Coulrophobia is the extreme fear of clowns.
I was thinking about clowns the other day. (Today I was thinking about abortions and fruit, but that is a different blog for [perhaps] a different day) And I asked my friends on Facebook (yay, Facebook addiction) who was afraid of clowns. 8 of my friend responded.
Three of my friends were scared of them.
Two of my friends weren't.
And three friends said that they just couldn't stand them, but weren't actually afraid of them.
Why are we (as a society) afraid of clowns? Is it because of Stephen King? Is it urban legends? Is it people like John Wayne Gacy? Is it a fear of the unknown and a fear of the masked? Donnie says that clowns fall into the realm of the uncanny. Which is why those who haven't seen "It", encountered John Wayne Gacy or urban legends still don't like them. Even if they have no real reason to dislike them.
I have personally never had a problem with clowns (except for when I was a year old and my parents got me a clown for my first birthday. I wasn't entirely sure what to think of that). In fact, I really like the ideas of clowns. I especially like older versions of them, such as harlequins and jesters. I like French clowns and mimes, too. There is something oddly beautiful, to me, about clowns. Certain clowns that is. Obviously there are clowns out there that are just plain horrifying and disturbing.
Here are some examples of what I call, beautiful clowns.
Okay, this one is kind of just because I think Keira Knightley is hot and she looks good with the "fuck me" red hair. :P Also, she is too pretty to be an "evil" clown, even if that is what her make-up implies.
This one actually has hardly anything to do with clowns. This one is more because I love mermaids and this is a clown fish mermaid... Hey, clown is in the name!
And just for the cute factor, a whole class full of clowns. ^_^
I suppose I can understand being afraid of something that you can't see its real face. That is slightly unnerving (unless you're into that kind of thing), but I don't find it frightening. If a clown was following me at night, I would be nervous, but I'd be nervous with anyone following me at night. I'm the type of person who is constantly keeping track of the vehicle behind me when I'm driving. I always plan ahead in case they ARE following me and I need to take a different route (because you NEVER EVER go to your house if you suspect someone of following you, you find a safe place to go).
I read in an article that one of the reasons people are afraid of clowns is because of Batman. In the Batman comics his arch-nemesis is the Joker (and his sexy sidekick, Harley Quinn). The Joker is a bat-shit insane man who always looks like a deranged clown. Heath Ledger (may he rest in peace) really brings that creepy clown vibe to the forefront in "The Dark Knight". Personally, The Joker was my favorite male villian in Batman (Batman being my all time favorite superhero, but once again that is another blog for another day), my favorite female villian being Catwoman.
When I was young (and stupid) I had a terrible crush on the Joker, partially because he was brilliantly insane and insanely brilliant. He was witty and often terrifying and he totally owned a piece of my heart because of it. I don't see why the Joker would make people afraid of clowns. Are you seriously going to believe that every clown, everywhere, is a Joker in disguise waiting to kill you or fuck with your head?
The Joker and his many faces (fun fact: Mark Hamill [aka: Luke Skywalker in Star Wars] voiced the cartoon Joker).
Anyway, I guess what I'm really trying to say is...
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