Tell someone that you suffer from coulrophobia and it’s quite likely that they won’t know what you’re talking about. However, go on to explain that this is a morbid fear of clowns and the chances are that they’ll either experience this phobia themselves or know somebody personally who does. The figures back this up: in America, a 2016 survey by Vox even found that more people (42%) were scared of clowns than they were of climate change (32%).
This deep-rooted fear of clowns is undoubtedly one of the reasons why so many horror movies feature clowns in the role of a villain or as a product of evil forces. We find them everywhere from Pennywise in 2017’s ‘IT’ to the 2012 film ‘Stitches’, whose titular character is a deceased clown hell-bent on revenge. Oh, and how could we forget Batman’s nemesis, the Joker, a character so fully rounded that he even got his own movie starring a terrifying Joaquin Phoenix?
Scary clowns have been featured in movies for years on years, but what is it that makes these supposedly comical characters so very scary?
There are a number of theories, all of which are pretty plausible. The first of these is that we never know who the person behind the make-up really is. While Joker, starring Phoenix, did go some way to reveal the man behind the mask, concealment is a common trope for Batman villains. As ExpressVPN’s infographic shows, taking on an alter ego and a modified appearance, be that in the form of a functional costume or one that’s ‘all show’, is very much a favoured technique with all those who dream of taking down the Caped Crusader.
However, the alter-egos of clowns go much further than The Penguin or Mr Freeze ever do and it’s this doubt about actual identity and real intentions that sow the seeds of fear. A scholarly article in Psychology Today suggests that it’s the dichotomy between the clown’s role as an entertainer and also as an unpredictable force that strikes fear into many people. For example, a typical clown could either be entertaining us with physical comedy and slapstick or entering our personal space and pushing the limits of what’s comfortable by slamming a custard pie into our faces. It’s this uncertainty that sets up an atmosphere of unease.
Then there’s the question of the make-up. It’s specifically designed to exaggerate the features of the face, making noses bigger, eyes more expressive and smiles more prominent. Plus, it’s all topped off with a wild and unruly head of hair suggesting a crazy and uncontrollable character. So, it’s a fine line between the appearance being used for comic effect or to terrify and overwhelm.
The fact that most people have their first encounter with a clown when they are young children could well set the pattern. The fear is planted in the formative years so that even when they’re adults, they still remember that first very unsettling and confusing encounter with a clown character at the circus or a friend’s birthday party.
Taking all of these factors into account and putting them into the context of movies that we know are intended to scare us, it becomes all too easy to see why clowns are such popular figures of fear and one that filmmakers are unlikely to drop anytime soon!
