Coulrophobia or fear of clowns is common in children but also present in some teenagers and adults. It could be caused by a bad personal experience with a clown or maybe just from seeing "evil" clowns in the media. The popular phrase "Can't sleep, clowns will eat me!" said by Bart on the Simpsons has shown up on t-shirts and posters everywhere. Steven King's It with the horrific clown didn't help matters either but people being scared of clowns goes back even farther than that. What about Joker from Batman? Definitely a freaky clown. One of the earliest reports of scary clowns goes back to silent move star Lon Chaney Sr. who said: "There is nothing laughable about a clown in the moonlight."
A recent study of 250 kids in the UK found that nearly all of them were frightened of clowns to some degree or another -- even clown themed decor in a hospital. Perhaps clowns are so scary because of the unchanging nature of their faces -- always with the same big dumb grin on their face, no matter what's happening. And the smile is surely painted on, the real mouth could be doing something else like scowling or baring it's teeth for that matter!
Well, if you think normal clowns are scary, these ones will have you up tonight wishing you didn't take a look.
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I'm not sure what this clown is charging five cents for -- maybe to let you stay alive a few more minutes before he sucks your soul down his hideous mouth. The jaunty angle of his hat and leering eyebrows don't make this clown any friendlier!
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This clown is Steven King's fantasies come true! Blood gored head, disgusting, half falling out eyeballs from their protruding sockets and just look at those teeth... I guess the daisy is on his lapel to throw you off and suck you in for a closer look.
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Okay, as if clowns with bared teeth weren't scary enough. Does he really need to have glowing eyes? OMG I think he's looking at me.
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This close up of a clown reveals what I've always thought about clowns -- they're totally hung over! I remember the Santa Claus at the mall had eyes like this. He creeped me out too and smelled like whiskey and beer and cigarettes.
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Here's a great example of scary clowns in the media. "The Better to Eat You" is a very fitting title for a clown book. But what do they mean about "An accomplished blending of romance and complex villainy"? The villainy part I understand, but romance? Eww.
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Here's another example of scary clowns in the media. This one's a colouring book though. I'm not sure I'd give this one to my kids and expect them to come through without any therapy! The fact that he only has five teeth doesn't help but just look at his eyes. Look deeply into his eyes...
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While this one is clearly just a mask on some drunk guy, it is very chilling. Sharp teeth, hangdog painted eyes, tongue extended and distorted and green eyebrows. That's right, green. Very creepy.
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This clown is horrifying. Not only in his appearance but the fact that there are kids sitting right behind him! He could have tried to look a little friendlier. Dark eyes and pointed chin on him make him menacing at the very least.
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This ridiculously frightening picture is from Mellow Melancholy's Photostream on Flickr. He actually did this make-up himself using an airbrush, theatrical contact lenses and plastic dental plates. Was it Halloween? No, he was doing a presentation in his AP Psychology class on coulrophobia. I hope he got an A! I think this visual representation would be enough of a talk on why people have a phobia of clowns!
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This picture here is the most frightening of them all. It's serial killer John Wayne Gacy dressed up as "Pogo the Clown". He used to be a clown for neighbourhood parties and was convicted of killing 30 young boys and men. Twenty nine of the bodies were found in the crawlspace under his home.
For another creepy look at John Wayne Gacy, check here.
