Why Are People So Afraid of Clowns? The Experts Explain. (2024)
It’s been a rough few years for people who have a fear of clowns. In the wake of the ‘clown attack’ craze that reached a fever pitch in 2016, movies about creepy clowns have taken over the entertainment landscape. This fall alone, ads featuring the white-painted faces of characters like IT Chapter Two‘s Pennywise and the Joker were plastered across billboards and liable to pop up on TV or computer screens at any moment.
Earlier this month, Magnet Releasing even debuted a documentary about Wrinkles the Clown, the infamous Florida man whose work as a creepy clown-for-hire has gone massively viral in recent years. A local legend, Wrinkles is a 69-year-old retiree who will show up in a terrifying clown suit to scare the pants off anyone you ask him to — even your misbehaving child. In 2015, he told the Washington Postthat he gets hundreds of phone calls a day requesting his services. “We know that there’s a human underneath and yet, you don’t know their identity,” a voiceover says of Wrinkles in the trailer for the doc. “That creeps people out.” Indeed.
But why are people afraid of clowns to begin with? Although professional clowns have long been fixtures at family-friendly events like children’s birthday parties and the circus, according to Dr. Rami Nader, a registered psychologist practicing at Vancouver’s North Shore Stress and Anxiety Clinic, the fear of clowns often stems from that feeling of not knowing what’s going on in the mind of the person behind the face paint or mask.
“Clowns’ faces are disguised and they have these large artificial displays of emotion. So you have a clown with a painted face and a big smile, but you don’t really know what they’re actually feeling,” he tells TIME. “There’s this inherent mistrust that what they’re presenting to you isn’t what they’re actually feeling.”
Frank T. McAndrew, a professor of psychology at Knox College, adds that clowns have a long history of being seen as suspicious. “[Some of the] very first clowns were the court jesters who poked fun at kings and made people in high places uncomfortable. That’s why they exist,” he tells TIME of the history of clowns in medieval Europe. “They’re designed to make people afraid. If you go all the way back to the beginning of clownhood, they’ve always been bad. They’re pranksters, they play tricks.”
As David Kiser, director of talent for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, told Smithsonian Magazine in 2013, even going back to ancient times, clowns have always had a dark side. “In one way, the clown has always been an impish spirit,” Kiser said. “As he’s kind of grown up, he’s always been about fun, but part of that fun has been a bit of mischief.”
Of course, pop culture’s recent trend toward depicting clowns as menacing and murderous hasn’t helped to improve their reputation. “When people hear ‘clown,’ the first associations that pop into their head are the killer clowns in the movies — It, the Joker— and then John Wayne Gacy, the real-life mass murderer,” McAndrew says of the 1970s serial killer who became known as the “Killer Clown” for his volunteer clown work. “It’s kind of hard to get past all of that.”
However, while many people are apprehensive or fearful of clowns, both Nader and McAndrew agree that someone having an actual phobia of clowns, a.k.a. coulrophobia, is rare.
“To be a phobia, the fear of clowns would have to cause the person a great deal of distress and interfere in their life,” Nader says. “Fortunately, we live in a society where clowns aren’t just wandering around, so it’s pretty easy to avoid them or at least not come into contact with them very regularly. Rarely does this fear ever cause a person to experience a disruption in their lifestyle or ability to do things.”
So if people are so scared of them, why does society’s fascination with creepy clowns continue to endure? McAndrew, for one, chalks it up to human nature.
“We like to learn about dangers in a safe way so that we’re prepared in some unknown future time to deal with them if they ever come our way. So by going to see IT and watching this evil clown lure children in and kill them, we learn strategies for avoiding that kind of fate ourselves,” he says. “We’re not consciously sitting there, watching the movie and thinking these things, but that impulse to like to scare ourselves is there.”
Like it or not, it seems like creepy clowns are here to stay.
Some have a specific phobia of clowns, also known as coulrophobia. What makes clowns so scary? Some psychologists believe that clowns can be scary in part because we cannot read genuine emotion on a clown's face. Clowns are also often unpredictable and manic, which can generate apprehension, particularly in children.
The oversized lips and eyebrows distort the face so that the brain perceives it as human but slightly off. That oddness is heightened by a clown's bizarre costume. In addition, clowns are highly unpredictable as well as mischievous, which puts people on edge. Are they going to squirt water at you or give you a flower?
David Carlyon, author, playwright and a former clown with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the 1970s, argues that the fear of clowns — known officially as coulrophobia — is a relatively new phenomenon, born from the counter-culture 1960s and emerging as a popular force in the 1980s.
Clowns' exaggerated facial features convey a direct sense of threat. Clown makeup hides emotional signals and creates uncertainty. The colour of clown makeup reminds us of death, infection or blood injury, and evokes disgust or avoidance. Clowns' unpredictable behaviour makes us uncomfortable.
Coulrophobia is a rare phobia that makes a person afraid of clowns, making it stressful to see, imagine, or interact with them. While many people know that it exists, most link it to small children — yet, it's also common in adults.
The most common specific phobia in the general population is fear of animals — particularly dogs, snakes, insects and mice. Other specific phobias are fear of closed spaces (claustrophobia) and fear of heights (acrophobia). Most simple phobias develop during childhood and eventually disappear.
Celebrities who have been upfront about suffering from clown phobia include rapper-singer Sean (P. Diddy) Combs, Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe and heartthrob Johnny Depp.
Thanatophobia is an extreme fear of death or the dying process. You might be scared of your own death or the death of a loved one. Psychotherapy can help most people overcome this disorder.
The Clöyne was an ancient demon residing in mountain caves in the Nordic regions of Europe. The legend stated that it was the origin for the look of the Clown itself.
The earliest ancestors of the clown flourished in ancient Greece—bald-headed, padded buffoons who performed as secondary figures in farces and mime, parodying the actions of more serious characters and sometimes pelting the spectators with nuts.
History. The most ancient clowns have been found in the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, around 2400 BC. Unlike court jesters, clowns have traditionally served a socio-religious and psychological role, and traditionally the roles of priest and clown have been held by the same persons.
Pennywise may act like a silly, childish clown, but he is still a murderous, killing creature. He kills for a living because villainy is in his blood. He enjoys wreaking havoc in the city of Hometown, and he is smart enough to know about a child's fear.
Their exaggerated facial features convey a direct sense of threat. Their makeup hides emotional signals so we cannot determine any harmful intent. Their makeup reminds us of death, infection or blood injury and thus evokes a disgust or avoidance response.
Depictions. The contemporary "evil clown" archetype developed in the 1980s, notably popularized by Stephen King's It, and perhaps influenced by John Wayne Gacy, a serial killer dubbed the Killer Clown in 1978. Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a 1988 horror comedy dedicated to the topic.
Hemophobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of blood. It is a subtype of blood, injury, and injection phobia. When a person has this phobia, they dread the sight of blood. This fear often includes their own blood, another person or animal's, or even an image of blood.
History. The most ancient clowns have been found in the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, around 2400 BC. Unlike court jesters, clowns have traditionally served a socio-religious and psychological role, and traditionally the roles of priest and clown have been held by the same persons.
The fear of clouds is called nephophobia. This term comes from two Greek words — nepho, meaning “cloud,” and phobia, which means “fear.” This condition is somewhat rare, but for people who have it, the fear of clouds is very real.
Emetophobia is the fear of vomit or vomiting. Being around someone who is ill, seeing vomit or feeling nauseous may make you feel anxious and panicked.
Hobby: Web surfing, Skiing, role-playing games, Sketching, Polo, Sewing, Genealogy
Introduction: My name is Maia Crooks Jr, I am a homely, joyous, shiny, successful, hilarious, thoughtful, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
