By Milan Polk ’16

Clowns are supposed to be a great form of entertainment for kids and adults alike, yet something about an unknown adult adorned with make-up causes fear and discomfort in many. The fear has garnered so much attention it has become a legitimate phobia called coulrophobia.

Possible reasoning as to why there is a common fear of clowns is that they were always scary, but people have only just now begun to acknowledge it. In present times, distrust in strangers is more common than it was in the past. Clowns are not only physically masked, but their actual lives are completely hidden from their audience, which can be unsettling.

The separation of life and character may be for the best, considering the first widely famous clown, Joseph Grimaldi, an English 19th century clown, was a drunk with a lonely life which contrasted with his upbeat performance. His cheery nature in light of his misfortune made audiences adore him, although some did find the contrast strange. Besides Grimaldi, other famous clowns have been known for their sinister sides, like a 19th century Parisian clown who bludgeoned a child to death for insulting him.

Over time, popular culture has replaced the happy and innocent nature of clowns usually seen in the past with an new image of a dangerous and deranged clown, with books such as Stephen King’s “It,” in which a demon is set loose to wreak havoc posing as a killer clown, and the “Saw” movie franchise featuring a creepy clown puppet. Not to mention the real-life terror of 1970s serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who dressed up as a clown to lure his young victims.

The exact future of the clumsy clown caricature is unclear, but it seems that clowns’ days as widely welcomed comedians may be long gone as people have developed phobias of them.