# Fear of Clowns



## SeaBreeze (Aug 3, 2013)

I think we talked about this before on the forum.  I don't like clowns, and even as a child I was afraid of clowns.  Here's more thoughts on the subject.  Do you like clowns??http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/The-History-of-Scary-Clowns-217771511.html


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## Anne (Aug 3, 2013)

Noooo.....  Not afraid of them, but otoh, wouldn't want to meet one in a dark alley, either.


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## Warrigal (Aug 3, 2013)

I love all the old forms of live theatre - acrobats, clowns, circuses, puppets including Punch and Judy and pantomime. I think they are the foundation for all later forms of mass entertainment. Politically correct they aren't but their earthiness is wonderfully entertaining.


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## That Guy (Aug 3, 2013)

Who, me?


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## SifuPhil (Aug 3, 2013)

*Coulrophobia* is a very real thing for its sufferers. 

... that's why I dress up like this and lurk outside their therapy sessions -


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## That Guy (Aug 3, 2013)

Who, me?


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## littleowl (Aug 4, 2013)

The fear of clowns.
Is called the Houses of Parliament.


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## Jillaroo (Aug 4, 2013)

_Never used to be scared until i saw Phils photo_


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## SifuPhil (Aug 4, 2013)




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## Jillaroo (Aug 4, 2013)

_Aaagh there's two of them_


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## Pappy (Aug 4, 2013)

Clarabell on Howdy Dowdy was a nice clown. SeaBreeze, all he did was toot his horn. Nothing to fear here. :notfair:


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## rkunsaw (Aug 4, 2013)

I've always liked clowns, especially rodeo clowns. Looking at Phil's picture could change that.

Come to think of it I would love to see Phil in that outfit in the arena with the bulls.


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## SifuPhil (Aug 4, 2013)

rkunsaw said:


> I've always liked clowns, especially rodeo clowns. Looking at Phil's picture could change that.
> 
> Come to think of it I would love to see Phil in that outfit in the arena with the bulls.


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## SifuPhil (Aug 4, 2013)

Pappy said:


> Clarabell on Howdy Dowdy was a nice clown. SeaBreeze, all he did was toot his horn. Nothing to fear here.





See that bottle and that box? Harmless fun, right?

Uh-uhn. The bottle contains anthrax spores - the box is full of C3 in case the anthrax doesn't deploy. 

He knew what he was doing.


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## Pappy (Aug 4, 2013)

OMG....Bad Clarabell and his horn had a sleeping gas.


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## Pappy (Aug 4, 2013)

What is the pink goo between an elephants toes? 

A slow clown :sorry:


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## That Guy (Aug 4, 2013)




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## Pappy (Aug 4, 2013)

That Guy....Your picture reminds me at Fort Dix, NJ, our platoon was on a deuce and a half, going out to play war games. The Army had a couple of piper cub planes dropping little flour sacks representing bombs. You guessed it. We took a direct hit before we could get off truck and we all looked like your picture.


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## That Guy (Aug 4, 2013)

Pappy said:


> That Guy....Your picture reminds me at Fort Dix, NJ, our platoon was on a deuce and a half, going out to play war games. The Army had a couple of piper cub planes dropping little flour sacks representing bombs. You guessed it. We took a direct hit before we could get off truck and we all looked like your picture.



Glad it was only flour, Pappy.  When I was a kid, we used to put a little flour in a balloon, fill it with helium and watch as it rose and popped in a puff of "smoke".


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## That Guy (Aug 4, 2013)




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## Anne (Aug 4, 2013)

Pennywise the clown from Stephen King's 'IT', didn't help matters any, either.....


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## Pappy (Aug 4, 2013)

I don't remember the name but it was scary. I think it ended that the clowns were et's and their tent turned into a spaceship.


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 4, 2013)

Pappy said:


> Clarabell on Howdy Dowdy was a nice clown. SeaBreeze, all he did was toot his horn. Nothing to fear here.



I remember Clarabell on Howdy Doody Pappy, he was okay, but then again, he was just inside the television.


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## SifuPhil (Aug 4, 2013)

Pappy said:


> I don't remember the name but it was scary. I think it ended that the clowns were et's and their tent turned into a spaceship.



*Killer Klowns From Outer Space* - (1988) - it's a classic! Tons of inventive killings! Cotton-candy cocoons! Acid pies! layful:


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 4, 2013)

That Guy said:


>



Homey don't play dat....funny stuff, lol...I still use that expression sometimes, layful:


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## That Guy (Aug 4, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> Homey don't play dat....funny stuff, lol...I still use that expression sometimes, layful:



In Living Color was such a great show!


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 13, 2013)




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## SifuPhil (Aug 14, 2013)

RODEO clowns?!? They're only one step above _birthday_ clowns, for Emmett's sake! 

In my late teens I was a conjuring addict and did kid's shows for extra money. Not _quite_ the same thing as being a clown, but close enough. Consider:



you're in a costume (tails instead of clown white)
you're surrounded by obnoxious kids
you do silly things to entertain them

I'm doing a show for approx. 200 Cub Scouts in an auditorium, one of those old-fashioned kinds with the proscenium arch and the velvet curtains.

I'm doing my schtick, and at one point I need to borrow a hat. I ask the audience "I need a hat".

No sooner are the words out of my mouth than 200 blue caps come sailing up onto the stage, followed immediately by 200 screaming, maniacal Cub Scouts seeking to reclaim said hats.

After 15 minutes of restoring order and administering Prozac to my doves and rabbits I continue the show. The kids are back in their seats, order is restored and I pull out my Flash Wand, the one that shoots balls of fire out the end. I'm telling a story about being helped by a genie, and I point the wand up in the air and say in my best stage voice, "COME OUT, GENIE - SHOW YOURSELF!"

Genie came out, all right - in the form of the velvet curtains overhead catching fire. Once again 200 screaming Cub Scouts are on the move, albeit this time AWAY from the stage. 




You wanna' talk fear of clowns? Fear the teen magicians - they're a LOT scarier!


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## MercyL (Aug 14, 2013)

I cannot stand clowns, but I am not sure my reaction is actually "fear".

 All of that wild make up and poorly chosen clothing sets my teeth on edge and I have never been able to hide my revulsion, even when I knowing the person beneath the make up.

 With deeper assessment, I must admit that clown make up and clothing are not my primary triggers, though. My reaction is set off by the behavior that usually accompanies the outlandish garb. 

I cannot stand being near people who thrive on being the center of attention and tend to react to overly gregarious personality types with the same disdain felt when clowns bounce into view.


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## That Guy (Aug 14, 2013)

Is it okay if I still clown around . . . ?


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 19, 2013)

An old "disturbing" clown movie with Jerry Lewis that was never released to the public...http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2013/...e-most-disturbing-clown-film-youll-never-see/


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## Anne (Aug 19, 2013)

Oh geez, that is disturbing...don't think I'd ever see that if it ever was released.


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## JustBonee (Aug 19, 2013)

I wouldn't go to that Jerry Lewis movie either!   ... 

some more scary.. 


The Clown Story  .. from a Kids Magazine  * KidPub
**The Fake Version:
*
* A girl babysits three kids. When she says she's going to put them to bed, they start screaming. She finally gets them into their bed. She leaves and closes their door. They're screaming even louder. She goes back in and tells them that there's nothing to be afraid of, when she turns around to find a statue of a clown in their room. She goes downstairs and calls their parents to tell them. Then she realizes that the clown statue isn't actually a statue at all, but a real person. It is walking down the stairs toward her, so she calls the police instead. It turns out that the man dressed as a clown was actually a guy that escaped from an insane asylum and has been living in their closet for three months.*

*Here are the facts:*
*1. The man was not dressed as a clown, he had tired eyes and five o'clock shadow on his face.*

*2. He had escaped from an insane asylum, but was not living in their closet. He climbed onto their roof to escape the police cars, broke into their attic, climbed into their closet by a hatch in the ceiling, came out of their closet, and froze when he saw the babysitter in the room to look like a statue. 

:glee::uncomfortableness::cower:

*
*
*


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## SifuPhil (Aug 19, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> An old "disturbing" clown movie with Jerry Lewis that was never released to the public...http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2013/...e-most-disturbing-clown-film-youll-never-see/



I can't see that it's any more disturbing than the shlock horror movies that are out now - ever see _Saw_ and all it's progeny? Talk about sick stuff! 

I think Lewis' movie is tame by comparison. What I do NOT think is that he is a comic genius as so many others proclaim, but that's a personal opinion.


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## Pappy (Aug 19, 2013)

Clowns.....not your friends.


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## SeaBreeze (Aug 19, 2013)

SifuPhil said:


> I can't see that it's any more disturbing than the shlock horror movies that are out now - ever see _Saw_ and all it's progeny? Talk about sick stuff!
> 
> I think Lewis' movie is tame by comparison. What I do NOT think is that he is a comic genius as so many others proclaim, but that's a personal opinion.



I saw a couple of the Saw movies, when my husband was watching them on TV...I don't like that kind of stuff.  I never did like Jerry Lewis, and for some reason, neither did my mother.  Maybe because he was so jerky acting, and not very funny.  I don't know his personal story, but he seemed like one of those comedians that were very angry and miserable in real life.


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## SifuPhil (Aug 19, 2013)

SeaBreeze said:


> I saw a couple of the Saw movies, when my husband was watching them on TV...I don't like that kind of stuff.  I never did like Jerry Lewis, and for some reason, neither did my mother.  Maybe because he was so jerky acting, and not very funny.  I don't know his personal story, but he seemed like one of those comedians that were very angry and miserable in real life.



Exactly - that's the impression I have of him. 

It's funny that this topic (clowns) comes up right now, because I've just really only started noticing that _The Lucy Show_ comes on at 6AM here on my oldies channel while I'm working. It was the show she did after _I Love Lucy_, so she's older and she seemingly dumped Ricky while Ethel got rid of Fred, probably in some grimy dumpster in the back of a Hollywood Chinese restaurant.

But the thing I notice is that most of her "comedy" consists of screaming - long, drawn-out bouts of loud *WAAAAAHHHHHHH*. I guess I never really noticed this before, maybe I'm just getting cranky in my old age, but even on _I Love Lucy_ she was mainly famous for her crying - "*Awww, Ricky - WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!*"

Okay - do it once, it's funny. Twice, it's a running gag. More than that - like every show - and it just gets annoying.

That's how I see Jerry Lewis. He was a good foil for Dean Martin - the lunatic and the lush, ha-ha, '50's humor. It was good in its time. Now it's just annoying to hear that high-pitched voice going on and on. 

I say let France have him. layful:


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## nan (Aug 19, 2013)

I fear all the clowns in government at the moment.


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## SifuPhil (Aug 19, 2013)

nan said:


> I fear all the clowns in government at the moment.



Group photo, Senate and House, 1987 ...


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## Jillaroo (Aug 19, 2013)

_I should post a link for our Australian comedian Adam Hill , he is brilliant_


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## That Guy (Aug 20, 2013)

Lucille Ball was not naturally funny and had to learn comedic acting from Harpo Marx.


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## SeaBreeze (Sep 17, 2013)

Street corner clown...http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...ifying-the-people-of-northampton-8819006.html


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## Anne (Sep 17, 2013)

Oh yikes,that would terrify me.  I'd think of Pennywise!!  mg:


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## Jillaroo (Sep 17, 2013)

_Nah wouldn't scare me, it's probably some poor deluded guy who truly believes he is a clown_


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## dbeyat45 (Sep 17, 2013)

1987?  The year of the great stock market crash .... was that photo taken in October by any chance ???


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## Anne (Sep 20, 2013)

AHA!!  Figured it was Pennywise........

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...y-reign-of-terror-says-Northampton-clown.html


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## That Guy (Sep 21, 2013)




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## SeaBreeze (Apr 11, 2014)

More on the clowns...http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-last-laugh-why-clowns-will-never-die/


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## SeaBreeze (Jun 30, 2014)




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## Bettyann (Jun 30, 2014)

When I was a child, the only clown I never truly DISliked was Emmett Kelly... probably because I had always wondered, even as a child, why he was so sad.
I never, ever, ever have liked clowns...I think they are frightening to children because they represent such total falseness and unrealness...things that are hidden and unseen. To me, this is what they represent. I think the masks are the worse, most formidable parts...


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## SeaBreeze (Jul 27, 2017)

Clown with a machete was just arrested in Maine and is now out on bail, turns out to be a 31 year old just playing a prank. http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/creepy-clown-with-a-machete-arrested-in-hollis/459548139


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## Butterfly (Jul 27, 2017)

Some prank, huh??


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## jujube (Jul 28, 2017)

In Ecuador, the clowns are really creepy critters.......dead-white faces with red blotches on the cheeks.  We were told that they represent the Spanish conquistadores who came with pale skin and sunburned easily.  The clowns have crabby-looking faces which I guess indicates the bad intentions of the invaders toward the natives.


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## Faith (Jul 28, 2017)

Anne said:


> Noooo..... Not afraid of them, but otoh, wouldn't want to meet one in a dark alley, either.



Come to think of I agree...I was NEVER afraid of clowns and never even thought anything in the way of sinister terms about them until my girls shared they were afraid of clowns. Thanks to Steven King...


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## Sunny (Jul 28, 2017)

I'm not afraid of them, but usually don't find them funny, either. For that matter, I don't even find most stand-up comics funny, They and the clowns are trying to hard; I guess I like my humor more subtle.


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## Faith (Jul 28, 2017)

Sunny said:


> I'm not afraid of them, but usually don't find them funny, either. For that matter, I don't even find most stand-up comics funny, They and the clowns are trying to hard; I guess I like my humor more subtle.



I agree with you and actually used to find most clowns ridiculous. Now they have become evil .


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## Marie5656 (Jul 28, 2017)

*Not really afraid of clowns, but for some reason, THESE guys always give me the creeps.


*<strong>


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## Faith (Jul 28, 2017)

Marie5656 said:


> *Not really afraid of clowns, but for some reason, THESE guys always give me the creeps.
> 
> 
> *<strong>



LOL that is so funny because I think they are so cute...


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## Marie5656 (Jul 28, 2017)




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## IKE (Jul 28, 2017)

SeaBreeze said:


> I think we talked about this before on the forum.  I don't like clowns, and even as a child I was afraid of clowns. /QUOTE]
> 
> SB, I can remember when I was a pup watching Bozo and Clarabell on tv and laughing but like the title of the old Loretta Lynn song, "We've Come A Long Way Baby".


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## Falcon (Jul 28, 2017)

The only one I fear is the one occupying the oval office now.


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## IKE (Jul 28, 2017)

Falcon said:


> The only one I fear is the one occupying the oval office now.



You mean this one Falcon ?


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