WaPo Asks “Why Are Some People So Afraid of Clowns?” – IOTW Report

WaPo Asks “Why Are Some People So Afraid of Clowns?”

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

14 Comments on WaPo Asks “Why Are Some People So Afraid of Clowns?”

  1. 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.

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  2. 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.

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  3. 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.

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  4. 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

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  5. 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.

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