Another interesting phenomenon are what could be called "complimentary" phobias which sometimes, but not always, accompany the fear of clowns and/or Mimes. Below is another list, this one of other fears that are typically also mentioned by Clown- and Mimeophobes:
Firstly, dolls are definitely a recurring object of fear and loathing. Sometimes it doesn't matter what kind, sometimes the kind that walk or talk, or whoese eyes close when you lay them down. The Animated Doll phobia has been capitalized on in the media, and provides tension and horror in countless movies. As one writer told me, "I can just see them coming to life in the night and killing me with a knife! Yikes!" Yikes indeed, but where does this fear come from? All of these objects are of the "chicken or the egg" variety - are people afraid of dolls now because of the movies they have seen, such as "Child's Play"? Or is that WHY those type of movies are so popular, because people are naturally afraid of dolls and the like?
Moving on, toy monkeys have also left their marks on generations of psyches. This is kind of a blanket classification, as some dolls are monkeys, and there are even clown-doll-monkey-jack-in-the-boxes, so there is no absolute distinction between these phobias, reflecting the amorphousness of most people's fears which run together to include two or more of these things. As a child, I had a stuffed animal-type monkey, black and yellow with a soft plastic face and hands, one of which held a banana. Although I played with it quite a bit, and chewed on the plastic parts, it still was always kind of a thrill doing so - like touching the physical incarnation of danger. It was really not until I got older that the monkey began to make me really uneasy - a phobia that matured as I did. I also had one of those accursed cymbal-monkeys, that clapped his cymbals together and was powered by either wind-up or batteries, I can't recall. Some I have seen even have lips that move to bare their teeth as it claps - now THAT is scary! Is it the loud noise, the almost-but-not-quite humanlike qualities of these toys that fuel our fears? Many people also report that their toys, similar to these, make noise or fall off shelves or what-have-you without any external stimulus whatsoever. Spooky. And the fact that sometimes these are made up to resemble clowns, as the monkey-grinders did, well...
Marionettes and Dummies. No, I'm not referring to Bill Clinton. Also a popular staple is the ventriloquist dummy which comes to life and pursues any number of homicidal impulses. Very similar to the doll, the dummy is in even closer contact more of the time, and is given a REAL personality, by the ventriloquist - though some children can give any ventriloquist a run for their money with the personalities they create for their favorite toys. Also, it should be notes that many puppets and marionettes are also painted and/or dressed as clowns, or at least have enough exaggerated make-up that they resemble them...Still, the aspect of spontaneous animation, coupled with a penchant for evil make the dummy and also marionettes (string puppets) a source of terror for some, being large enough to actually make an effective attacker, if somehow they did come to life. Perhaps potential is the key...
At this point, I would like to make a correction and give my most humble thanks to a helpful visitor and fellow Clownophobe, Like10 of hte Anti Clown League, who was kind enough to put me in my place regarding the "Alf Robot Goes Psycho" Hollywood urban legend that has circulated for years since that series went off the air. My apologies and thanks to Ben Hertzberg, the actor who portrayed Brian, and who "debunked" this (via Like10, an acquaintance) as just another wild story for people to gossip about (he did think it was funny though), and also, I apologize to all of you who visit my site for important and accurate information on the main Clown/Mime phenomenon, and all of its disparate and similar counterparts. I endeavor to provide only the most upstanding, useful and solid information, but we are all human, and once in a great while, all err in favor of a great story. :o) So, enjoy the story below, knowing it is just that: a STORY ... it NEVER HAPPENED!
Urban Legends-1, Reason and Enlightenment-1
An interesting side note relates to the prime-time sitcom Alf, as it was winding down. Alf was, at times, portrayed by an animatronic puppet, controlled by puppeteers via computer. At one point, the Alf malfuncitoned and as can be guessed, it immediately attacked the little boy that was starring in the show. I don't recall exactly what happened, but at first the boy refused to do any more episodes of Alf, but was finally persuaded to finish out the season. A puppet's a puppet...
Do I really even need to go into the sadistic and psychopathic tendancies of those who buy Jack-in-the-boxes for other people? Turning the crank, "...the monkey chased the weasel"...a repetitive tune, you're never sure where in the song you are so you can never be ready for..."POP!" Another soiled pair of pants. Notice the recurrence of the "monkey", as it chases a weasel. As children, do we really have much of an idea of what a weasel looks like? No, not really - just some sort of short furry, four-legged thing being chased by an evil monkey - we have all too well a good image of the monkey - why, we've even got a perfect example sitting on our shelf, holding a pair of cymbals, baring his teeth. Why is the monkey seen as bad? Because its chasing the weasel. Its exhibiting aggressive tendancies we get yelled at for. The monkey thinks its all in fun, as the song goes, when suddenly, the weasel does something - something very unexpected. "POP!" What does that mean? Our child minds picture the weasel diving into the mulberry bush, or over the cobbler's bench - but that wouldn't make a "POP" sound, so we go on to other avenues - the monkey finally grabbed the weasel and squeezed it so hard - "POP!" goes the weasel. We now know the true capabilities of monkeys. We are reminded of this each time, as the fairly innocuous (though annoying) music builds to climax and the lid flies open, sending a grotesque caricature of a jester (another clown, by the way)into our faces, leering evilly and bobbing his head up and down maniacally.
NOTE: It has come to my attention recently, after finding a very informative site which included the entire lyrics, history and a midi file of "Pop Goes the Weasel" that this song was brought over by the pilgrims from England, and is basically a large amount of slang set to music. "Weasel" means success or livelihood, "Monkey" means work or trade, and as related in successive lines of the song, the trade in question is that of a tailor. Basically, the song is a warning and a lementation saying that for your whole life, you can chase success, plying your trade, but sometimes, either because you're not taking it seriously ("...the monkey thought was all in fun...") or just because that's the way life goes, your livelihood will be spent and your wealth will disappear - "Pop goes the weasel". Still, I think it MUST have something to do with clowns! I'll bet the English brought clowns to America!!!
I remember when I was young, around seven, I took a hammer to an old tin jack-in-the-box that I had had for years. Stomped it, bent it, made sure it could never be put back together. Scissors and nails took care of the "jack", making sure no one would ever know what he originally looked like, scattering him into a hundred pieces. I remember now just how good it felt to do that.
Mimes, I discussed earlier, so there's no need to go back into that. Becostumed people seem to always have a certain effect on kids, and some adults. Some people even liken their fear of clowns to the costume, which results in many people also not liking Santa Claus (some because of his facial hair). Larger than life cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse and Barney, when met in "real life", frighten the wits out of children who otherwise love the characters to death. I remember when I was young I had the chance to get my picture taken with "Darth Vader", which seemed kind of neat until I saw him, up-close and how tall and strange he looked. This was at a high-school, so it was just a kid in a costume, but I fought and clawed and screamed and got out of it. Although I knew Darth was "evil" in Star Wars, I also knew this wasn't ACTUALLY Darth, but someone dressed up like him, so I don't think it was just because I would feel like a traitor to the Forces of Good - there was something more that I didn't like about the whole thing - the way my parents smiled and pushed me forward toward this stranger (to me anyway) whose identity I never would know. Many people cite this sort of reaction as their reason for Clownophobia - the idea that your parents, who always caution you not to take candy or accept rides from strangers, allow and even ENCOURAGE you to interact with an adult dressed like a lunatic, whose identity is a secret and whose clown personality is absolutely absurd. They expect you to trust this person, just because they're watching him. But they don't seem to get the idea that THIS is EXACTLY the personafication of who you KNOW not to even LOOK AT, let alone talk to or go anywhere with! You know adults shouldn't act like that, and when they do, you just know, in your little heart, that SOMETHING IS WRONG. Now, I know people do clowning for various reasons, and some people just enjoy seeing kids (and some adults) smile - yes, some people actually DO like clowns, hard as it is to believe, but for me, there is always a deep mistrust and resentment of clowns, and that will never change. I was also forced to hug the Schmoo at Dogpatch USA in Missouri when I was younger, and pouted for days afterward - I was old enough by then to know it was just someone dressed up, but I don't generally go around hugging people I don't know - especially if they are dressed up as someone else to begin with.
The fact that so many people exhibit the same reaction or symptoms related to aliens and UFOs seems to be creating a small but stable pocket of believability in what is otherwise referred to as "gobbledygook". So if people may be able to accept their friends' or sister's story about being taken aboard a flying saucer, why does Clownophobia remain such a mystery?
