Washington Post
For 15 years, psychology professor Philip John Tyson has been teaching classes on phobias. At the start of every semester, he asks his students the same question: What are you afraid of?
Students routinely cited spiders, snakes and claustrophobic spaces, but a consistent minority would say they were “terrified of clowns,” said Tyson, an associate professor of psychology at the University of South Wales. He wanted to know why. More
Cannibals don’t like clowns because….they taste funny.
I have always been a little leary of clowns.
Dates back to the early 60’s when i went to a circus and a clown there freaked me out.
There are 535 of them in Congress that scare the hell out of me.
Same reason I don’t like the left.
Back in the late 60’s a friend and I got to the traveling circus early. Sneaked around the tents and saw a middle aged man applying his clown make up. It was not a creepy experience, but rather poignant.
This trendy fear all started with an episode of Seinfeld.
People afraid of clowns are the same type of personality that burned witches. Human nature remains the same.
I think that as children, some of us sensed an adult perv hiding behind the loud make-up and the hysterics. Serial killer John Gacey comes to mind.
As a child in the early 60’s I was not afraid of clowns. I was sad for clowns and cried because all of their misfortunes (accidents as I saw them) had the crowd laughing at them. So impolite. As an adult I no longer trust any adult wearing a mask. That scares me. Go figure. We live in a rude scary world.
There are so many clowns in office and in DC that they are more boring than scary.
I have a distant relative (Mary Parker, witch) who was hung in Salem, Mass. in 1692 during the so called ‘Salem witch trials.’
So, I am deathly afraid of Massachusetts. However, clowns are fine – until they do something stupid.
I find the same “creepiness” with Drag Queens.
They look like a cross between Drag Queens & Pedo’s etc.
I’m not afraid of them I just fine VERY FEW of them Funny & MOST of them Pathetic.
ONE EXCEPTION & ONE ONLY: RODEO CLOWNS! Tough Guys with Brass Knuts
I couldn’t agree more, @Rick/Kcir! Chuck Norris tried out for a rodeo clown job but missed the cut.
As for circus-type clowns, I don’t find them funny or entertaining, but I don’t DISlike them much less fear or hate them. They’re a big “meh” to me.