Creepy Clowns

The fear of clowns is called coulrophobia. While many people aren’t terrified of clowns, they are unnerved by them.

There are a few different possibilities as to why clowns make people uncomfortable. The first is clowns are tricksters. It’s their job to make people laugh and play pranks on people. I personally don’t like when pranks are pulled on me and try to avoid clowns. When I see a clown, I know to be on my guard. I don’t want to be sprayed with water or hit by a pie.

Another possible reason people hate clowns is because of all the books and films that have come out. All the movies and books make people terrified that the clowns are going to come after them. Movies such as “It,” “Clownhouse” and “Saw” have made people uncomfortable. Clowns have become a boogeyman.

There is also the fact that there was a serial killer who dressed up as a clown and murdered a bunch of people. In the 1970s, John Wayne Gacy killed more than 30 young men. He became known as the “Killer Clown.” This pushed people even further away from the jokesters. More recently, in 2016, there were many sightings of people dressed as evil clowns and running around. It was known as the clown panic and scared a lot of people.

The final reason that people are uncomfortable with clowns is because of a phenomenon called the uncanny valley effect. “The Conversation.com,” said when “something is close to, but not quite, human, people (develop) a sense of unease and discomfort.” It’s where things appear to be human, but something isn’t quite right. Clowns have similar features: eyes, a nose, and a big mouth, which humans have, but the proportions are off. The phenomenon is also why some people find dolls and humanoid robots so scary.

Clowns were meant to be a joke. It was a way to make people laugh. Now, people prefer to steer clear of them because of the uncertainty behind the mask. Books, movies, and news stories have made people nervous to be around clowns.