Psychology of Clownophobia

The Taint Behind the Painted H'Aint

    Okay now, we deal with what is really at the heart of this irrational(?) phenomenon which has been dubbed Clownophobia (or Coulrophobia, as some people call it, using the closest Greek counterpart they can, which turns out to roughly translate into "Stilt/Limb Fear"), the mentality and psychology of both Clowns and Clownophobes. Putting all kidding aside, just for the moment, anyway, I think it would be well to really examine this phenomenon in an impartial and objective light. In order to provide an example that I am familiar with, I will share my own "Evil Clown" experience, and try to pick out what I feel are important aspects or telling features of it, as it relates to my own Anti-Clown sentiment, in order to bring this fear out of the darkness of ridicule and juvenile ignorance and into the harsh, cleansing and empowering light of truth and acknowledgement. My experience, and my notes relating to it, can be found by clicking here, which takes you to my page which will be filled with only guest-submitted stories or opinions.
    Let's take a general composite of some of the typical Anti-Clown stories you might find on the internet. A man (as they seem to be as common as women) relates a negative experience he has had with a Clown at some time in the past. More often than not, there is also mention of the portrayal of malificent Clowns in popular culture, such as telelvision and motion pictures. While some people actually cite a movie or show as being the basis for their Clown Fear, I find this highly unlikely, for a number of reasons.
    Firstly, though some shows or movies cause us to have unreasoning fears and/or nervousness for a short amount of time, or rarely, chronic nightmares for longer periods, the precedent for developing a life-long fear or even hatred for an object or person just because it frightened us when we saw it on TV is a very intricate subject. To wit, only atomic war and now, alien abduction (also a favorite subject of mine) can be compared to Clownophobia as contemporary disorders/phenomena. In the Middle Ages, superstition ran rampant and people (mainly peasants, though all folk had some percent of believer in them) warded off and jumped at almost anything under the sun (or moon). As Man progressed and developed analytical thought, philosophy, psychology and in general streamlined his reasoning, many such things fell by the wayside (though still today you will find some copiously avoid walking under ladders or opening an umbrella inside a building). The fear of war is always present in Man, and atomic war, as highlighted by the "Duck and Cover" era of the Cold War, is understandable, as war is unavoidable, and it was assumed that the next war to break out would be fought with the newest technology, that of the A-Bomb. The terror caused by the realization of the massive destruction and unthinkable side effects of an atomic explosion left a scar on the world's psyche which actually has thus far aided in averting the use of such weapons of mass destruction. Alien abductions are the most popular mainstream "incident" that happens to people now - unawares citizens, maybe farmers, maybe senators, maybe African tribesmen, are kidnapped by presumably "alien" captors and usually become the victims of strange quasi-surgical and/or hypnotic procedures. I will not go into this phenomenon any further, as it is far too convolutes, save to say that it has been and currently is the reigning "popular-but-rarely-admitted" phenomenon in most places, certainly in the United States.

    In paging through numerous clown-related stories and opinions, I have noticed a few striking similarities, a very few of which indicate actual run-ins with the infamous "Killer Clowns" of the 80's, as mentioned above. The most common references made to scary clowns in the media or clowns which set people on edge, according to their stories published on various websites, are as follows:

    This is basically a list of the most widely known use of clown characters in the media. The last reference is mainly concerned with "collectible" art, such as Hobo Clown plaques and pictures resembling Emmet Kelley in his clown costume. The three clowns above Emmet are portrayed in their respective media in very bad light; drunks, wash-outs, burglers, militants, and therefore don't seem to scare people as much as exemplify some Clownophobes' actual ideas about clowns.
    Most people who do not like clowns usually have one more opinions of them, as listed below:

    As can be seen, there is an anti-clown sentiment that runs the gamut from fear to hatred, the mean of which is simple aversion, which I myself suffer from. I don't like clowns, but I know they're just people, and sometimes people I know, so I don't *hate* them, or have a deep *fear* of them, just in everyday life, but I'd rather avoid any contact with them if at all possible.

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