vakkotaur

You're viewing

vakkotaur's journal
Create a Dreamwidth Account Learn More

Reload page in style: site light

vakkotaur

Why are clowns scary? Or: What makes clowns scary?

Current Mood: curious

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

nefaria.livejournal.com

Anyone who's forced to be happy/funny for long periods of time, even when they don't feel like it, will eventually develop emotional problems.

From:

wendyzski.livejournal.com

Ask most professional clowns and they will tell you that most very small children are instinctively very afraid of them at first. They usually work very hard to overcome this and HATE when parents shove a crying kid forward.

As adults, there may be a looking back to these childhood fears, or the perhaps idea that something of childhood can be perverted and frightening. It could be different for different people.

My theory is that they look sort of like people but are exaggerated in ways that make them just WRONG. You think about stuff like this a lot when you work in the haunt industry. I was personally surprised by this, but it was a universal constant that more people were afraid of the "evil clowns" than any other category of "monsters". When I filled in as a "pusher" in the house, I learned very fast to brace myself as the lights came up in the clown room because very shortly people would be falling, screaming, and running. And as I mentioned in my entry - that room ALWAYS smelled like pee.

From:

woody-whistler.livejournal.com

As a child I'd always found clowns frightening, with the exception of Bozo on the old WGN (Chicago) shows. I think the exaggerated features and manic actions of circus clowns seemed unnatural and vaguely nightmarish, even in the midst of some “happy-go-lucky” skit. If the clown of my childhood imagination suddenly pulled out a chainsaw or grew fangs I would have been terrified but not surprised.

BTW, you can delete the previous anonymous post. That was me (oops)!

From:

vakkotaur.livejournal.com

...most very small children are instinctively very afraid of them at first. They usually work very hard to overcome this and HATE when parents shove a crying kid forward.

I've heard the same thing from folks who do mascot work.

My theory is that they look sort of like people but are exaggerated in ways that make them just WRONG.

And probably for the same reason.

From:

wendyzski.livejournal.com

exactly.

Like I said - you learn a LOT about people while working haunts.

From:

thecanuckguy.livejournal.com

Hey! I'm a standup comic (or would be if I could write some more material, but I've logged well over a decade on stage cumulative) and I have no emotional probl....

...@#$&(&*( stupid squirrel, what does he know anyways, he's just a stupid rodent@#$&(*#@$&....

...ems whatsover!

From:

thecanuckguy.livejournal.com

I have a friend who works as a clown for kids birthdays (or did before his day job made him way too busy to do so, but he makes exceptions for a few friends like myself), he performed at my daughter's fifth birthday last year, and I full intend on booking him for my son's 5th next year (he turns four years old next week). He made the suggestion to book them when they turn no sooner than 5 for that reason.

I also took a quick straw poll of my kids just now, they both like clowns (she says "because they make people laugh". My son "doesn't know", but he answers that a lot lately)

Also, when we got married, he was the MC at our wedding - in his normal appearance, but since he knew that a few kids would be there he brought some stretchy balloons and a small pump in his tux pocket during the reception parts where he wouldn't be needed, I'm guessing the "normal appearance" of "the man with the balloons" helped (can't remember how old the kids would have been then over 8 years ago, my niece would have been around 7 though.)