found at the bottom of his father 's socks-and-underwear drawer and getting a regular good boner , and as bill denbrough was throwing his dead brother 's photograph album across the room in horrified unbelief .