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27 comments to "Coulrophobia: Fear of Clown"
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Myleti
January 13th, 2008 at
9:01 pm
I am scared of clowns, but nearly as bad as the woman in the video. I can even tell you why I don’t like them.
When I was four, I went to the circus and entered a drawing for a bicycle. I ended up winning the bicycle and the clowns came up the stands to get me. Well, they grabbed me by the wrist and practically dragged me down the stairs. It hurt.
I didn’t even get to ride the bicycle for another six years because I was too short.
I’m not completely terrified of them, but I’d much rather be in a room full of puppies than a room full of clowns.
Anyway, I’m liking the articles and long posts that you guys have been posting lately. Thanks for taking the time to do it!
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Karen
January 13th, 2008 at
9:21 pm
I’m so afraid of clowns that I’m afraid to watch the video. I knew that Johnny Depp and I were meant to be!
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Beth
January 13th, 2008 at
9:55 pm
I agree that clowns are creepy. I have no basis for this. The exaggerated expressions theory was interesting, perhaps a bit far-fetched, but still intriguing.
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Tim
January 13th, 2008 at
9:56 pm
I am afraid of snakes, but my encounters with them usually end up in me getting pissed off and shooting the snake or stepping on its head.
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Louise
January 13th, 2008 at
10:53 pm
Pointy-smiled clowns. They are the evil ones.
The rest are pathetic and unfunny, but not terrifying.
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Ali S.
January 13th, 2008 at
11:09 pm
I think that clowns can be fun if not down right creepy because for all their smiles (painted or otherwise) and glee they turn scary at a moments notice. I guess too many horror movies and books (like IT) didn’t help.
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marieissah
January 14th, 2008 at
12:12 am
So many kids hate clowns.. I guess it’s because of too much make-up and exaggerated lips and eyes..
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Paavo
January 14th, 2008 at
12:13 am
My theory is that children are scared of distorted human faces. There’s something familiar but something is off. If the person is someone they know they are even more scared.
as a child the most scary thing was my father when he had shaved his beard. Beardless stranger pretending to be your father is scary.
Sent from my mobile using FeedM8
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Happy
January 14th, 2008 at
12:22 am
How is the appearance of clowns supposed to induce joy, laughter, and all that other good stuff??
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VonSkippy
January 14th, 2008 at
12:34 am
@Paavo
Are you a spam whore? Or just really attached to your stupid FeedM8 crap?//sent from my custom wired Abacus using the Intertube thingy.
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flammableskirt
January 14th, 2008 at
12:58 am
My friend Nikki who works as a care clown in South Africa with children in hospital (and the Red Cross Burns unit in particular) found that the less make-up you wear the better. The kids need to be able to see your expression. They’re already in a scary awful situation suffering terrible burns or living with tuberculosis or HIV or serious injury and the last thing they need is some freak caked in so much facepaint as to appear inhuman.
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Zakk Underhill
January 14th, 2008 at
1:49 am
Definitely the distorted features, among many things. Kids are taught not to talk to strangers, but these people get in your face and make you talk to them and they use creepy voices and they give you candy. I’m not personally afraid of them, I just don’t like them. My Fiancee will cry if they come near her, though.
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just a guy
January 14th, 2008 at
2:57 am
I also think it has to do with people’s innate caution to insanity. Something about an always-happy creature with exaddurated expressions sets of our “Uh uh, this thing is crazy” sensor. I think it all ties into a feeling of “something’s not *right*”, which other people go into, above.
For a similar reason, I find evil dolls/puppets creppy. Its the ‘not-quite-human-but-acting-similar’ factor. Animated humanoid-shaped objects or any kind are creepy! (whether a fictional ‘evil puppet’ or a real animatronic person). :’(
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headsign
January 14th, 2008 at
3:17 am
I’ve always hated clowns. Anytime I saw a clown, I always suspected a pervert or weirdo with a distorted life behind the mask. It’s not funny, just groce. Why can’t we settle this stupid custom. Why do poor people like her have to go through these painful confrontations when what they resent is just the extreme of a natural and sane reaction? Stop the madness!
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Toyouke
January 14th, 2008 at
9:06 am
Woo! Killer Klowns from Outer Space! I can’t believe other people have actually seen and remember that movie. So terrible.
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Jody
January 14th, 2008 at
10:40 am
Oooh, had to chime in. I’m squicked out by anything that has a distorted resemblence to a human- clowns, dolls, mannequins, some claymation, etc.
Creepy! -
Courageous Grace
January 14th, 2008 at
11:16 am
*raises hand* I’m scared of clowns too! When I was a toddler, my mother took me to the circus. She tried to introduce me to a clown and I started screaming and crying because it freaked me out or something…been afraid of them ever since. No reason why, I just don’t like them.
Oddly enough, my favorite horror book/movie is Stephen King’s It. I include the book not only because it’s more frightening but so y’all know it isn’t just Tim Curry that scares me
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Q
January 14th, 2008 at
12:23 pm
Clowns are EVIL!!!
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z
January 14th, 2008 at
12:25 pm
has anyone seen that weird video called Clowny Clown Clown made by Crispin Glover? Very Strange.
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Bat Guano
January 14th, 2008 at
12:36 pm
Creepy. But I’d rather be in a room full of clowns than a room full of spiders.
Went through a very intense haunted house a few years ago. Near the end was a “circus” where clowns with fangs came out of the corners. A 20-something woman in the group had a meltdown. Before you go into a haunt called “Phobia House,” be aware that one of your phobias might be included. Luckily for me, the tarantula in the glass case was too cold and was hiding.
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lisa
January 14th, 2008 at
2:08 pm
as someone who actually does have coulrophobia (meaning that I will scream, cry, panic, and actually break out in hives when I see a clown in person), i can tell you that we are not crazy people. I don’t know why i have it, i just know that I have to avoid circuses, parades, and festivals. life would be better without them.
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Jennifer
January 14th, 2008 at
3:45 pm
The biggest reason the fear develops in childhood is that at a young age (and even into the teens) kids are not often able to read facial expressions correctly. The painted facial expression is heavily exaggerated and kids who may not be able to interrupt normal expressions could be frightened by such a display.
The woman on the video is pretty brave, she’s facing her fear and seeking help to overcome it. Good for her!
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amanderpanderer
January 14th, 2008 at
4:46 pm
I have a tendency to pass out, or at the very least go weak and hysterical, in the presence of a clown (oh, how I wish I were kidding). And like Lisa, you learn to just avoid what I consider locations of clown likeliness: carnivals, parades, circuses. I’m not frightened of a single other thing, and I realize, when not confronted by a clown, that coulerophobia is ridiculous…but when confronted with a clown my body and mind disobey and the crippling fear takes over.
Incidentally, the photos of clowns in this posting (which I very quickly scrolled past while looking away) were a bit of a, um…well, I made a little scream noise and had to take some deep breaths, and I’m at work. I won’t write, “Please don’t do that,” because it’s my problem to work out, but you should warn a sister before you go throwing especially scary clown images all willy nilly.
I hate my stupid phobia.
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Lasse
January 15th, 2008 at
3:49 am
What would happen if a coulrophobic would be dressed in a clown costume?
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Alex
January 16th, 2008 at
3:18 am
@amanderpandere: it’s difficult to write a post about clown (phobia) without pictures of clowns! Glad you’re still okay after reading this article.
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Jen070807
June 13th, 2008 at
3:49 pm
I am 31 years old, and am horrified of clowns. Like Karen mentioned earlier, I was afraid to watch the video too. I have been afraid of clowns as long as I can remember. My earliest memory of fear of clowns was Poltergeist, when the clown grabbed the little boy under the bed, but my mom said she thinks it was before then, at a festival, when I was in a stroller. Happy clowns scare me, Bozo, could NOT watch that when I was little, still can’t. I will have nightmares. If I see one on TV, I have to turn my head. I went to a rodeo when I was younger, and the clowns were shooting the guns, maybe that is another reason. I don’t know.
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mistresszhivago
July 3rd, 2008 at
11:57 pm
I’m creeped out by photos and thinking about clowns - I’m extremely uneasy with them within eye sight and 100+ yards away - I’m heading for the exit if they are within 100 yards or closer. I don’t have the displeasure of coming in contact with them, as I hate the circus (animal exploitation and all that) so I don’t see them in person.
I don’t think clowns are evil - they are just regular people trying to entertain. I can respect that. The common theory about the inability to judge expression is my reason. I watched Bozo on TV and was OK with him, he was pretty straight forward, always smiling within the painted smile and moved pretty slowly/consistently. But clown in real life move around quickly are always popping in here and there, trying to physically touch you to draw you in and they are not always smiling, but that big painted on smiles seems like a trick. On a pure instinctive level, it’s alarming! I really don’t know what I’ll do if one gets too close to me without me knowing and starts all that grabbing/goosing crap - he/she might be going down. But I can usually move out of the area, not make eye contact and clear out. Nobody knows and I want to keep it that way. I hope I’m never forced into an up-close encounter with a clown. BUT!!!! I have to confess that I do LOVE seeing a group of clowns doing the whole pile out of the tiny car thing and clown around with each other on the brightly colored costumes/wigs, etc. BUT!!!! They are faaaaar away, waaaay down there somewhere and I can’t see their faces. Again, I appreciate what they are trying to bring to the world, but they creep me the #$%@! out…
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