A study conducted by the University of Sheffield showed that kids don't like clowns. They asked 250 patients between 4 and 16 whether they liked seeing clowns, and none of them did. [LINK]. I think that clowns have been becoming increasingly unpopular as there have been more and more "scary" clowns, mostly in pop culture. The scariest clown in real life, of course, has to be John Wayne Gacy, who was convicted and executed for the murder and rape of 33 boys and young men. That's him in the picture.Fear of clowns is called coulrophobia.
I used to live in Sarasota, where the Ringling Brothers had made the circus a big part of the culture. A couple of our friends were enrolled in Clown College, and were constantly trying to balance the brim of their hats on their noses (homework, I guess). That was back in the 60s, and I don't recall clowns being considered "scary" back then, and I loved Red Skelton as a kid. Gawd I'm old!!
Gallery of Gacy's scary thrift store quality paintings.
Anti-clown wear.
Why do people hate mimes?
What, exactly, is an ass-clown anyway?
4 comments:
The fear of clowns makes for a hilarious cult classic, Killer Klowns from Outer Space (see: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095444/ for details)
killer clowns is an awesome movie!I love clowns,from the Red Skelton sad clown (I'm old too!) to the clown in those Rob Zombie movies.Good or evil,I love me some clowns.
Except for the one in the white house.
The one in the White House is an ass-clown.
I haven't see the Killer Klowns yet, guess I need to put that on the list.
Oh my lord! This is divine! I have a friend who has always, ALWAYS hated clowns. I think this was revealed when he went with a group of other friends to the Clown Hall of Fame and Museum somewhere up in Wisconsin. He's never been the same, but will feel quite vindicated by your post!
Honk honk,
MM
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